The topic of the ideal, that is, the topic of the possible or impossible human attainment of the absolute is ascribed divergent treatments throughout Kant’s work. Namely, it is either promptly accepted as possible by the critical Kant, and seen as something attainable by a means other than an infinite approximation (which would indeed imply a violation of autonomy, but denies the genuineness of the ideal), or it is rejected as impossible by the non-critical Kant, that is, it is seen (...) as something attainable only through an infinite approximation (which would involve an unconditional acceptance of heteronomy, but safeguards the authenticity of an aspiration to the ideal). Yet, the topic of the ideal receives a new, if not conciliatory, at least mutually explanatory approach in Kant’s Anthropology. Here – such is our proposition – Kant proposes a terminus medius between both conceptions of ideal, insofar as he is led to ponder on the mutual benefits of an autonomic possibility and an heteronomic impossibility of an infinite progression in thought; something which Kant proposes under the form of an almost-infinite, or an almost perennial, yet finite duration, to be endured until the attainment of an almost unreachable, yet indeed reachable practical ideal. A terminus medius which, we hope to prove, is none other than that at the root of Kant’s proposition of Pragmatic Anthropology as a mediating science in Kant’s fundamental scheme of human knowledges, and which therefore may be ultimately seen as the embodiment of Kant’s anthropo-cosmological, or indeed cosmopolitical dimension of thought, as expressed in Kant’s political and/or historical writings. (shrink)

The author offers his own vision of the unification of four fundamental interactions through a philosophical analysis of the categories of time and space. Time and space are coexisting self-sufficient phenomena. Time connects three global spaces (inert, living and intelligent substances) into a single hierarchy of the universe. The unification of space and time took place at the first stage of the modern world structure, during the formation of the first global space-time. The cosmological singularity was determined by two (...) main parameters: substance (state of matter) and the energy embedded in it. The author comes to the conclusion that strong, weak and electromagnetic interactions are forces that determine different spaces (geometric constructions). All geometric constructions of fundamental particles are determined by 3 forces (energies). Gravitational force is time, "time-energy", relative to which and "in which" geometric constructions take place. (shrink)

In the article, the author examines five main, in his opinion, theories of human origins and finally proposes his own, which consists in the formation of the so-called "associative capacity", which is part of the overall development of the psyche, including the conscious and unconscious.

The concept of the universe is used in physical cosmology differently from the usual meaning of the term, naively considered as the entire reality. Traditionally, thinking about the whole led to logical contradictions. Taking as reference the Kantian antecedent, different contemporary philosophical notions of the universe are analysed in the first part of this paper, including realist and constructivist approaches, as well as a notion of the universe as a physical object. In the second part, the specific notion from the (...) standard physical cosmology is discussed. Although modelling the universe as a physical system provides a specific way to define some global properties, the universe as a whole remains empirically inaccessible. Hence, the discussion about the under-determined global properties depends ultimately on philosophical preferences. Under these circumstances, it is argued that the realist interpretation of such properties becomes problematic because it leads to unstable conclusions. Finally, it is argued that the notion of the universe as conceived in standard cosmology is not necessarily consistent with an approach that considers it to be a physical object. (shrink)

This book presents the history of how the universe at large became the object of scientific understanding. Starting with the ancient creation myths, it offers an integrated and comprehensive account of cosmology that covers all major events from Aristotle's Earth-centred cosmos to the recent discovery of the accelearting universe.

The aim of this paper is not only to deal with the concept of infinity, but also to develop some considerations about the epistemological status of cosmology. These problems are connected because from an epistemological point of view, cosmology, meant as the study of the universe as a whole, is not merely a physical (or empirical) science. On the contrary it has an unavoidable metaphysical character which can be found in questions like “why is there this universe (or a universe (...) at all)?”. As a consequence, questions concerning the infinity of the universe in space and time can correctly arise only taking into account this metaphysical character of cosmology. Accordingly, in the following paper it will be shown that two different concepts of physical infinity of the universe (the relativistic one and the inflationary one) rely on two different ways of solution of a metaphysical problem. The difference between these concepts cannot be analysed using the classical distinctions between actual/potential infinity or numerable/continuum infinity, but the introduction of a new “modal” distinction will be necessary. Finally, it will be illustrated the role of a philosophical concept of infinity of the universe. (shrink)

This article presents the results of a study of both Western and Far Eastern narratives of philosophical cosmology. The task of the study was to analyse the essential characteristics of philosophical cosmology in both Western and Far Eastern paradigms. This was made possible by clarifying the distinction between astronomy and cosmology, on the one hand, and philosophy and philosophical cosmology, on the other. The Greek word “??sµ??” is both etymologically and semantically different from the concept of “space.” If space has (...) only one characteristic, it is an extension, and then the cosmos, being a phenomenon that is not static but dynamic, has internal forces and a movement towards selforganisation and harmonisation. A person does not live in space, but in the world; such is the point of view of philosophical cosmology, which means that different cultures may have their own cosmology, which will need to be different. It is in this difference of philosophical cosmologies that the richness of philosophy is seen; by studying other cosmological worldviews, one can better understand one’s own. Scholars, including Weimin Sun, Robert Cummings Neville, and others, agree on the need to intensify interest in Chinese cosmology and its basic concepts. One such concept is Zhonghua. Modern Chinese philosophy is a combination of Marxist philosophy, traditional Chinese philosophy, and Western philosophy. One of the tasks of a modern researcher in China is to find possible points of contact, and common features in order to demonstrate the possible well-functioning cooperation of these currents. In addition, common features are found primarily in cosmology. (shrink)

The paper is inspired by the arguments raised recently by Grunbaum criticizing the current approaches of many cosmologists to the problem of spacetime singularity, matter creation and the origin of the universe. While agreeing with him that the currently favored cosmological ideas do not indicate the biblical notion of divine creation ex nihilo, I present my viewpoint on the same issues, which differs considerably from Grunbaum's. First I show that the symmetry principle which leads to the conservation law of (...) energy is violated when the time axis is terminated at t = 0. Next I discuss why this epoch (t = 0) is more a mathematical artifact whose supposed significance may disappear when one goes beyond the classical relativistic cosmology. This is illustrated by the example of quantum cosmology. (shrink)

Since ancient times epidemics have been a central topic in Chinese medical thought. The explanations for their emergence, spread and transmission, however, have ranged widely. Whereas much of the populace believed in transmission by demons, elitist medical theory, since at least the second century, has emphasized cosmological and meteorological factors. This paper introduces the different approaches to epidemics in general, examining the etymological, historical and medical literature of early Imperial times. It then traces two lines of tradition in Chinese (...) medical thought: one supporting contagionism, the other opposing it.1 The controversy that began as early as the fourth century, peaked in the twelfth century and ended only with the modern era, reveals a widening gap in the elitist medical theory — the dichotomy of empirical knowledge and theoretical framework. (shrink)

This is the outline: 6. L'absence du concept de l'individualité 7. L'existence illimitée (boundless) Métaphore et analogie 8. L'évolution et l'existence comme durée individuelle dans le temps cosmique 9. L'option de la nécessité naturelle 10. L'inconnaissabilité ultime.

This is the outline: 1. Introduction 2. La compréhension théorique – 2.1 Le dynamisme conceptuel et l'a priori 2.2 L'horizon conceptuel – 3. Compréhension et singularité 4. La production de signifiance 5. La présence du mystère 6. Le problème de la substantialité : l'un et le multiple – 6.1 La notion d'un ordre implicite.

Time arises in the theory of gravity through the semiclassical approximation of the gravitational part of the solution of the Wheeler-De Witt equation in the manner shown by Banks (SCAG). We generalize Banks' procedure by grafting a Born-Oppenheimer type approximation onto SCAG. This allows for the feedback of matter onto gravity, wherein the latter is driven by the (quantum) mean energy-momentum tensor of matter. The wave function is nonvanishing in classically forbidden configurations of gravity. In SCAG this is described by (...) the evolution of matter in imaginary time. This is interpreted as an inverse temperature, and the norm of the matter wave function, no longer conserved for these gravitational configurations, is a partition function. A simple cosmological model is worked out to illustrate these ideas. In this model it is shown that the temperature of the matter which emerges into the classically permitted region is the inverse bounce time of the bounce executed by the system in the forbidden region (behind the horizon).Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future. And time future contained in time past. If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable.—T. S. Eliot, “Burnt Norton,”Four Quartets, 1943. (shrink)

Conceptins of nature and methods used for its study by the Ikwan al-Safa; al-Biruni, and Ibn Sina. Bibliography: p. 287.308. Includes index.

In Vodou Cosmology and the Haitian Revolution in the Enlightenment Ideals of Kant and Hegel, Vivaldi Jean-Marie begins with an interpretation of the rise of Vodou practices in Saint-Domingue which is sensitive to the social, spiritual and cultural challenges of the slaves communities in Saint-Domingue, later Haiti. He shows effectively that Vodou cosmology emerged as a spiritual, social and cultural technology for the enslaved to overcome the dissonance and brutality of slavery in Saint-Domingue. Vodou Cosmology thus assumes the tripartite role (...) of spiritual, social and cultural compass for slaves who, concurrently with the development of Vodou, managed to establish a common ethos. Furthermore, to situate the rise of Vodou cosmology within the larger discourse of the Enlightenment and argue that it heralded a radical Enlightenment in the African diaspora, Jean-Marie compares and contrasts some aspects of the philosophies of Kant and Hegel with the social, spiritual and cultural experience of the enslaved communities of Saint-Domingue. This comparison shows that Kant and Hegel's depiction of African Negroes' mores and their religious practices in the colonies fails to capture that Vodou cosmology was both a mechanism of resistance and the medium to restore their social, spiritual, and cultural identity against the backdrop of the Atlantic slave trade. Also, he elaborates the Enlightenment's conception of African Negroes as commercial currency and specifically Hegel's view of slavery in the colonies as the manifestation of divine providence. He concludes that the significance of the Haitian Revolution lies in the fact that it ascribed freedom to people of African descent in the diaspora and is thus implicit in later themes of black freedom. The Haitian Revolution ties blackness with freedom and mapped out a radical enlightenment in the European colonies. (shrink)

This volume of essays, written in English and German, focuses primarily on Kant's concept of transcendental freedom. The first Critique famously introduces this concept of freedom in the third antinomy, where Kant examines the apparent tension between the world's need for an uncaused cause and the world's thorough causal determination. Thus, Kant's concept of transcendental freedom is, as this volume emphasizes, a cosmological conception of freedom. Although the volume claims to consider Kant's conception of cosmological freedom (...) from both historical and systematic perspectives, the bulk of the essays focus more heavily on historical matters. Most of the essays in the volume compare and contrast Kant's conception of... (shrink)

Some terms identify enigmata of today’s cosmology: “Inflation” is expected to explain the homogeneity and isotropy of the cosmic background. The repulsive force of a “dark energy” shall prevent a re-collapse of the cosmos. The additional gravitational effect of a “dark matter” was originally supposed to explain the deviations of the rotation curves of the galaxies from Kepler’s laws. Adopting a theory founded on the core notion of absolute quantum information–Protyposis–being a cosmological concept from the outset, the observed phenomena (...) can be explained without postulating further unknown specific “particles” or “fields”. Moreover, this theory allows for a rationalization of the fact that huge black holes with their enormous jet structures, acting as “seeds” of the galaxies, are detected ever closer to the big bang. The problem of the rotation curves in the galaxies can be addressed outside of General Relativity within a Newtonian approximation: by an attenuation of the gravitational acceleration as in the modified Newtonian dynamics, or by the effect of additional invisible “particles of dark matter”, yet unknown and not yet established in natural sciences. Within the Protyposis theory, these problems are solved without having to invent a lot of parameters. The cosmology of the Protyposis causes the change of the gravitational acceleration in the vicinity of large masses and, at the same time, avoids a recollapse of the cosmos for which a cosmological constant or “dark energy” was invented. (shrink)

_Metaphysics of Freedom? Kant’s Concept of Cosmological Freedom in Historical and Systematic Perspective_ scrutinizes the mostly neglected cosmological foundation of Kant’s concept of freedom.

Ever since Copernicus, scientists have continually adjusted their view of human nature, moving it further and further from its ancient position at the center of Creation. But in recent years, a startling new concept has evolved that places it more firmly than ever in a special position. Known as the Anthropic Cosmological Principle, this collection of ideas holds that the existence of intelligent observers determines the fundamental structure of the Universe. In its most radical version, the Anthropic Principle asserts (...) that "intelligent information-processing must come into existence in the Universe, and once it comes into existence, it will never die out." This wide-ranging and detailed book explores the many ramifications of the Anthropic Cosmological Principle, covering the whole spectrum of human inquiry from Aristotle to Z bosons. Bringing a unique combination of skills and knowledge to the subject, John D. Barrow and Frank J. Tipler--two of the world's leading cosmologists--cover the definition and nature of life, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the interpretation of the quantum theory in relation to the existence of observers. The book will be of vital interest to philosophers, theologians, mathematicians, scientists, and historians, as well as to anyone concerned with the connection between the vastness of the universe of stars and galaxies and the existence of life within it on a small planet out in the suburbs of the Milky Way. (shrink)

This paper re-examines the idea of political vanguardism—long consigned to the dustbin of defunct scientific socialist ideology—to shed light on the theory of democratic representation. The discussion connects the use of the term “vanguard” by two prominent early socialist thinkers to what it terms the “cosmological” dimension of their writings. It shows how each author figured vanguard agency as fomenting different visions of the intellectual progress required for representative government, and that these visions were sustained by analogies to the (...) origin and development of astronomical objects. The “utopian” socialist Henri Saint-Simon (1770–1825) first invoked the vanguard metaphor to describe a way of thinking about scientific progress that would naturalize a new governing elite. The revolutionary communist Auguste Blanqui (1805–1881) then appropriated the vanguard idea to reimagine scientific authority in a way that would preserve and expand citizens’ capacities to hold their representatives accountable. The article pursues three goals. First, it provides a revisionist history of well-known scientistic attempts to stabilize mass democracy in the nineteenth century, revealing how claims to scientific authority were contested from within a socialist republican tradition usually seen as complicit in such agency-inhibiting ideologies. Second, the concept of vanguardism it reconstructs from this history, as a response to the “usurpation” of a vigilant attitude between citizens and office holders, offers new resources for theorizing democratic representation. Finally, it draws attention to the importance of cosmological rhetoric in the history of modern republican and socialist political thought. (shrink)

The claim of inflationary cosmology to explain certain observable facts, which the Friedmann-Roberston-Walker models of `Big-Bang' cosmology were forced to assume, has already been the subject of significant philosophical analysis. However, the principal empirical claim of inflationary cosmology, that it can predict the scale-invariant power spectrum of density perturbations, as detected in measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation, has hitherto been taken at face value by philosophers. The purpose of this paper is to expound the theory of density perturbations (...) used by inflationary cosmology, to assess whether inflation really does predict a scale-invariant spectrum, and to identify the assumptions necessary for such a derivation. The first section of the paper explains what a scale invariant power-spectrum is, and the requirements placed on a cosmological theory of such density perturbations. The second section explains and analyses the concept of the Hubble horizon, and its behaviour within an inflationary space-time. The third section expounds the inflationary derivation of scale-invariance, and scrutinises the assumptions within that derivation. The fourth section analyses the explanatory role of `horizon-crossing' within the inflationary scenario. (shrink)

In recent years, observational techniques at cosmological distances have been sufficiently improved that cosmology has become an empirical science, rather than a field for unchecked speculation. There remains the fact that its object, the whole universe, exists only once; hence, we are unable to separate “general” features from particular aspects of “our” universe. This might not be a serious drawback if we were justified in the belief that presently accepted laws of nature remain valid on the cosmological scale. (...) In the author's opinion, however, there are grounds for doubting that belief. The three arguments presented are (1) the possibility that apparent constants of nature may, during cosmological times, turn out to vary (Dirac conjecture); (2) the effective breakdown of the principle of relativity caused by the effects of the cosmological environment on local experiments; and (3) the fact that present theory leads to field singularities at the early stages of the expanding universe, which might be a signal that currently accepted theoretical concepts are inadequate for an understanding of highly condensed matter. (shrink)

We discuss a number of fundamental aspects of modern cosmological concepts, from the phenomenological, observational, theoretical and epistemic points of view. We argue that the modern cosmology, despite a great advent, in particular in the observational sector, is yet to solve important problems, posed already by the classical times. In particular the stress is put on discerning the scientific features of modern cosmological paradigms from the more speculative ones, with the latter immersed in some aspects deeply into mythological (...) world picture. We finally discuss the principal paradigms, which are present in the modern cosmological studies and evaluate their epistemic merits. (shrink)

Recent advances in string theory and inflationary cosmology have led to a surge of interest in the possible existence of an ensemble of cosmic regions, or “universes”, among the members of which key physical parameters, such as the masses of elementary particles and the coupling constants, might assume different values. The observed values in our cosmic region are then attributed to an observer selection effect (the so-called anthropic principle). The assemblage of universes has been dubbed “the multiverse”. In this paper (...) we review the multiverse concept and the criticisms that have been advanced against it on both scientific and philosophical grounds. (shrink)

Let me begin by giving preliminary definition to the two kinds of contingency named in my title, although I shall argue that the distinction between them gets too complicated to sustain in the long run. Cosmological contingency is the contingency of things within the world upon other things within the world, plus perhaps their own spontaneous creativity. Ontological contingency is the contingency of everything in the world that is determinate in any way upon an ontological ground. That ontological ground (...) cannot itself be determinate, and you can recollect Plotinus's One, Thomas Aquinas's Pure Act of To Be, Brahman without qualities, or the Ultimate of Non-Being in Zhou Dunyi's philosophy for sample conceptions of... (shrink)

Cosmology is defined as the science of the large-scale structure of the universe. Indian cosmology is a philosophical theory regarding the cycle of creation from supreme consciousness to matter and from matter to supreme consciousness. It deals with the creation of the cosmic mind and the microvita, and origin-evolution-future of matter, individual mind and life. There is important input from Vedic and Tantric traditions. This school follows subjective approach by dealing with absolute (spiritual) as well as relative (psycho-physical) knowledge of (...) the universe. The scientific cosmology is a developing multi-disciplinary science regarding origin-evolution-future of matter and life. This science follows objective approach by dealing with physical knowledge of the universe. The paper will focus on scientific analysis of the basic concepts of Indian cosmology. (shrink)

An unorthodox cosmology is based on a notion of “standpoint,” distinguishing past from future, realized through Hilbert-space representation of the complex conformai group for 3+1spacetime and associated coherent states. Physical symmetry attaches to eight-parameter complex Poincaré displacements, interpretable as growth of standpoint age, boost of matter energy-momentum in standpoint rest frame and displacement of matter location in a compact U⊗O/O spacetime attached to standpoint. An “initial” condition is characterized by a huge dimensionless parameter α that breaks dilation invariance. Four major (...) length scales are recognized, called “Planck,” “particle,” “lab,” and “Hubble,” with separations controlled by α; all physical concepts, including spacetime, depend on wideness of scale separation. (shrink)

The general conception of Kantian cosmology in Universal Natural History is one that folds into the “pre-Critical” period in the basic sense that the status of the types of principles invoked within the work is not subjected by Kant to critical assessment. This is far from meaning that the enquiry of Universal Natural History is simply abandoned by Kant. Rather, the stakes of the inquiry into cosmology become transformed and this transformation has much to do with the results of (...) the Critique of Pure Reason, not least the arguments of the Transcendental Dialectic. In this piece I will first review some of the most salient lines of argument in Universal Natural History prior to undertaking to investigate a reason for re-thinking cosmology in Kantian terms both within the Critique of Pure Reason and in the wake of it. This latter enquiry will hinge both on an understanding of the nature of Kant’s use of the notion of the “regulative idea” and also upon an investigation of his uses of cosmic images within the Critical period. (shrink)

One of the most important and most frequently discussed theological problems related to cosmology is the creation problem. Unfortunately, it is usually considered in a context of a rather simplistic understanding of the initial singularity (often referred to as the Big Bang). This review of the initial singularity problem considers its evolution in twentieth‐century cosmology and develops methodological rules of its theological (and philosophical) interpretations. The recent work on the “noncommutative structure of singularities” suggests that on the fundamental level (below (...) the Planck's scale) the concepts of space, time, and localization are meaningless and that there is no distinction between singular and nonsingular states of the universe. In spite of the fact that at this level there is no time, one can meaningfully speak about dynamics, albeit in a generalized sense. Space, time, and singularities appear only in the transition process to the macroscopic physics. This idea, explored here in more detail, clearly favors an atemporal understanding of creation. (shrink)

We ordinarily assume that we have reliable knowledge of our immediate surroundings, so much so that almost all the time we entrust our lives to the truth of what we take ourselves to know, without a moment’s thought. But if, as Karl Popper and others have maintained, all our knowledge is conjectural, then this habitual assumption that our common sense knowledge of our environment is secure and trustworthy would seem to be an illusion. Popper’s philosophy of science, in particular, fails (...) to do justice to the distinction we ordinarily draw between secure knowledge and mere conjecture. But Popper’s philosophy of science, in particular his attempted solution to the problem of induction, is defective. It fails to take into account that physics, in only accepting unified theories, even though endlessly empirically more successful disunified rivals are always available, makes the persistent metaphysical assumption that all disunified theories are false. Once this point is acknowledged, it becomes clear that a new conception of scientific method is required which sees science as making a hierarchy of metaphysical assumptions concerning the comprehensibility and knowability of the universe. This provides a framework of relatively unproblematic assumptions and associated methods of science within which much more problematic assumptions and associated methods can be critically assessed and improved. This hierarchical view seems at first to intensify the problem of distinguishing certainty from conjecture, in that it emphasizes that scientific knowledge, and even humble common sense knowledge, contain usually unacknowledged cosmological conjectures. But actually it explicates the basis we have for drawing the distinction between trustworthy knowledge and mere conjecture, and even goes some way towards providing a rationale for this distinction, in so far as one exists. (shrink)

This essay presents some points of dialogue between process thinking and post-structuralism, particularly in light of the metaphysical cosmology of Alfred North Whitehead and the post-structuralist philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida. This dialogue facilitates the emergence of a cosmological postmodernism. Through the creation of concepts that situate the human within the networks, processes, and mutually constitutive restions of the cosmos, cosmo logical postmodernism re-envisions the worldview of modernity and overcomes its reification and dichotomization of the human and (...) the world. Four concepts that Whitehead, Deleuze, and Derrida contribute to a cosmological postmodernism include "event," "creativity," "rhizome," and "chaosmos.". (shrink)

I. Professor William L. Rowe begins an interesting paper on the Cosmological Argument by stating that his ‘purpose …is not to resurrect it’ but ‘to uncover, clarify, and examine some of the philosophical concepts and theses essential to the reasoning exhibited in the argument’. However, in the concluding pages of his paper, Rowe is at some pains to show that his discussion does at least demonstrate that the Cosmological Argument is beyond the reach of criticisms levelled against it (...) in the works of its classical critics, Hume and Kant and their modern-day counterparts. To quote his concluding remark: ‘Like most important philosophical arguments, it appears that the Cosmological Argument is neither as good as its supporters have claimed it to be nor as bad as its critics have believed.’ Now I have long suspected that some such estimate of the Cosmological Argument was correct; however I do not think that Rowe's discussions in his paper establish his contention that the reports of the death of the Cosmological Argument have been premature. Nevertheless, Rowe's uncovering of the reasoning that lies behind the argument does have the merit of laying bare the precise point from which, as well as the direction in which, the defence of the argument should proceed if we are to truly make some headway on this hoary topic. In what follows, I will first try to show why I think Rowe's discussion fails to establish his conclusion and thereafter try to give the outline of a more successful strategy for arriving at the same conclusion. (shrink)

Cosmological speculation about the ultimate nature of the universe, being necessary for science to be possible at all, must be regarded as a part of scientific knowledge itself, however epistemologically unsound it may be in other respects. The best such speculation available is that the universe is comprehensible in some way or other and, more specifically, in the light of the immense apparent success of modern natural science, that it is physically comprehensible. But both these speculations may be false; (...) in order to take this possibility into account, we need to adopt an hierarchy of increasingly contentless cosmological conjectures until we arrive at the conjecture that the universe is such that it is possible for us to acquire some knowledge of something, a conjecture which we are justified in accepting as knowledge since doing so cannot harm the pursuit of knowledge in any circumstances whatsoever. As a result of adopting such an hierarchy of increasingly contentless cosmological conjectures in this way, we maximize our chances of adopting conjectures that promote the growth of knowledge, and minimize our chances of taking some cosmological assumption for granted that is false and impedes the growth of knowledge. The hope is that as we increase our knowledge about the world we improve (lower level) cosmological assumptions implicit in our methods, and thus in turn improve our methods. As a result of improving our knowledge we improve our knowledge about how to improve knowledge. Science adapts its own nature to what it learns about the nature of the universe, thus increasing its capacity to make progress in knowledge about the world. This aim-oriented empiricist conception of science solves outstanding problems in the philosophy of science such as the problems of induction, simplicity and verisimilitude. (shrink)

This paper is a continuation of the previous work: V. Prits and V. Kuznetsov “The main fea- tures of the cosmological picture of the world.” After examining some of the discussions around newborn cosmology, the article considers cosmological problems from the point of view of the philosophy of modern cosmology. It is emphasized that today a single and coordi- nated view of cosmology and its philosophy has not been formed. The main objectives of the study are were, firstly, (...) to identify some philosophical, methodological and anthropological problems in the study of the Universe and, secondly, to focus on the interac- tion of philosophy and cosmology. It has been revealed that the cosmological principles on which almost all cosmological theories and models are based have a long and dramatic ideological history and philosophical founda- tion, and the concept of “Multiverse” is saturated with ontological and epistemological puzzles. The principles of Bruno-Copernicus and the anthropic cosmological principles are proposed to be considered in the light of the discovery of exoplanets. (shrink)