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The Need for Empirically-Led Synthetic Philosophy

Scoular, Spencer (2013) The Need for Empirically-Led Synthetic Philosophy. [Preprint]

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Abstract

The problem of unifying knowledge represents the frontier between science and philosophy. Science approaches the problem analytically bottom-up whereas, prior to the end of the nineteenth century, philosophy approached the problem synthetically top-down. In the late nineteenth century, the approach of speculative metaphysics was rejected outright by science. Unfortunately, in the rush for science to break with speculative metaphysics, synthetic or top-down philosophy as a whole was rejected. This meant not only the rejection of speculative metaphysics, but also the implicit rejection of empirically-led synthetic philosophy and the philosophy of nature. Since a change in the paradigm of science requires a change in the philosophy of nature underpinning science, the rejection of the philosophy of nature closes science to the possibility of a paradigm change. Given the foundational problems faced by science, there is a need for empirically-led synthetic philosophy in order to discover a new empirically-based philosophy of nature. Such a philosophy of nature may open science to the possibility of a paradigm change.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Scoular, Spencerspencer.scoular@vodafone.co.nz
Keywords: paradigm, philosophy of nature, synthetic philosophy
Subjects: General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Theory Change
Depositing User: Dr Spencer Scoular
Date Deposited: 13 Dec 2013 20:01
Last Modified: 17 Dec 2013 18:46
Item ID: 10143
Journal or Publication Title: n/a
Publisher: n/a
Subjects: General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science
General Issues > Theory Change
Date: December 2013
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10143

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