Tag Archive Browsing Tag: sociology of scientific knowledge

Browse by:
SUSAN HAACK

Susan Haack — Passionate Moderate

Susan Haack is one of my absolutely favourite living (and still very active) philosophers. The appellation Passionate Moderate had such deep resonance from the moment I read her eponymously titled book. (This is a great book to read if you are coming to formal philosophy for the first time: Susan writes without ever being “jargony” or condescending…

brain, brain scans, brain science, neuromania, neuroscience

Superfluous Neuroscience Information Makes Explanations of Psychological Phenomena More Appealing

This in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. We conclude that the “allure of neuroscience” bias is conceptual, specific to neuroscience, and not easily accounted for by the prestige of the discipline. It may stem from the lay belief that the brain is the best explanans for mental phenomena. Brainbrain scansfmrimriNeuroimagingneuromanianeurosciencephilosophical psychologyPhilosophy of mindsituated cognitionsociology of…

oakeshott

Constructivism and Relativism in Oakeshott

This chapter highlights a troubling tension within the philosophy of Michael Oakeshott. The relativistic stance that informs his radical constructivism gives license to socio-political conclusions we know Oakeshott could not possibly accept. constructivismLiberal educationLiberalismMichael OakeshottPolitical philosophyScientismsocial epistemologysociology of knowledgesociology of scientific knowledge

alan sokal

Debunking “The mathematics of happiness”

Alan Sokal weighs in again thanks to Nick Brown who was troubled by the conclusion that  The mysteries of love, happiness, fulfilment, success, disappointment, heartache, failure, experience, random luck, environment, culture, gender, genes, and all the other myriad ingredients that make up a human life could be reduced to the figure of 2.9013. It’s quite astonishing…