Localism vs. Individualism for the Scientific Realism Debate

Localism is the view that the unit of evaluation in the scientific realism debate is a single scientific discipline, sub-discipline, or claim, whereas individualism is the view that the unit of evaluation is a single scientific theory. Localism is compatible, while individualism is not, with a local pessimistic induction and a local selective induction. Asay (2016) presents several arguments to support localism and undercut globalism, according to which the unit of evaluation is the set of all scientific disciplines. I argue that some of his arguments clash with localism as well as with globalism and support individualism, and that individualism goes hand in hand, while localism does not, with the basic rule of how to evaluate an argument

Afterthoughts. Reply to Comments

I attempt to respond to the many questions and objections raised by the commentaries. The responses are grouped by themes, rather than focusing on the essays in sequence. So there are sections on worries about my analytical history, concerns about my meta-ethical perspective, doubts about my normative stance—and complaints about my perpetration of a ‘naturalistic fallacy’

Toward a pragmatist philosophy of science

Este ensayo en tres partes comienza con un diagnóstico de la trayectoria de la filosofía general de la ciencia, tal como se cultiva en la tradición que se origina con la reforma hempeliana del positivismo lógico. Desde 1950, la filosofía anglófona de la ciencia ha buscado enfoques generales sobre teorías, confirmación y explicación. Ha reunído, en cambio, algunas herramientas valiosas para explorar problemas en las ciencias narurales y sociales, aplicándolas en un buen número de estudios útiles. La segunda parte del ensayo se ocupa de la cuestión de si hay algún proyecto continuador del tipo de investigación general inspirada por Hempel. Sostengo que se han ignorado algunas cuestiones metodológicas difíciles sobre la investigación colectiva. Los intenros para responder a estas cuestiones debieran ampliar nuestros recursos para comprender filósoficamente el conocimiento científico. La tercera parte se ocupa de la la situación de las ciencias en la sociedad. ¿Puede la investigación cientifica divorciarse de los intereses del público general? ¿Pueden sus conclusiones ignorar el tipo de evidencia que aceptan los no científicos? Defiendo un desarrollo del ideal de una ciencia bien ordenada y una concepción de la ciencia (¡en singular!) como una institución entre otras.Este enfoque recuperar temas importantes de la olvidada tradición pragmatista

The Importance of Social Epistemology

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Biomedical Research, Neglected Diseases, and Well-Ordered Science

In this paper we make a proposal for reforming biomedical research that is aimed to align re-search more closely with the so-called fair-share principle according to which the proportions of global resources as-signed to different diseases should agree with the ratios of human suffering associated with those diseases

Losing Your Way in the Fog: Reflections on "Evil Online"

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Causation, complexity, and the concert: the pragmatics of causal explanation in international relations

A causal explanation provides information about the causal history of whatever is being explained. However, most causal histories extend back almost infinitely and can be described in almost infinite detail. Causal explanations therefore involve choices about which elements of causal histories to pick out. These choices are pragmatic: they reflect our explanatory interests. When adjudicating between competing causal explanations, we must therefore consider not only questions of epistemic adequacy (whether we have good grounds for identifying certain factors as causes) but also questions of pragmatic adequacy (whether the aspects of the causal history picked out are salient to our explanatory interests). Recognizing that causal explanations differ pragmatically as well as epistemically is crucial for identifying what is at stake in competing explanations of the relative peacefulness of the nineteenth-century Concert system. It is also crucial for understanding how explanations of past events can inform policy prescription