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Structural Realism: Continuity and its Limits
Get PDFStructural realists of nearly all stripes endorse the structural continuity claim. Roughly speaking, this is the claim that the structure of successful scientific theories survives theory change because it has latched on to the structure of the world. In this paper I elaborate, elucidate and modify the structural continuity claim and its associated argument. I do so without presupposing a particular conception of structure that favours this or that kind of structural realism. Instead I focus on how structural realists can best account for the neutrally formulated historical facts. The result, I hope, crystallises some of the shared commitments, desiderata and limits of structural realists
Is Structure Not Enough?
Get PDFThis paper is divided into two parts. The first part presents one of Bertrand Russell`s lesser-known epistemological views, viz. `structural realism` (SR). In short, this position holds that at most we have knowledge of the structure of the external (i.e. physical) world. This is followed by an exposition of M.H.A. Newman`s allegedly fatal objection that SR is either trivial or false. The second part starts with a brief mention of the current state of SR. Appealing to Quine`s notion of ontological relativity, the author argues that SR is impervious to Newman`s objection for it is neither trivial nor false
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Modelling Analogical Reasoning: One-Size-Fits-All?
Get PDFA key type of reasoning in everyday life and science is reasoning by analogy. Roughly speaking, such reasoning involves the transposition of solutions that work well in one domain to another, on the basis of pre-existing shared properties between the two domains. If we are to automate scientific reasoning with artificial intelligence (AI), then we need adequate models of analogical reasoning that clearly specify the conditions under which good analogical inferences can be made and bad ones avoided. Two general approaches to such modelling exist: universal and local. In this chapter, we assess the merits and demerits of both approaches. We concede that there are substantial obstacles standing in the way of the universal model view, but that these may be mitigated to some extent by supplementing existing models with additional criteria. One such criterion is defended, particularly against a challenge due to Wittgenstein. We argue that this challenge can be met and thus that there is hope for a one-size-fits-all model in the study of analogical reasoning
Radical Ontic Structural Realism and Holistic Monism
No full textLove it or hate it, the view known as Ontic Structural Realism (OntSR) has left an indelible mark on the scientific realism landscape and the metaphysics of science landscape more generally. Its success is no doubt largely due to the modern-physics inspired reimagining of the fundamental constitution of nature from object-centric to structure centric. This reimagining has not only led to a shift in our conceptions of reality but has also ushered in an era of revitalised naturalism, this time directed not at epistemology but metaphysics. Yet, much like other views that have left their mark in their respective landscapes, there is no singular, clear and distinct thing that we can call OntSR. The view’s supporters have been sprouting variants ever since the view was conceived. Some variants appear to be moderate in their revision of metaphysics while others are downright revolutionary. The latter have as of late been overlooked in favour of the former. In this paper, I argue that the most significant objection against those variants, namely that there cannot be relations without relata, can be satisfactorily addressed but only if we endorse a certain kind of holistic monism towards metaphysics. The upshot is a conditional endorsement of such variants over less radical ones
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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