Probability theory is important not least because of its relevance for decision making, which also means: its relevance for the single case. The frequency theory of probability on its own is irrelevant in the single case. However, Howson and Urbach argue that Bayesianism can solve the frequentist's problem: frequentist-probability information is relevant to Bayesians. The present paper shows that Howson and Urbach's solution cannot work, and indeed that no Bayesian solution can work. There is no way to make frequentist probability (...) relevant. (shrink)

It is widely held that falsification of statistical hypotheses is impossible. This view is supported by an analysis of the most important theories of statistical testing: these theories are not compatible with falsificationism. On the other hand, falsificationism yields a basically viable solution to the problems of explanation, prediction and theory testing in a deterministic context. The present paper shows how to introduce the falsificationist solution into the realm of statistics. This is done mainly by applying the concept of empirical (...) content to statistical hypotheses. It is shown that empirical content is a substitute for ‘power’ as defined by Neyman and Pearson. Since the empirical content of a hypothesis is independent of alternative hypotheses, the proposed theory of statistical testing allows for tests of isolated hypotheses. (shrink)

Why is the average quality of research in open science so high? The answer seems obvious. Science is highly competitive, and publishing high quality research is the way to rise to the top. Thus, researchers face strong incentives to produce high quality work. However, this is only part of the answer. High quality in science, after all, is what researchers in the relevant field consider to be high quality. Why and how do competing researchers coordinate on common quality standards? I (...) argue that, on the methodological level, science is a dynamic beauty contest. (shrink)

Bayesianism is the predominant philosophy of science in North-America, the most important school of statistics world-wide, and the general version of the rational-choice approach in the social sciences. Although often rejected as a theory of actual behavior, it is still the benchmark case of perfect rationality. The paper reviews the development of Bayesianism in philosophy, statistics and decision making and questions its status as an account of perfect rationality. Bayesians, who otherwise are squarely in the empiricist camp, invoke a priori (...) reasoning when they recommend Bayesian methods - a recommendation that is not justified by their own standards. (shrink)

According to Fisher, a hypothesis specifying a density function for X is falsified (at the level of significance ) if the realization of X is in the size- region of lowest densities. However, non-linear transformations of X can map low-density into high-density regions. Apparently, then, falsifications can always be turned into corroborations (and vice versa) by looking at suitable transformations of X (Neyman's Paradox). The present paper shows that, contrary to the view taken in the literature, this provides no argument (...) against a theory of statistical falsification. (shrink)

This paper considers critical rationalism under an institutional perspective. It argues that a methodology must be incentive compatible in order to prevail in scientific competition. As shown by a formal game-theoretic model of scientific competition, incentive compatibility requires quality standards that are hereditary: using high-quality research as an input must increase a researcher’s chances to produce high-quality output. Critical rationalism is incentive compatible because of the way it deals with the Duhem-Quine problem. An example from experimental economics illustrates the relevance (...) of the arguments. (shrink)

In evolutionary models of indirect reciprocity, reputation mechanisms can stabilize cooperation even in severe cooperation problems like the prisoner’s dilemma. Under certain circumstances, conditionally cooperative strategies, which cooperate iff their partner has a good reputation, cannot be invaded by any other strategy that conditions behavior only on own and partner reputation. The first point of this paper is to show that an evolutionary version of backward induction can lead to a breakdown of this kind of indirectly reciprocal cooperation. Backward induction, (...) however, requires strategies that count and then cease to cooperate in the last, last but one, last but two, … game they play. These strategies are unlikely to exist in natural settings. We then present two new findings. (1) Surprisingly, the same kind of breakdown is also possible without counting. Strategies using rare golden opportunities for defection can invade conditional cooperators. This can create further golden opportunities, inviting the next wave of opportunists, and so on, until cooperation breaks down completely. (2) Cooperation can be stabilized against these opportunists, by letting an individual’s initial reputation be inherited from that individual’s parent. This ‘inclusive reputation’ mechanism can cope with any observably opportunistic strategy. Offspring of opportunists who successfully exploited a conditional cooperator cannot repeat their parents’ success because they inherit a bad reputation, which forewarns conditional cooperators in later generations. (shrink)

Poppers Logik der Forschung steht für eine erhebliche Problemverschiebung in der Wissenschaftstheorie, von der Logik der Forschung zur Verfassung der Wissenschaft. Popper sieht die Methodologie als eine Institution, als ein Regelsystem für die Akzeptanz oder Verwerfung von Theorien und Beobachtungsaussagen. Dieser immer noch wenig beachtete institutionelle Aspekt von Poppers kritischem Rationalismus ist zum einen für die Interpretation der methodologischen Regeln von Bedeutung. Zum anderen wirft er ein neues Problem auf: Kann sich eine solche Methodologie als Verfassung der Wissenschaft etablieren? Eine (...) institutionenökonomische Analyse des wissenschaftlichen Wettbewerbs zeigt, dass eine notwendige Bedingung dafür erfüllt ist: die Methodologie des kritischen Rationalismus ist anreizkompatibel, das heißt, es liegt im Interesse eines Forschers, diese Methodologie zu beachten, wenn er erwartet, dass die anderen Forscher ebenso verfahren. (shrink)

One rationale policy-makers sometimes give for declining to fund a service or intervention is on the grounds that it would be ‘unaffordable’, which is to say, that the total cost of providing the service or intervention for all eligible recipients would exceed the budget limit. But does the mere fact that a service or intervention is unaffordable present a reason not to fund it? Thus far, the philosophical literature has remained largely silent on this issue. However, in this article, we (...) consider this kind of thinking in depth. Albeit with certain important caveats, we argue that the use of affordability criteria in matters of public financing commits what Parfit might have called a ‘mistake in moral mathematics’. First, it fails to abide by what we term a principle of ‘non-perfectionism’ in moral action: the mere fact that it is practically impossible for you to do all the good that you have reason to do does not present a reason not to do whatever good you can do. And second, when used as a means of arbitrating between which services to fund, affordability criteria can lead to a kind of ‘numerical discrimination’. Various attendant issues around fairness and lotteries are also discussed. (shrink)

Newly updated study surveys concept of space from standpoint of historical development. Space in antiquity, Judeo-Christian ideas about space, Newton’s concept of absolute space, space from 18th century to present. Extensive new chapter (6) reviews changes in philosophy of space since publication of second edition (1969). Numerous original quotations and bibliographical references. "...admirably compact and swiftly paced style."—Philosophy of Science. Foreword by Albert Einstein. Bibliography.

An homage to the men and women of science, and an exposition of Einstein's place in scientific history In this fascinating collection of articles and speeches, Albert Einstein reflects not only on the scientific method at work in his own theoretical discoveries, but also eloquently expresses a great appreciation for his scientific contemporaries and forefathers, including Johannes Kepler, Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Max Planck, and Niels Bohr. While Einstein is renowned as one of the foremost innovators of modern (...) science, his discoveries uniquely his own, through his own words it becomes clear that he viewed himself as only the most recent in a long line of scientists driven to create new ways of understanding the world and to prove their scientific theories. Einstein's thoughtful examinations explain the "how" of scientific innovations both in his own theoretical work and in the scientific method established by those who came before him. This authorized Philosophical Library book features a new introduction by Neil Berger, PhD, and an illustrated biography of Albert Einstein, which includes rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "What place does the theoretical physicist's picture of the world occupy among all these possible pictures? It demands the highest possible standard of rigorous precision in the description of relations, such as only the use of mathematical language can give" -Albert Einstein, "Principles of Research" Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was born in Germany and became an American citizen in 1934. A world-famous theoretical physicist, he was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics and is renowned for his Theory of Relativity. In addition to his scientific work, Einstein was an influential humanist who spoke widely about politics, ethics, and social causes. After leaving Europe, Einstein taught at Princeton University. His theories were instrumental in shaping the atomic age. Neil Berger, an associate professor emeritus of mathematics, taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science department from 1968 until his retirement in 2001. He was the recipient of the first Monroe H. Martin Prize (1975), which is now awarded by the University of Maryland every five years for a singly authored outstanding applied mathematics research paper. He has published numerous papers and reviews in his fields of expertise, which include elasticity, tensor analysis, scattering theory, and fluid mechanics. (shrink)

The thread running through this collection of essays is the inviolate marriage between philosophy and psychology. This book explores the connections made between the two disciplines by famous thinkers such as Aristotle, Albert Camus, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Lawrence Kohlberg, John Robert Coles, and Viktor Frankl.

Concepts d'espace est un classique de la philosophie et de l'histoire des sciences. Enrichi d'une celebre preface d'Albert Einstein, l'ouvrage de Max Jammer couvre pres de vingt-cinq siecles d'elaboration du concept d'espace physique. L'auteur allie la methode historique a la methode philosophique dans l'analyse des differentes traditions scientifique et philosophique, et c'est la l'originalite de ce travail dont la coherence tient a l'unite d'une question sans cesse remise sur le metier: le probleme de l'espace dans la theorie physique. Depuis (...) sa premiere parution en 1954, l'ouvrage a ete considerablement augmente, d'abord en 1969 par l'allongement du cinquieme chapitre consacre au concept d'espace dans la science moderne, puis en 1993, par l'ajout d'un sixieme et dernier chapitre visant a apprecier les avancees theoriques nouvelles. L'edition francaise comporte une postface originale de Marc Lachieze-Rey qui prolonge et renouvelle l'analyse de Max Jammer par une presentation de certains developpements actuels en physique. (shrink)

Penseur et philosophe, Max Planck a dominé par sa personnalité toute la science moderne. Pour Albert Einstein, il a " doté le monde d'une grande idée créatrice " dont la découverte deviendrait " la base de toute la recherche en physique au XXe siècle ". C'est dans le domaine de la thermodynamique que fit irruption sa découverte révolutionnaire, en 1900, alors qu'il s'intéressait au rayonnement émis par les corps qu'on échauffe et aux propriétés de la matière avec laquelle ce (...) rayonnement interagit: contrairement à ce que supposait la physique classique, les échanges d'énergie entre le rayonnement et la matière ne peuvent se faire que par paquets discontinus, les quanta. Une hypothèse de quantification vis-à-vis de laquelle Planck lui-même exprima la plus extrême réticence mais qui signa l'acte de naissance de la physique quantique. Au terme de sa vie, à l'âge de quatre-vingt-sept ans, l'illustre savant revient une dernière fois sur son oeuvre et nous livre la démarche même de son esprit au travail. Un témoignage inestimable, suivi de quatre grandes conférences, qui furent aussi ses derniers écrits : " Les faux problèmes de la science ", " La signification et les limites de la science ", " Le concept de la causalité en physique " et, tel un testament spirituel, " Science et religion ". (shrink)

Dieses Buch ist bis heute eine der populärsten Darstellungen der Relativitätstheorie geblieben. In der vorliegenden Version haben J. Ehlers und M. Pössel vom Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut) in Golm/Potsdam den Bornschen Text kommentiert und einen den anschaulichen, aber präzisen Stil Borns wahrendes, umfangreiches Ergänzungskapitel hinzugefügt, das die stürmische Entwicklung der Relativiatätstheorie bis hin zu unseren Tagen nachzeichnet. Eingegangen wird auf Gravitationswellen und Schwarze Löcher, auf neuere Entwicklungen der Kosmologie, auf Ansätze zu einer Theorie der Quantengravitation und auf die zahlreichen (...) raffinierten Experimente, welche die Gültigkeit der Einsteinschen Theorie mit immer größerer Genauigkeit bestätigt haben. Damit bleibt dieses Buch nach wie vor einer der unmittelbarsten Zugänge zur Relativitätstheorie für alle die sich für eine über das rein populärwissenschaftliche hinausgehende Einführung interessieren. (shrink)

The “International Congress for the Philosophy of Science” was held in the week of August 23–28, 1954 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. The Institute enjoys a very high reputation as one of the foremost schools of its kind in the world. It was at this Institute that Albert Einstein taught at the beginning of his academic career. The Congress was arranged as the Second Congress of the “Union Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences” which has (...) its permanent seat in Paris, France. The first Congress of the U.I.P.S. was held in Paris in 1949. It was then that the “International Forum of Zurich” was asked to organize five years later the Congress of Zurich. (shrink)

Vodola, Max On a wet Melbourne evening on Saturday 16 September 1916, Archbishop Daniel Mannix, coadjutor to Dr Thomas Carr, attended the opening of the parish bazaar at St John's Parish, Clifton Hill. Mannix was on his way to another function when he made the unscheduled stop at Albert Hall on Queen's Parade.2 After opening the bazaar, Mannix spoke for a few minutes about an issue of great significance, the proposal by the Hughes Government for compulsory military service. Mannix (...) spoke about achieving an honourable peace without conscription, describing conscription as 'a hateful thing' and opining that 'the present war would not have achieved such disastrous proportions if conscription had not prevailed in Europe'. Mannix insisted that Australia had done her fair share and that conscription in Australia would cause more evil than it would avert.3 In speaking on conscription, Daniel had entered the lion's den. Mannix later reflected that the speech at Clifton Hill was his 'original sin'. (shrink)

Auf den Ersten Weltkrieg folgte in Mitteleuropa ein grundlegender politischer Umbruch. Albert Dikovich arbeitet die Folgen dieser demokratischen Zeitenwende für die deutschsprachige Philosophie umfassend auf. Dabei untersucht er zum einen, wie nach dem katastrophalen Gewaltereignis des Krieges und angesichts der akuten Eskalation im Inneren die Grenzen der moralisch legitimen Mittel politischer Konfliktaustragung neu gezogen wurden. Zum anderen beleuchtet er den Zusammenhang zwischen rechts- und erkenntnistheoretischen Annahmen und Positionierungen innerhalb eines Spannungsfeldes konkurrierender politischer Neuordnungsentwürfe. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die damals (...) geführten philosophischen Kämpfe um die Demokratie mit unserer Gegenwart mehr zu tun haben, als es der geschichtliche Abstand vermuten lässt. (shrink)

English summary: The investigations in this book are on the problem of the relationship between politics and the economy as objects of the political theory and the economic theory. Both theories are part of the Herrschaftswissen as defined by Max Scheler. They are based on a general theory of action. This theory as well as the political and the economic theory which is developed from the theory of action is understood as a system of categories which contains the laws of (...) the fields concerned. Central categories are the categories of power and domination. The political and economic theory are conceived of as the basis of rational action in politics and in the economy. German description: Welche Beziehungen bestehen zwischen Politik und Wirtschaft als Gegenstanden der politischen und der okonomischen Theorie? Hans Albert widmet sich in seinen Untersuchungen dieser Frage. Er bestimmt sowohl die Politik als auch die Wirtschaft als Teile des Herrschaftswissens im Sinne Max Schelers. Sie werden aus einer allgemeinen Theorie des menschlichen Handelns entwickelt, die anthropologisch begrundet wird. Diese wird ebenso wie die aus ihr hervorgehenden Theorien der Politik und der Wirtschaft in ein System von Kategorien gebracht, welche die Gesetzlichkeiten der betreffenden Bereiche enthalten. Zentrale Kategorien sind die der Macht und der Herrschaft. Die politische und die okonomische Theorie werden als Grundlage rationalen Handelns in beiden Bereichen aufgefasst. (shrink)

The author characterizes the model of rationality devised by critical rationalism in opposition to the classic model of rationality and as an alternative to this. He illustrates and criticizes the trichotomous theory of knowledge which, going back to Max Scheler, is received in a secularized version by Habermas and Apel, also under the influence of the hermeneutic tradition of Heidegger and Gadamer and of the so-called “critical theory” of Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno. The author criticizes historicism as it expects (...) to be an alternative to naturalism and not to make use of the method based on scientific laws. The author proposes as an example of technological social science the model developed in economics starting from Adam Smith. With regard to legal theories, natural law is rejected because of its sociomorphic cosmology. It is proposed that legal science as social technology has two parts. One part aims at efficient interpretations of valid law (for the space-time region concerned) and a second part aims at the construction of efficient norms for the modification of valid law by legislation. (shrink)

Social scientists usually presuppose that individual behaviour is meaningful and understandable. At the same time they aim at nomological explanations. This is criticized by some economists who recommend a hermeneutical turn to overcome the crisis in economic and sociological thinking. The author tries to show that it is counterproductive to turn to hermeneutics to solve social science problems, and that it is misleading to use Max Weber in support of this claim, because Weber's ideas are incompatible with hermeneutics a la (...) Heidegger. (shrink)

Max Albert has recently argued that the theory of power indices “should not ... be considered as part of political science” and that “[v]iewed as a scientific theory, it is a branch of probability theory and can safely be ignored by political scientists”. Albert’s argument rests on a particular claim concerning the theoretical status of power indices, namely that the theory of power indices is not a positive theory, i.e. not one that has falsifiable implications. I re-examine the (...) theoretical status of power indices and argue that it would be unwise for political scientists to ignore such indices. Although I agree with Albert that the theory of power indices is not a positive theory, I suggest that it is a theory of measurement that can usefully supplement other positive and normative socialscientific theories. (shrink)

Studie pojednává o analýze a navrhovaném řešení problému „hodnotové neutrality" vědy německým kritickým racionalistou Hansem Albertem. Především Albert odmítá dvě vyhrocené pozice: novopozitivistickou ignoraci hodnotících soudů i jejich existencialistickou adoraci. Naopak se prostřednictvím takzvaných přemosťovacích principů snaží překlenout propast mezi poznáním na jedné straně a rozhodnutím na straně druhé. V návaznosti na Maxe Webera uznává princip hodnotové neutrality ve vědě, ovšem pouze v oblasti jejího objektového jazyka, neboť věda jako technologický systém výpovědí má pouze informativní, nikoli normativní charakter. To (...) však nevylučuje hodnocení v rovině předmětů věd a v rovině hodnotové báze věd. Dále se tato studie věnuje otázce hodnoty vědy o sobě a nakonec krátkému seznámení s Albertovým pojetím kritického racionalismu jako návrhu „způsobu života". (shrink)