Concepts and Terms - Resources

Physicalism

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 16:54:24 +0000

The idea that everything is physical. This is not to deny that there are other aspects to our world, like morals and bad jokes, but only that, ultimately, these are physical. In the past, physicalism was identified with materialism, but it became difficult to call certain supposed physical features of the world material (like the force binding particles in a nucleus together). Physicalism is a metaphysical notion, although it is often associated with the so-called scientific approach.

Utilitarianism

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:36:02 +0000

A form of consequentialism that judges actions by their utility. Act utilitarianism attempted to measure the pleasure against the pain involved in an act (hence the name); in more recent times, the measure was the anticipated benefit to society or some similar concept. Rule utilitarianism considers instead whether the implementation of an action as a rule would be beneficial to society. Killing someone, for example, would be catastrophic for society if turned into a rule.

Epistemology

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:35:08 +0000

The theory of knowledge. Derives from the Greek epistéme ("knowledge" or "science") and logos ("speech" or "discourse"). Epistemology asks questions such as "what is knowledge?", "how do we know anything?", "how can we sure our knowledge is reliable?" and "what are the limits of what we can know?"

Metaphysics

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:28:44 +0000

Taking its name from the work of Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher, metaphysics literally means "after the physics"; legend has it that the Alexandrian librarians christened the writings thus because they followed his Physical Treaties. Since then metaphysics has come to be split into two sub-fields: Ontology is the study of existence, asking what there is, what it means to exist and what kind of things there are. Cosmology is the study of the nature of the universe (or cosmos, as the name suggests). It asks questions about what is possible, such as time travel and parallel or alternate universes.

Deconstruction

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:25:13 +0000

Associated with Derrida and the so-called Yale school of Paul de Man, Harold Bloom, Hillis Miller and Geoffrey Hartman. Deconstructionism has had more of an impact on philosophy and literary theory in Continental Europe, but its influence has been felt widely. It can be traced back to Nietzsche but the problem with explaining or understanding it is that its proponents often insist that there is no deconstructionist method; that is, it is not just another systematic approach to be applied that can be defined by explicit steps or principles. However, the "deconstructionist approach" tends to involve close reading, looking for presuppositions that the author relies on implicitly but does not argue for or explain, and locating multiple interpretations of texts, particularly those that may contradict or be entirely opposed to others, rather than allowing one reading of the text to be privileged. It also asks what the text does not include or describe; i.e. what has been explicitly or implicitly excluded from it in order to make the points or arguments therein.

Abduction

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:23:03 +0000

An abductive inference takes the form:

P1: X;
P2: A proposition like "If Y then X" can explain X;
C: Therefore, probably Y.

This is the Aristotelian form, which is typically amended slightly for use in science:

P1: Data D;
P2: Hypothesis H explains D;
P3: H is the best explanation of D;
C: Therefore, probably H.

This holds trivially if P3 is replaced by "H is the only explanation of D" and discounting other factors to render this probable or characterising what makes H the best explanation is usually what is at issue in science. Abduction is sometimes called "inference to the best explanation" and was favoured by J.S. Mill.

Hinge Propositions

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:21:25 +0000

Hinge propositions are those that are neither true nor false but instead cannot coherently be doubted by anyone. For example, it is not possible to ask "does reality exist?" without assuming that it does. Such propositions cannot be called true because it was never possible for them to be false.

In his On Certainty, Wittgenstein wrote about what came to be called hinge propositions as follows:

Quote

... the questions that we raise and our doubts depend upon the fact that some propositions are exempt from doubt, are as it were like hinges on which those turn.

That is to say, it belongs to the logic of our scientific investigations that certain things are in deed not doubted.
But it isn't that the situation is like this: We just can't investigate everything, and for that reason we are forced to rest content with assumption. If I want the door to turn, the hinges must stay put. (§341-3)

Postmodernism

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 19:09:50 +0000

Defined by Jean-François Lyotard as "incredulity toward metanarratives", or those narratives and theories that propose to explain everything. Metanarratives can and are used to translate other narratives into their own form, subsuming them as they must if they are to explain all other accounts in their own terms. Postmodernism is at least skeptical of this tendency, if not outright "incredulous" at the very possibility of finding one story that explains the world and all others.