Scientific Method: From Bacon to Popper, The
Philosopher Ian Hacking talks about the impact of Sir Francis Bacon and Karl Popper on scientific inquiry. Ultimately, Professor Hacking concludes, science is neither all theory nor all experiment but, rather, an intimat..
Scientific Realism
Philosopher Hilary Putnam calls himself a scientific realist for a number of reasons, including his contention that there's no serious difference in the reality status of scientific objects and common sense objects. Even..
Scientific Theories and Realism
Philosopher Hilary Putnam argues that it is futile for philosophers of science to try to come up with a single, one-size-fits-all model that can be used to validate all scientific theories.
Scientific Theory
Philosopher Stephen Toulmin talks about the difficulty of attempting to force different scientific theories into a single, logically coherent system.
Scientific Truth
Philosopher Ian Hacking makes the point that that there are many ways of looking at scientific truth, depending on the particular science involved. For example, he points out that botany, which he calls "basically a clas..
Self and Unconditional Value, The
Philosopher Charles Taylor discusses his notion of the self, stating that, "...if a self has an identity, then a self has to live in the horizon of some or other idea of unconditional worth."
Self in Historical Context (Part One), The
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about the ways in which the concept of "the self" has changed over time. He begins by talking about Plato and then moves through other major philosophers, including Augustine and Descarte..
Self in Historical Context (Part Three), The
Philosopher Charles Taylor continues his discussion of the self, tracing the evolution of the concept over time. Professor Taylor talks about the modern perspective of the self, which he describes as being two kinds of i..
Self in Historical Context (Part Two), The
Continuing his discussion of the self in historical context, philosopher Charles Taylor talks about the progression of ideas about the self from Descartes through John Locke. It was from Locke that what Professor Taylor ..
Significant Others
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about George Herbert Mead and the distinction he made between the "I" and the "me." The fundamental idea here is that we don't discover who we are simply from the inside. Rather, we disco..