Los dos significados de falsabilidad.

Sin resume

Grand narratives then and now: can we still conceptualise history?

Reading the Communist Manifesto today, it is impossible not to be struck by the confidence with which it conceptualises history. The positive energy of this bold grand narrative stands in such stark contrast to the negative and jaded mentality of our times, which conceives of grand narratives only to tell us that there can be none. Such talk as there is of history today is more likely to be of "the end of history". There are three senses in which references to the end of history feature in contemporary debates: apocalyptic prediction, postmodernist pronouncement and capitalist triumphalism. This paper addresses the crisis of historicity in our time in relation to these positions and asks what is it about our age that produces them. It explores the widespread rejection of grand narratives, as well as grand narratives, which nevertheless persist, implicit and explicit, right and left. It looks at the position of marxism in the 1990s, counterposing it to postmarxism and postmodernism in particular on the question of grand narratives. It calls for resistance to the detotalising pressures of the age and revival of a totalising (as opposed to totalised) philosophy of history

Principles of scientific method: Notes on Lectures by Dr K.R. Popper given at the University of Otago, 22–26 May 1945; Lecture 1. The hypothetico-deductive method

​​From John Stuart Mill onward, the problem has been approached by attempting to analyse: ‘How is it that physics is so successful?’, and applying the answers to backward sciences [sic], such as psychology and the social sciences, and to a lesser extent the biological sciences. Mill took over views from Bacon and others that the methods of science were fundamentally inductive (inductivism). Mill’s law of causality is a generalisation from multifarious observations (see note below). With the method of deduction one starts with original ideas of unclear origin, i.e. general hypotheses, and then tries to prove these hypotheses. The hypothesis is provisional. When estab-lished by some kind of proof, it becomes a theory. However, you never get beyond the stage of a hypothesis. The last word may be said on some scientific problem, but, if it is said, we cannot know it; hence, the whole distinction between theory and hypothesis breaks down, i.e. all theories are hypotheses and never more. But the reverse is not the case. All hypotheses are not theoretical. Hypotheses are of two kinds – (a) general or universal, as in science (these could be called theories), (b) special or individual, e.g. a medical diagnosis. To sum up: The aim of science is not certainty. It is a human effort and in consequence shares human imperfection

The Ithaca Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

I list several strong requirements for what I would consider a sensible interpretation of quantum mechanics and I discuss two simple theorems. One, as far as I know, is new; the other was only noted a few years ago. Both have important implications for such a sensible interpretation. My talk will not clear everything up; indeed, you may conclude that it has not cleared anything up. But I hope it will provide a different perspective from which to view some old and vexing puzzles (or, if you believe nothing needs to be cleared up, some ancient verities.)Comment: 21 pages, plain TEX. Notes for a lecture given at the Golden Jubilee Workshop on Foundations of Quantum Theory, Tata Institute, Bombay, September 9-12, 199

What makes you not a Sikh? : a preliminary mapping of values

This study sets out to establish which Sikh values contrasted with or were shared by non-Sikh adolescents. A survey of attitude toward a variety of Sikh values was fielded in a sample of 364 non-Sikh schoolchildren aged between 13 and 15 in London. Values where attitudes were least positive concerned Sikh duties/code of conduct, festivals, rituals, prayer Gurdwara attendance, listening to scripture recitation, the amrit initiation. Sikh values empathized with by non-Sikhs concerned family pride, charity, easy access to ordination and Gurdwaras, maintaining the five Ks, seeing God in all things, abstaining from meat and alcohol and belief in the stories of Guru Nanak. Further significant differences of attitude toward Sikhism were found in comparisons by sex, age and religious affiliation. Findings are applied to teaching Sikhism to pupils of no faith adherence. The study recommends the extension of values mapping to specifically Sikh populations

Los dos significados de falsabilidad.

Sin resume

Kaip aš įsivaizduoju filosofiją

K. R. Popperio veikalo „Kaip aš įsivaizduoju filosofiją“ ištraukų vertimas. Jose dėstoma šio filosofo filosofijos samprata. Jam filosofija nėra nesusipratimų išaiškinimas, neįprastų aprašymų galerija, abejojimas sistemomis, tai nėra sąvokų, žodžių, kalbų aiškinimas ar analizavimas, taip pat tai nėra priemonė protingumui demonstruoti ar protinė terapija, ar laiko dvasios išraiška. Profesionaliosios arba akademinės filosofijos paskirtis yra kritiškai ištirti ir patikrinti paplitusias ir įtakingas teorijas. Aptariamas K. R. Popperio santykis su loginių pozityvistų Vienos rateliu. Teigiama, kad filosofijos branduolį sudaro pažinimo teorijos problemos. Pagrindinė problema yra konfliktas tarp gnoseologinio optimizmo ir gnoseologinio pesimizmo. Autorius savo poziciją apibrėžia kaip materialistinę ir pliuralistinę. Kritikuojamas imaterializmas ir bihevioristinis materializmas: abi šios teorijos remiasi netvirta kasdienio proto pažinimo teorija. Filosofija negali būti atskirta nuo atskirų mokslų, pagrindinė jos problema yra Visatos pažinimo problema – tai yra kritinė mokslų, jų atradimų ir metodų analizė