Philosophy of Science Commons^™

Philosophy And Physics Meet In Quantum World, Liuxiang Hao

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

On the basis of discussion about the ontological status of quantum state in quantum mechanics, the properties of particle in the quantum theory of fields and the problem of time in the canonical quantum gravity, the author argues that the hard core of any physical theory consists of some metaphysical assumptions. The author points out that from the perspective of the history and philosophy of science, the relationship between philosophy and physics is in some way analogous of that between mathematics and physics, so the reunion of philosophy and physics will help us to clarify and even solve those fundamental …

Understanding Stability In Cognitive Neuroscience Through Hacking's Lens, Jacqueline A. Sullivan

Philosophy Publications

Ian Hacking instigated a revolution in 20th century philosophy of science by putting experiments (“interventions”) at the top of a philosophical agenda that historically had focused nearly exclusively on representations (“theories”). In this paper, I focus on a set of conceptual tools Hacking (1992) put forward to understand how laboratory sciences become stable and to explain what such stability meant for the prospects of unity of science and kind discovery in experimental science. I first use Hacking’s tools to understand sources of instability and disunity in rodent behavioral neuroscience. I then use them to understand recent grass-roots collaborative initiatives aimed …

Change And Continuity In Biology, Gunnar O'Neill Babcock

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation considers various examples of change and continuity in biology. In particular, it focuses on the conceptual possibilities during the fission of microorganisms and genes when they multiply or replicate. Among the kinds of conceptual revision that are outlined in the first two chapters, the three chapter argues that certain concepts such as death, reproduction and organism have limited applicability in certain domains of biology. The fourth chapter investigates whether synthetic genomes should be considered parts of genetic lineages. It concludes that synthetic genomes are parts of the lineages upon which they were modeled. The final chapter aims to …

Scientific Practice And Democratic Virtues, Gregory R. Peterson

School of American and Global Studies Faculty Publications with a Focus on History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religion

Chapter 21: Scientific Practice and Democratic Values

Democracy and science, it might be thought, go hand in hand. As we commonly think of it, science has its roots in the heritage of Greek thought, and the same is true of democracy. And while Athenian democracy developed at best a complicated relationship with its intellectual luminaries, Athens was nevertheless home to both Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum. Nearly two centuries later, the scientific revolution most quickly took root in those nations that had come to have some semblance of democratic rule. While the Republic of Florence had passed under Medici control …

The Effect Of Competency Modeling On Restaurant Employee Engagement And Turnover Intent, Erin Mclaughlin Vu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High turnover and low engagement among restaurant employees cost restaurant owners thousands of dollars per employee each year due to costs associated with training and lost productivity. Competency models are used in many industries to improve employee engagement and reduce turnover, but there is a gap in knowledge surrounding the use of competency models in restaurant organizations. The purpose of this pretest-posttest quasi-experimental quantitative study is to examine if the implementation of a competency model affects turnover intent and employee engagement for restaurant employees. Employee engagement and turnover intent were measured before and after a competency model was implemented. Four …

Thinking Reasonably About Indeterministic Choice Beliefs, Andrew Kissel

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Recent research suggests that, regardless of the truth of libertarianism about free will, there appears to be a widespread belief among nonphilosopher laypersons that the choices of free agents are not causally necessitated by prior states of affairs. In this paper, I propose a new class of debunking explanation for this belief which I call ‘reasons-based accounts’ (RBAs). I start the paper by briefly recounting the failures of extant approaches to debunking explanations, and then use this as a jumping off point to articulate several alternatives, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Modal Understanding Of Robustness Analysis, Grayson O'Reilly

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis Of Black Women And White Men Towards Interracial Marriage In America, Guerdy Sauvignon Markowski

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

More than a century has passed since the United States Supreme Court made laws forbidding interracial marriage unconstitutional. The 1967 landmark case Loving v. Virginia legalized and arguably, legitimized interracial marriages and is considered as one of the most significant legal decisions of the civil rights era. Interracial marriage in The United States continues to be controversial. The opposition to black and white interracial relationships is historically positioned in the American struggle with slavery, Jim Crow laws, and white supremacy. While interracial marriages are growing more common in In the United States, many people still do not approve of them …

Concerning Mostly Nonacademic Aspects Of My July 2006 Visit To Salzburg, Austria For The 6th International Whitehead Conference At Salzburg University, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Here are travel notes concerning mostly nonacademic aspects of my July 2006 visit to Salzburg, Austria for the 6th International Whitehead Conference at Salzburg University. These travel notes supplement the book Whiteheadian Ethics: Abstracts and Papers from the Ethics Section of the Philosophy Group at the 6th International Whitehead Conference at the University of Salzburg, July 2006 (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008) edited by Theodore Walker Jr. and Mihály Toth.

The Ehrenfests’ Use Of Toy Models To Explore Irreversibility In Statistical Mechanics, Joshua Luczak, Lena Zuchowski

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article highlights and discusses the Ehrenfests’ use of toy models to explore irreversibility in statistical mechanics. In particular, we explore their urn and P–Q models and highlight that, while the former was primarily used to provide a simple counter-example to Zermelo’s objection to Boltzmann’s statistical mechanical underpinning of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the latter was intended to highlight the role and importance of the Stoßzahlansatz as a cause of the tendency of systems to exhibit entropy increase. We also explain the sense in which these models are toy models and why agents can use them, as the Ehrenfests’ …

Is Diversity Possible In An Integrative Psychology? Transpersonal As A Whole Person / All Person Approach, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Advance Publication Archive

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents—Masthead

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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No Solace In Quantum: Indeterminacy And Collapse Of The Wave Function Do Not Explain Consciousness, Glenn Hartelius, Courtenay Richards Crouch

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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A Fractal Epistemology For Transpersonal Psychology, Terry Marks-Tarlow

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The role of science has been controversial within the nascent field of transpersonal psychology. Traditional linear and reductionist models are insufficient to address rare and unreproducible states of mind, fringe rather than normative experiences, and highly personal or culturally specific aspects of awareness. Through a fractal epistemology this paper introduces novel metaphors, models, and methods within a more holistic, organic, and synthetic branch of science. Principles of the epistemology illuminate observer dependence, fuzzy boundaries, recursive patterns, and higher dimensional phenomena that emerge within the infinite expanses between ordinary, finite (Euclidean) dimensions.

A Reflective Commentary On Fractal Epistemology, Deborah J. Armstrong

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Can Fractals Help Us Understand Transpersonal Experiences?, Elliot Benjamin

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Being In Uncertainties, Mysteries, Doubt, William J. Coburn

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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A Hearty Yes … And!, Katherine Peil Kauffman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Fractals Transcendent: Bridging The Transpersonal Chasm, William Sulis

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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Romantic Scientism And The Potential Of Fractals For Transpersonal Psychology, Harris L. Friedman

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

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