Kuhn on reference and essence
Philosophia Scientiae 8:39-71 (2004)
| Abstract | Kuhn's incommensurability thesis seems to challenge scientific realism. One response to that challenge is to focus on the continuity of reference. The casual theory of reference in particular seems to offer the possibility of continuity of reference that woud provide a basis for the sort of comparability between theories that the realist requires. In "Dubbing and Redubbing: the vulnerability of rigid designation" Kuhn attacks the causal theory and the essentialism to which is is related. Kuhn's view is defended by Rupert Read and Wes Sharrock. In this paper I examine the arguments presented by Kaul, Read and Sharrock and show that they provide no reason to doubt either the causal theory or essentialism. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,705 |
| External links | This entry has no external links. Add one. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesArdnés Rivadulla (2004). The Newtonian Limit of Relativity Theory and the Rationality of Theory Change. Synthese 141 (3):417 - 429.
Alexander Bird (2003). Kuhn, Nominalism, and Empiricism. Philosophy of Science 70 (4):690-719.
Howard Sankey (1998). Taxonomic Incommensurability. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 12 (1):7 – 16.
Lefteris Farmakis (2008). Did Tom Kuhn Actually Meet Tom Bayes? Erkenntnis 68 (1):41 - 53.
Michael P. Wolf (2007). Reference and Incommensurability: What Rigid Designation Won't Get You. Acta Analytica 22 (3):207-222.
Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen (2010). Kuhn on Essentialism and the Causal Theory of Reference. Philosophy of Science 77 (4):544-564.
Howard Sankey (1997). Incommensurability: The Current State of Play. Theoria 12 (3):425-445.
Howard Sankey (1997). Incommensurability: The Current State of Play. Theoria 12 (3):425-45.
Rupert Read & Wes Sharrock (2002). Thomas Kuhn's Misunderstood Relation to Kripke-Putnam Essentialism. Journal for General Philosophy of Science 33 (1):151-8.
Analytics
Monthly downloads
Sorry, there are not enough data points to plot this chart.
|
Added to index2009-04-26Total downloads0Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
