Tag: Carl Hempel
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An Analysis of Google’s Effect on Our Epistemology Part 2
The Challenge of Active Listening in the Age of “Fast Food Learning” The method offered by Gunn demands a great deal of work and is contrary to the assumed ease of what one may call ‘fast food learning’, which, although temporarily satisfying, leaves us unstained and wanting more ‘nutritious’ pieces of information that will assist…
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An Analysis of Google’s Effect on Our Epistemology Part 1
Has Google Made Us Worse Listeners? Passive vs Active Listening in the Age of Search Engines The Epistemological Question of Knowledge in the Digital Age The question of how the mind can appropriately accumulate knowledge is a topic that has been a subject of countless debates. Among the many nuances and complexities surrounding the nature…
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The Critique of Hempel’s Covering-Law Model in the Philosophy of Historical Sciences Part 2
Rational Explanation and the Role of Agency Hempel’s model also struggles to accommodate explanations that hinge on human agency and intentionality. While he dismisses the idea that historical understanding requires empathy—the ability to see events from the perspective of historical actors—he does acknowledge that rational explanations, which account for the reasons behind actions, are important…
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The Critique of Hempel’s Covering-Law Model in the Philosophy of Historical Sciences Part 1
IntroductionThe philosophy of history has long been rife with struggles concerning the nature of historical explanation, particularly regarding whether history should adhere to the explanatory models of the natural sciences or be confined to a realm of relative uncertainty. Logical positivism emerged in the early 20th century as a philosophical movement seeking to establish a…
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A History of Logic Part 3
Logic in the Early Medieval Period After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, there was difficulty in communication between Western and Eastern Europe. In the Latin tradition, an astute Christian statesman and philosopher, Boethius, played a pivotal role in preserving the Aristotelian logical system for the Latin-speaking Western realm. Boethius was the conduit by…
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A History of Logic Part 2
Aristotle’s Categories of Being In Aristotle’s book Categories in the Organon, Aristotle defines ten predicates of being, of which all one says of a thing can be classified as one of these ten categories. In Aristotle’s book Categories in the Organon, Aristotle defines ten predicates of being, of which all one says of a thing…
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A History of Logic Part 1
Introduction The history of logic is, in effect, the history of thought. This is not merely because the object of logic is that of consistent rules of cognition, but also because logic itself often parallels the development and the general course of both mathematics and philosophy. Logic can also be thought of as the basic…
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Philosphy For Kids : Big Questions For Little Minds
Philosophy is simply the practice of asking big questions. Children ask big questions all the time. When they wonder, “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why do we have to share?” they are already beginning to think like philosophers. Every thoughtful question is the start of a journey shaped by curiosity and wonder. One important…
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Introduction to Common Accidents, Properties, and Differentia
Introduction Now that we have covered the predicables related to what is generally entitled ‘secondary substances’ (ie. that which is said of something, but is not in a substrate), it is time to elucidate that which is both said of something, as well as is in something. Common Accident The most rudimentary of these terms…
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A Brief Detour in Logic- Some Clarifications
We shall take a brief detour in order to properly examine what it means to state something is in a subject, and to explain what it means to be predicated of a subject. First, we should explain what we mean by subject and predicate. The subject of a statement is what the subject is about.…