417 research outputs found
What Mathematicians’ Claims Mean: In Defense of Hermeneutic Fictionalism
Hermeneutic fictionalism about mathematics maintains that mathematics is not committed to the existence of abstract objects such as numbers. Mathematical sentences are true, but they should not be construed literally. Numbers are just fictions in terms of which we can conveniently describe things which exist. The paper defends Stephen Yablo’s hermeneutic fictionalism against an objection proposed by John Burgess and Gideon Rosen. The objection, directed against all forms of nominalism, goes as follows. Nominalism can take either a hermeneutic form and claim that mathematics, when rightly understood, is not committed to the existence of abstract objects, or a revolutionary form and claim that mathematics is to be understood literally but is false. The hermeneutic version is said to be untenable because there is no philosophically unbiased linguistic argument to show that mathematics should not be understood literally. Against this I argue that it is wrong to demand that hermeneutic fictionalism should be established solely on the basis of linguistic evidence. In addition, there are reasons to think that hermeneutic fictionalism cannot even be defeated by linguistic arguments alone
Grounding Concepts: the Problem of Composition
In a recent book C.S. Jenkins proposes a theory of arithmetical knowledge which reconciles realism about arithmetic with the a priori character of our knowledge of it. Her basic idea is that arithmetical concepts are grounded in experience and it is through experience that they are connected to reality. I argue that the account fails because Jenkins’s central concept, the concept for grounding, is inadequate. Grounding as she defines it does not suffice for realism, and by revising the definition we would abandon the idea that grounding is experiential. Her account falls prey to a problem of which Locke, whom she regards as a source of inspiration, was aware and which he avoided by choosing anti-realism about mathematics
FilozĂłfiai intuĂciĂłk Ă©s az experimentalista kihĂvás
Az analitikus filozĂłfiában bevett mĂłdszer a kĂĽlönfĂ©le elkĂ©pzelĂ©sek, kĂĽlönösen a fogalomelemzĂ©sek ellenĹ‘rzĂ©sĂ©re, hogy az elkĂ©pzelĂ©seknek egyes fiktĂv esetekre vonatkozĂł ĂtĂ©leteit összevetjĂĽk az ezekre az esetekre vonatkozĂł intuitĂv ĂtĂ©lete-inkkel. Ha az elkĂ©pzelĂ©s összhangban van ezekkel a „filozĂłfiai intuĂciĂłkkal”, az mellette szĂłl, ha nincs, az ellene. Az elmĂşlt tĂz Ă©vben ez a mĂłdszer komoly kihĂvással szembesĂĽlt a „kĂsĂ©rleti filozĂłfusok” rĂ©szĂ©rĹ‘l, akik kĂ©rdĹ‘Ăves vizsgálatokat vĂ©geznek arrĂłl, hogy a filozĂłfusok által hivatkozott esetekrĹ‘l a szakmán kĂvĂĽliek tĂ©nylegesen hogyan is ĂtĂ©lnek. KĂĽlönbsĂ©get fogok tenni a kihĂvás kĂ©t változata között. Az elsĹ‘ szerint az eredmĂ©nyek az intuĂciĂłk megbĂzhatatlanságát mutatják. A második szerint azt tanĂşsĂtják, hogy az effĂ©le intuĂciĂłk kulturálisan meghatározottak, s ennĂ©lfogva alkalmatlanok a ismeretelmĂ©leti normáink igazolására. Amellett fogok Ă©rvelni, hogy az elsĹ‘ változat, bár potenciálisan veszĂ©lyes, jelenleg nem tűnik annak, a második változat pedig tĂ©ves
A user's manual for the Loaded Microstrip Antenna Code (LMAC)
The use of the Loaded Microstrip Antenna Code is described. The geometry of this antenna is shown and its dimensions are described in terms of the program outputs. The READ statements for the inputs are detailed and typical values are given where applicable. The inputs of four example problems are displayed with the corresponding output of the code given in the appendices
Logikai konvencionalizmus
A tanulmány a logikai konvencionalizmus vĂ©delmĂ©t kĂnálja. ElĹ‘ször megmutatja, hogy a konvencionalizmus lĂ©nyege megĹ‘rizhetĹ‘ anĂ©lkĂĽl, hogy elköteleznĂ©nk magunkat amellett, hogy a logika tökĂ©letesen fĂĽggetlen a nem-nyelvi tĂ©nyektĹ‘l; ez Ă©rvĂ©nytelenĂti a konvencionalizmus bizonyos standard bĂrálatait. Majd azon az alapon Ă©rvel a konvencionalizmus mellett, hogy csak ez ad magyarázatot a logika kĂ©t vonására, az a prioritásra Ă©s a választhatĂłságra. ElĹ‘ször adottnak veszi, hogy a logika mĂłdszere a reflektĂv egyensĂşly, s ennek alapján Ă©rvel a választhatĂłság mellett, vagyis amellett, hogy sem a valĂłság termĂ©szete, sem a logikai elmĂ©let kiválasztására szolgálĂł kritĂ©riumok sem tĂĽntetnek ki egyetlen meghatározott logikát. Másodszor a logika Quine által javasolt empirikus igazolását vizsgálja meg, s arra a konklĂşziĂłra jut, hogy Quine Ă©rvelĂ©se nem támasztja alá, sem azt, hogy a logika empirikus, sem azt, hogy egyetlen helyes logika van
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Papal involvement in the spread of Greek culture to the medieval Latin West
I aim to investigate the Papacy's role in spreading Greek culture to the Latin West from the 7th to the 13th centuries: from the reign of Pope Gregory the Great to Boniface VIII. Specifically, I'll be looking at the cultural policies of the medieval papacy and their effect on the formation of Greek textual canons in the West. Whether as commissioners or dedicatees, from Late Antiquity onward, popes figure in many translators' prologues. Translators' connections to the papal court varied widely: some were papal officials, some were diplomats also engaged as interpreters. Sometimes even popes themselves were active translators. Both long- and short-term collaborations occurred, both at the papal court as well as through epistolary exchanges. Patronizing and, at the same time, controlling the flow of Greek writings was of primary interest for the papacy. The pontifical court had strong opinions about what should be translated. But such selection criteria were not often in the center of scholarly attention. One possible reason for this can be that the strong emphasis on the scarce availability of Greek materials in the West and the small number of those mastering the language seem to imply certain randomness and lack of direction in the Latin translation movements (meaning that medieval people would just translate whatever they could lay their hands on). On the contrary, I argue that canons of translations were shaped not so much by the limitations of the resources, but by the cultural and political horizon of the institutions and individuals involved
A fogászat tudomány Ă©s a technikatörtĂ©netĂ©nek nemzetközi Ă©s hazai összahasonlĂtĂł kutatása = National and international comparative of history science and technology of dentistry
A kutatás fĹ‘ cĂ©lja volt, hogy a fogászat mint tevĂ©kenysĂ©g, szolgáltatás, tudomány törtĂ©netĂ©t vizsgálja az Ĺ‘sidĹ‘ktĹ‘l napjainkig. A kutatás nem csupán a fogászati szakma terĂĽletĂ©re korlátozĂłdott, hanem korszakonkĂ©nt integrálta azt az orvosi, a művĂ©szeti Ă©s filozĂłfiai eszmerendszerekbe, hiszen ezek szorosan összefĂĽggenek. Kutatásra Ă©s bemutatásra kerĂĽlt a foggyĂłgyĂtás minden korszakban szorosan kapcsolĂłdva a termĂ©szetrĹ‘l alkotott ismeretekhez, a mindennapi Ă©let kulturális szemlĂ©letĂ©hez, amely a művĂ©szetekben is kifejezĹ‘dik, a technika vĂvmányaihoz, a nĂ©pi hiedelmekhez, tĂ©vhitekhez Ă©s a mindennapi praktikumhoz. A fogorvoslás törtĂ©netĂ©rĹ‘l szĂ©p kiállĂtásĂş könyv tankönyvkĂ©nt is Ă©s kutatĂłk számára rendelkezĂ©sre áll. | The aim of the research was to investigate the history of science, practice and service from the beginning till today. The research doesn't limited only for the dental practice, it was integrated into the theories system of medicine, artistic, and philosophic periods. We had investigated and researched every period of the dental curing which connected with the knowledge of nature and the view of everyday culture which manifest itself in the arts, in technical news, in misbelieve too. The beautiful book of the history of dentistry is a good textbook for the students and for the researchers
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