Re truth in science

[Pedro Tiago Martins]

The question whether scientific theories are true is a classic in
philosophy of science. A good way to start is to read about Laudan's
pessimistic induction argument (Laudan 1981), read the critiques and
support it received, and pick a side!

Pedro

On Tue, Mar 11, 2014 at 5:43 PM, Everett, Daniel <DEVERETT at bentley.edu>wrote:

>  Loved this post and Edith's last one.
>
>  Here is a very interesting, short statement from Rorty on Truth and a
> bit on Pragmatism.
>
>  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzynRPP9XkY
>
>  Great newspaper article, Frans. I want to buy that guy's book.
>
>  My son, Caleb, says the main thing he likes about being a professor is
> that it leaves you time for soccer/football (on the U of Miami campus).
>
>  Dan
>
>  On Mar 11, 2014, at 12:30 PM, Plank <frans.plank at UNI-KONSTANZ.DE> wrote:
>
>  Thank you, Edith, and to continue along these lines, this is from the
> science quiz (apologies for the four-letter word) in last week's Observer
> or Guardian -- the newspaper (whichever) that not so long ago reported the
> non-existence of universal grammar, beating Edge.org <http://edge.org/>to it.
>
>  True or false: 5. Ni[e]ls Bohr - the father of sub-atomic physics and a
> true genius of the 20th century and possibly the brainiest man ever to walk
> the planet - used to be a professional footballer.
>
>  Here's the answer about Niels, if you're really interested in the truth
> of the matter:
>
>  True. He used to play in goal for the Danish side Akademisk Boldklub,
> and his brother played in mid-field (was so good in fact he played for
> Denmark). Everybody in Denmark loved Ni[e]ls, he was brainy, personable, an
> all round super star and national hero. So much so the Danish brewer
> Carlsberg built him a house and gifted him a lifetime supply of free beer.
> Hic.
>
> If it weren't for him, Uncle Al would never have been able to build the
> Boldklub Accelerator which reduces the size of atoms.
>
> Other notable if unlikely professional goalkeepers include Albert Camus
> (French existential novelist), Pope John-Paul 2nd (last Pope but one),
> Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes) and Che Guevara (Cuban
> revolutionary).
>
>
>  And here's no universal grammar:
>
> http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/mar/25/daniel-everett-human-language-piraha
>
>
>  Calm down everybody.
> Frans
>
>
>
>
>  On 11 Mar 2014, at 15:09, Edith A Moravcsik <edith at uwm.edu> wrote:
>
>   Danish physicist Niels Bohr said: "It is wrong to think that the task
> of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns only what we can
> SAY about nature." (emphasis original)
>
>
>
>
>


-- 
Pedro Tiago Martins
PhD Student, Cognitive Science and Language
Universitat de Barcelona
http://sites.google.com/site/ptsgmartins
http://bib.biolinguistics.eu
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