MetaFilter posts tagged with philosophyofscience

How to Think About Science

bewilderbeast — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:35:02 -0800

"Modern societies have tended to take science for granted as a way of knowing, ordering and controlling the world. Everything was subject to science, but science itself largely escaped scrutiny. This situation has changed dramatically in recent years. Historians, sociologists, philosophers and sometimes scientists themselves have begun to ask fundamental questions about how the institution of science is structured and how it knows what it knows." How to Think About Science is a 24-part series from CBC Radio's Ideas, featuring interviews with Steven Shapin, Ian Hacking, Bruno Latour, and others. The streaming audio links on the show's website seem to be out of commission, but direct links to all of the episodes can be found here.

PhilSci Archive

aniola — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:15:07 -0800

The PhilSci Archive is an electronic archive for preprints in the philosophy of science. The goal of the Archive is to promote communication in the field by the rapid dissemination of new work.

An evolutionary psychology debate

AceRock — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:21:08 -0800

Here is an interesting critique of evolutionary psychology by philosopher of science David Buller. Clark Barrett and Edouard Machery published a critique of Buller's book (pdf). Anthropologist James Holland Jones has been following the debate and is compelled by arguments on both sides. Here are some more detailed responses to Buller by evolutionary psychologists, including this defense (pdf) of the Cinderella Effect.

half-baked food for thought

Rumple — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:13:46 -0800

Sushi Science and Hamburger Science: I had always regarded science as universal and believed there are no differences in science at all between countries. But I was wrong. People with different cultures think in different ways, and therefore their science also may well be different. In this essay, I will describe differences I have observed between Western science and Eastern science. Let me start with a parable......

Beyond "Immanuel Kant was a real pissant."

anotherpanacea — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:45:49 -0800

What can I know? What should I do? For what may I hope?

"The most rigorously refined experiment to date."

Iridic — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:17:03 -0800

The Ganzfeld Experiment. Is it evidence for the existence of psi abilities? Is it sloppy experimental practice? Philosopher and game designer Chris Bateman suggests that it might be most significant for what it reveals about the biases of the scientific community.

Kitzmiller v. DASD

OmieWise — Thu, 06 Oct 2005 05:46:39 -0800

Intelligent Design on trial! The ACLU of PA is blogging the current trial in Dover, PA between the parents of students and the local school board which wants to teach students Intelligent Design. Over at The Panda's Thumb, they're also keeping track of the goings on. The main ACLU website has statements from most of the plaintiff's experts in the case, including this long, well-supported pdf from philsopher Barbara Forrest, whose testimony is being used to dismantle the canard that ID is not Creationism. Over at the Legal Affairs Debate Club Beckwith and Laylock argued, last week, about whether teaching ID is legal. For background: this 2002 special report from Natural History Magazine on Intelligent Design Creationism.

Harmonia Macrocosmica

plep — Wed, 28 Jan 2004 06:37:27 -0800

Harmonia Macrocosmica. A digitised book of seventeenth-century astronomy.