Verisimilitude

La idea de la verosimilitud está implícita en los escritos de Albert Einstein, desde 1905. La noticia ha llegado a  la comunidad filosófica a través de los escritos de Sir Karl Popper, medio siglo después de la concepción  pionera de Einstein. Como la teoría de la verosimilitud es de por sí pro-metafísica, hay dos posibles lecturas  de la visión popperiana de la verosimilitud. Creo que las críticas que ha recibido se deben a su vaguedad  sobre esta cuestión, y a las limitaciones obvias de admitir, a medias, la metafísica en la ciencia. A pesar que la verosimilitud esta recién llegada a la física moderna, ya cuenta con una rica literatura, incluyendo el libro  Truthlikeness de Ilkka Niiniluoto, el más enérgico defensor del tema. El presente artículo no es una reseña de dicho libro, debido a que la mera discusión de su enorme y pesado aparato lógico-matemático requiere más  espacio del que está disponible aquí. Sin embargo, diré que su libro ha demostrado ser un hito filosófico - para bien o para mal- y trataré de presentar los aspectos filosóficos más generales de la situación. Debo  aclarar que no intentaré suprimir mi sesgo, sino contrastarlo con el suyo. En pocas palabras, creo que su  posición está a medio camino en favor de la metafísica, mientras que la mía es totalmente pro-metafísica. Sin importar los avances que la teoría de la verosimilitud ha logrado desde entonces, el desacuerdo aquí descrito no es efímero, y mi punto de vista me ha llevado a una perspectiva de la verosimilitud, que se opone a casi  todo lo que se ha escrito después del mencionado libro de Niiniluoto de 1987.The idea of verisimilitude is implicit in the writings of Albert Einstein ever since 1905. The news has reached  the philosophical community via the writings of Sir Karl Popper half-acentury after Einstein’s trailblazing  conception. As the theory of verisimilitude is inherently pro-metaphysics, there are two possible readings of  Popper’s view of verisimilitude. I think the criticisms that it has met are due to his vagueness on this matter  and to the obvious shortcomings of the halfway admission of metaphysics into science. Though  verisimilitude is a relative newcomer to the modern physics, it already has a rich literature, including the  book Truthlikeness of Ilkka Niiniluoto, the most energetic advocate of the topic. The present article is not a  review of it, as the mere discussion of its enormous, heavy logical mathematical apparatus requires more  space than is available to me. I will, however, say that his book has proven to be a philosophical landmark - for better and for worse- and I will try to present the general, most philosophical aspects of the situation. I  should say here that I am not going to suppress my bias but rather contrast it with his. Briefly, I think that his  position is halfway pro-metaphysical whereas mine is fully pro-metaphysical. Whatever advances the theory  of verisimilitude has made since, the disagreement here outlined is not ephemeral, and my view has led me  to a specific view of verisimilitude that is at odds with almost all that has been written after Niiniluoto’s  mentioned book of 1987

Playing the Game of International Law

In the realist game of international negotiations, each state attempts to promote their interest regardless of international law. Thus, it is negotiations in the shadow of the sword, i.e., a negotiation in which each side knows that if the parties will not achieve an agreement, the alternative may be a war, and thus the bargaining position of each party is a function of their capacities in a case of war. Negotiation in the shadow of international law is an alternative to it: in this alternative the parties negotiate according to their international legal rights. It reduces injustice and incentive to armament and to terror. It thus promotes peace. A state can choose unilaterally to play the game of negotiations in accord with international law by merely respecting the rights of one’s neighbours regardless to their waving swords, and by this have much more peace and generate incentives against terror and armament. This efficiently brings much more security and peace. A policy of respecting international law, combined with conditional generosity, is more efficient. The wish for peace should make a country encourage its neighbours to avoid armament. The best way to do so is to adopt a policy of unilateral respect for international law and conditional generosity towards one’s neighbours. The international community should enforce, or at least encourage, negotiations in accord with international law

Por uma sociologia crítica da ciência

Neste artigo crítico e construtivo, defendemos que a Sociologia da Ciência, como está estabelecida, é distorcida por uma suposta filosofia idealista que estimula uma atitude acrítica em relação ao que se supõe serem fatos. Propomos uma sociologia crítica da ciência que faz a distinção entre ciência, ciência aplicada e tecnologia; enfoca a falibilidade da ciência e da sociologia da ciência que desconstrói toda pretensão de autoridade. Construtivamente, esboçamos os elementos de uma sociologia da ciência que envolve as formas elementares da vida científica, bem como a ciência "normal" contemporânea, burocratizada e militarizada

Methodological Individualism and Institutional Individualism: A Discussion with Joseph Agassi

This chapter takes the form of a discussion between the editors of this volume and Joseph Agassi, regarding the relationship between methodological individualism and institutional individualism. The focus is on Agassi’s interpretation of traditional methodological individualism in terms of psychologism; the role of institutions and structural factors in social explanation; Popper’s theory of World 3; the application of Weber’s interpretative approach—Verstehen—to typical ways of thinking and acting; and the Austrian School of economics