Lewis and Quine on Private Meanings and Subjectivism

1971 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-44
Author(s):  
Hugh T. Wilder
Keyword(s):  
World Order ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Primary Motivation ◽  
Theory Of Meaning ◽  
The World ◽  
Naturalistic Theory ◽  
Propositional Theory ◽  
The Way

In the early chapters of Mind and the World Order, Lewis develops a theory of meaning which has interesting points of similarity with that mentalistic or propositional theory of meaning which has been rejected by Quine, in Word and Object and elsewhere. There are also interesting similarities, however, between Lewis’ theory and Quine's own naturalistic theory. In this paper, I shall concentrate on one such similarity: namely, the analogy, noticed by Quine, between the predicament formulated in his own thesis of the indeterminacy of translation, and the “predicament of private worlds” in which Lewis’ theory of meaning is involved.These analogous predicaments have a bearing on the problems of the commensurability of scientific theories and of objectivity in science in general; in fact, my primary motivation in attempting to explicate the analogy between Quine's theory of meaning and Lewis’ theory is to clear the way for an assessment of Quine's position on the problem of the objectivity of theories in science.

The Plurality of States and the World Order of Reason

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Dellavalle
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Social Order ◽  
World Order ◽  
The State ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
The World ◽  
The Way

This chapter argues that Hegel can be regarded as the philosopher who was the first to pave the way to a new paradigm of order and, thus, also to a new idea of the relation between the state and international law. Hegel would not only conceive order as a ‘system’—which emerges clearly from the investigation of the deep connection between his interpretation of international law and relations and the broader context of his philosophy—but this ‘system’ would also be something new within the horizon of the patterns of social order. Indeed, two elements of a new paradigm are at least sketched in Hegel’s philosophy: the polyarchic setting of order, and its dialectic (or maybe even communicative) understanding.

The Verisimilitudinarian approach to ‘the Truth’

Perspectives ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-39
Author(s):  
Andrea Roselli
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
The World ◽  
Epistemic Notion ◽  
The One ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe Verisimilitudinarian approach to scientific progress (VS, for short) is traditionally considered a realist-correspondist model to explain the proximity of our best scientific theories to the way things really are in the world out there (ʻthe Truthʻ, with the capital ʻtʻ). However, VS is based on notions, such as ʻestimated verisimilitudeʻ or ʻapproximate truthʻ, that dilute the model in a functionalist-like theory. My thesis, then, is that VS tries to incorporate notions, such as ʻprogressʻ, in a pre-constituted metaphysical conception of the world, but fails in providing a fitting framework. The main argument that I will develop to support this claim is that the notions that they use to explain scientific progress (ʻestimated verisimilitudeʻ or ʻapproximate truthʻ) have nothing to do with ʻthe Truthʻ. After presenting Cevolani and Tamboloʻs answer (2013) to Birdʻs arguments (2007), I will claim that VS sacrifices the realist-correspondist truth in favor of an epistemic notion of truth, which can obviously be compatible with certain kinds of realism but not with the one the authors have in mind (the correspondence between our theories and the way things really are).

scholarly journals “Healing the World”: The Divine Role of Africa-Centered Metaphysics

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-101
Author(s):  
Augustine Maruva Tirivangana ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Order ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
The World ◽  
The Way

This paper argues that Africa is the cradle of civilization. That civilization evolved out of an understanding of the cosmos as well as the valorization of the metaphysical author of cosmogony. The paper asserts that appreciation of metaphysics created a stable and balanced cosmos. Civilization then meant living in harmony with fellow mankind, with the environment and with the cosmos as a whole. The paper suggests this was based on a clear understanding of the interdependence between the departed as well as the organic relationship between man, animal and nature. Now there is a gap between civilization and technological advancement. The metaphysics of unhu/Ubuntu as enshrined in the living law of Ma’at sank under the weight of capitalism; that pursuit of profit regardless of any moral price. Universal politics is now dictated by the desires of a few who stop at nothing to create a world order where humanity is reduced to a commodity. Wars and more wars have become the order of the day, threatening the whole world with extinction. This paper traces how Africa in particular has lost its metaphysical locus as a result of several foreign –induced imperial interventions culminating in the present intellectual, moral and cultural cacophonies that tear Africans apart. The paper argues that Africa can restore its glory as the citadel of civilization by returning to the “the way”. It is hoped that the whole world would also take a leaf, as it has done before, from Africa’s return to “the way”. The paper contends that the metaphysics of unhu/Ubuntu has this divine role to heal the world of various types of sickness: social, cultural, spiritual, intellectual, psychological and material.

“Laws” and “Theories” in Chemistry Do Not Obey the Rules

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Christie ◽  
John R. Christie
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Theory ◽  
Laws Of Nature ◽  
External World ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Classical Physics ◽  
Small Branch ◽  
The World ◽  
Newton’S Laws ◽  
Ontological Sense ◽  
The Way

Most philosophers’ discussions of issues relating to “laws of nature” and “scientific theories” have concentrated heavily on examples from classical physics. Newton’s laws of motion and of gravitation and the various conservation laws are often discussed. This area of science provides very clear examples of the type of universal generalization that constitutes the widely accepted view of what a law of nature or a scientific theory “ought to be.” But classical physics is just one very small branch of science. Many other areas of science do not seem to throw up generalizations of nearly the same breadth or clarity. The question of whether there are any laws of nature in biology, or of why there are not, has often been raised (e.g., Ghiselin, 1989; Ruse, 1989). In the grand scheme of science, chemistry stands next to physics in any supposed reductive hierarchy, and chemistry does produce many alleged laws of nature and scientific theories. An examination of the characters of these laws and theories, and a comparison with those that arise in classical physics, might provide a broader and more balanced view of the nature of laws and theories and of their role in science. From the outset, we should very carefully define the terms of our discourse. The notion of laws of nature has medieval origin as the edicts of an all-powerful deity to his angelic servants about how the functioning of the world should be arranged and directed. It may be helpful to distinguish three quite different senses in which laws of nature are considered in modern discussions. On occasion, the discussion has become sidetracked and obscure because of conflation and confusion of two or more of these senses. In the first, or ontological, sense, laws of nature may be considered as a simply expressed generalization about the way an external world does operate. Laws of nature are often seen as principles of the way the world works. They are an objective part of the external world, waiting to be discovered. The laws that we have and use may be only approximations of the deeper, true laws of nature.

Becoming Politicized

2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Barkas ◽  
Xenia Chryssochoou
Keyword(s):  
Collective Identity ◽  
Political Socialization ◽  
Greek Society ◽  
Economic Vulnerability ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Identity Model ◽  
Beliefs About The Future ◽  
Of Greece ◽  
The Way

Abstract. This research took place just after the end of the protests following the killing of a 16-year-old boy by a policeman in Greece in December 2008. Participants (N = 224) were 16-year-olds in different schools in Attiki. Informed by the Politicized Collective Identity Model ( Simon & Klandermans, 2001 ), a questionnaire measuring grievances, adversarial attributions, emotions, vulnerability, identifications with students and activists, and questions about justice and Greek society in the future, as well as about youngsters’ participation in different actions, was completed. Four profiles of the participants emerged from a cluster analysis using representations of the conflict, emotions, and identifications with activists and students. These profiles differed on beliefs about the future of Greece, participants’ economic vulnerability, and forms of participation. Importantly, the clusters corresponded to students from schools of different socioeconomic areas. The results indicate that the way young people interpret the events and the context, their levels of identification, and the way they represent society are important factors of their political socialization that impacts on their forms of participation. Political socialization seems to be related to youngsters’ position in society which probably constitutes an important anchoring point of their interpretation of the world.

Restrained Airs: The Diegetic Surface and Nondiegetic Depth of British Film Music

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-443
Author(s):  
Paul Mazey
Keyword(s):  
Film Music ◽  
The World ◽  
British Cinema ◽  
Film Making ◽  
The Way

This article considers how pre-existing music has been employed in British cinema, paying particular attention to the diegetic/nondiegetic boundary and notions of restraint. It explores the significance of the distinction between diegetic music, which exists in the world of the narrative, and nondiegetic music, which does not. It analyses the use of pre-existing operatic music in two British films of the same era and genre: Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), and demonstrates how seemingly subtle variations in the way music is used in these films produce markedly different effects. Specifically, it investigates the meaning of the music in its original context and finds that only when this bears a narrative relevance to the film does it cross from the diegetic to the nondiegetic plane. This reveals that whereas music restricted to the diegetic plane may express the outward projection of the characters' emotions, music also heard on the nondiegetic track may reveal a deeper truth about their feelings. In this way, the meaning of the music varies depending upon how it is used. While these two films may differ in whether or not their pre-existing music occupies a nondiegetic or diegetic position in relation to the narrative, both are characteristic of this era of British film-making in using music in an understated manner which expresses a sense of emotional restraint and which marks the films with a particularly British inflection.

Profilometry. Using Corneo-scleral topography for scleral lens fitting

The Eye ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (128) ◽  
pp. 19-22
Author(s):  
Gregory DeNaeyer
Keyword(s):  
Ocular Surface ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Contact Lenses ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Way

The world-wide use of scleral contact lenses has dramatically increased over the past 10 year and has changed the way that we manage patients with corneal irregularity. Successfully fitting them can be challenging especially for eyes that have significant asymmetries of the cornea or sclera. The future of scleral lens fitting is utilizing corneo-scleral topography to accurately measure the anterior ocular surface and then using software to design lenses that identically match the scleral surface and evenly vault the cornea. This process allows the practitioner to efficiently fit a customized scleral lens that successfully provides the patient with comfortable wear and improved vision.

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