Does causal descriptivism solve the problem of reference of theoretical terms?

Ideas Y Valores 66 (163):125-151 (2017)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

RESUMEN Las teorías de la referencia puramente descriptivistas o causales fracasan a la hora de dar cuenta del modo en que se fija y puede rastrearse la referencia de los términos teóricos. Psillos propuso dos versiones del descriptivismo causal que recogen argumentos presentes en defensas previas de dicha posición. Se trata de una teoría mixta que pretende solucionar el problema y acomodarse a intuiciones presentes en enfoques alternativos, como el que apela a oraciones de Ramsey. El artículo se propone mostrar la insuficiencia del descriptivismo causal como solución al problema de la referencia de los términos teóricos. ABSTRACT Purely descriptivist or purely causal reference theories fail to account for the manner in which the reference of theoretical terms is fixed and can be traced. S. Psillos proposed two versions of causal descriptivism that take up arguments set forth in previous defenses of said position. His is a mixed theory that attempts to solve the problem by adopting insights from alternative approaches, such as those that resort to Ramsey sentences. The objective of the article is to show the insufficiency of causal descriptivism as a solution to the problem of reference of theoretical terms.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 93,779

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Theoretical Terms and Hybrid Theories of Reference.Dalila Serebrinsky & Bruno Borge - 2021 - Revista de Humanidades de Valparaíso 17:169-191.
Cambios de referencia en la astronomía antigua.Inés Lagos - 2020 - Scientia in Verba Magazine 6 (1):9-16.
¿Es la referencia deI término “agua” immutable?Luis Fernandez Moreno - 1997 - Theoria: Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia 12 (3):493-509.
Justificación, causalidad y acción intencional.Carlos J. Moya - 1998 - Theoria: Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia 13 (2):349-365.
Locke y Putnam sobre la referencia (Locke and Putnam on Reference).Luis Fernández Moreno - 2010 - Theoria: Revista de Teoría, Historia y Fundamentos de la Ciencia 25 (1):21-36.

Analytics

Added to PP
2017-08-24

Downloads
42 (#368,366)

6 months
5 (#836,975)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

The meaning of 'meaning'.Hilary Putnam - 1975 - Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science 7:131-193.
The Foundations of Mathematics and Other Logical Essays.Frank Plumpton Ramsey - 1925 - London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Edited by R. B. Braithwaite.
Truth and probability.Frank Ramsey - 2010 - In Antony Eagle (ed.), Philosophy of Probability: Contemporary Readings. New York: Routledge. pp. 52-94.
Realism and reason.Hilary Putnam (ed.) - 1983 - New York: Cambridge University Press.
Testability and Meaning.Rudolf Carnap - 2011 - Literary Licensing, LLC.

View all 35 references / Add more references