In Part I (Philosophy of Science, Vol. 41 No. 2, June, 1974) it was argued that in order to rebut Humean sceptical arguments, and thus show that it is possible for pure science to be rational, we need to reject standard empiricism and adopt in its stead aim oriented empiricism. Part II seeks to articulate in more detail a theory of rational scientific discovery within the general framework of a...

HE rheumatoid inflammatory process T is characterized by uncontrolled connective tissue cell proliferation, overproduction of specialized cell products, such as hyaluronic acid, colonization of affected tissues by various types of “inflammatory cells,” and alterations in the microvasculature. Once established, this complex process is “self-perpetuating” and leads to destruction of capsular stru...

Popper, not believing in the possibility of the existence of a truth criteria, proposes a falsiable one. Knowledge would not be formed through generalizations from the experiment, but through the elaboration of high empiric content conjectures that would be submitted to deductive logics (based on modus tolles) and experiment. Popper, under Humean influence, denies any role of induction in knowl...

The call to supplement the quantum wave function with local beables is almost as old as quantum mechanics. But what exactly is the problem with the wave function as the representation of a quantum system? I canvass three potential problems with the wave function: the well-known problems of incompleteness and dimensionality, and the lesser known problem of non-locality introduced recently by Myr...

The paper first argues that if one takes current fundamental physics seriously, one gets to a metaphysics of events and relations in contrast to substances and intrinsic properties. Against that background, the paper discusses Heil’s theory of properties being both categorical and dispositional and his rejection of levels of being. I contrast these views with a Humean metaphysics. My concluding...

In a quantum universe with strong arrow of time, we postulate low-entropy boundary condition (the past hypothesis, PH) to account for the temporal asymmetry. this article, I show that PH also contains enough information simplify ontology and define natural initial condition. First, introduce ‘density-matrix realism’, thesis state is objective impure. This stands in sharp contrast wave-function ...

Dispositions, Mellor once remarked, are as shameful in many eyes as pregnant spinsters used to be, ' ideally to be explained away, or entitled to a shotgun wedding to take the name of some decently real categorical property' [18]. This 'Victorian prejudice' against dispositions still exists. On reflection, this fact is perhaps not really surprising. Dispositions have dallied in most corners of ...

Although David Hume’s place within the history of economic thought remains undisputable, his importance regarding the birth of what was to become the theory of choice has seldom been emphasized. Concerning recent decades, J.A. Schumpeter bears some responsibility in this situation: “[Hume’s] economics”, he said, “has nothing whatever to do with either his psychology or his philosophy” (Schumpet...

What does it mean to say that an agent has a reason do certain action? Does she would desire the action, or there is some external consideration, which she ought to follow? Or third alternative? The debate between Humean affective (i.e., desire-based) and classical Kantian cognitive theories seemingly ended up in theoretical standoff, and so most of contributors have recently focused on con...

Rationalists including Nagel and Korsgaard argue that motivation to the means to our desired ends cannot be explained by appeal to the desire for the end. They claim that a satisfactory explanation of this motivational connection must appeal to a faculty of practical reason motivated in response to desireindependent norms of reason. This paper builds on ideas in the work of Hume and Donald Davi...