How to approach the truth

docent(en)

Prof. dr. T.A.F. Kuipers en Drs. J.W. Romeyn

vakcode

FI024TK

periode

3^e kwartaal

studielast

5 EC

toelichting

Ilkka Niiniluoto and Theo Kuipers have been working for many years on two prima facie rather different, if not opposing, research programs, notably Carnap's confirmation theory and Popper's truth approximation theory. However, they have always felt that they were compatible, even smoothly synthesizable, for all empirical scientists use confirmation intuitions, and many of them have truth approximation ideas.

In his Critical Scientific Realism, Niiniluoto sets out his version of scientific realism (based on his Truthlikeness of 1987) in critical comparison with other versions and defends it against non-realist approaches. In From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism Kuipers develops a different but related theory of confirmation&induction, empirical progress and truth approximation. Major differences between these approaches are N's quantitative versus K's qualitative approach of empirical progress and truth approximation, N's (non-exclusive) emphasis on approaching the actual truth versus K's emphasis on nomic-truth approximation, and, last but not least, N's realist explication of the notion of empirical progress versus K's instrumentalist explication.

A common feature is their 'Carnap-Hintikka approach' of confirmation and induction, which is a special kind of the Bayesian approach. This latter approach provides a general framework for capturing probabilistic inferences. It can serve as an empiricist underpinning for the realist theories of both Kuipers and Niiniluoto. The use of the framework further suggests some interesting parallels between truth approximation and Bayesian results on the merger of opinion.

The course will consist of three parts: a general introduction by Kuipers (February 12, 19 and 26), an introduction to the Bayesian framework and its epistemological uses by Romeyn (March 4, 11,and 18), and finally paper presentations (March 25, April 1, 8 and 15) by the participants based on one or two chapters from Niiniluoto's book, Kuipers' synopsis of his book, and a related paper of Kuipers (see below) or a paper from the reader on Bayesian reasoning (see below).

verpl lit

- Ilkka Niiniluoto, CriticalScientific Realism,Oxford UP, 1999, 0-19-823833-9, PB, Ca. € 28,-.

- Theo A.F. Kuipers, synopsis of: From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism, Ca. € 5,-.

- Reader Bayesian Reasoning, Ca. € 8,-.

- A choice of one item out of the following collection of recent papers and manuscripts of Theo Kuipers, where the choice has to be made only after the start of the course:

- Pragmatic aspects of truth approximation

- Abduction aiming at empirical progress or even truth approximation

- Progress in nomological, explicative and design research

- Beauty, a road to the truth?

- Inductive aspects of confirmation, information, and content

- Inference to the best theory rather than inference to the best explanation: kinds of abduction and induction

- Empirical and conceptual idealization and concretization: the case of truth approximation

aanbev lit

-Theo Kuipers, From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism, On some relations between confirmation, empirical progress, and truth approximation, Synthese Library 287, Kluwer AP, Dordrecht, 2000, 0-7923-6086-9, € 140,-(€ 56.- in case of a collective order of minimal 6 copies).

- Ilkka Niiniluoto, Truthlikeness, Synthese Library 185, Reidel, Dordrecht, 1987, ISBN 90-277-2354-0 (printing on Demand), € 243,-

- John Earman, Bayes or Bust?, MIT press, Cambridge, Mass., 1992, 0-262-05046-3, about € 40,-.

vorm

lectures and workshop

toets

paper (to be presented and written) + homework examination

frequentie

jaarlijks

opm

This course can also be followed by PhD-students and third-year philosophy students.