In the 20th Century, the philosopher Karl Popper drew the boundaries of demarcation between science and pseudoscience in terms of falsification. Exactly what Popper did and did not mean by falsification can be disputed. But the history of the philosophy of science throughout the 20th century has at leats taught us that distinguishing warranted and unwarranted claims … Continue reading Epistemology and COVID 19
Tag: Epistemology
Can anything go?
The title of this blog post, is of course, a reference to Paul Feyerabend's famous (or if you prefer, infamous) slogan "anything goes". But a careful reading of Feyerabend shows that he didn't really mean literally, "anything goes". My immediate goal however is not to defend or critique Feyerabend per se, at least not today. … Continue reading Can anything go?
In Defense of a Modest Scientism
Not surprisingly, Steven Pinker's new book, Enlightenment Now , has already generated significant controversy. Since I haven't read the book yet, I won't comment on the book itself. Suffice it to say, it does seem that Pinker's critics (see for example here and here ) are raising some valid points in arguing that Pinker has oversimplified … Continue reading In Defense of a Modest Scientism
Post-Modernism’s cul de sac.
The original title of this post "Should Post Modernism Die?" created misunderstanding and has now been changed to better reflect the point I was trying to make. Critiques of "Post Modernism" are not limited to the right or popular culture. For example, see Chomsky's Critique of Focault or the response of multiple Pragmatists such as Hilary … Continue reading Post-Modernism’s cul de sac.
Announcing: The Economic Consequences of the Peace. An Exchange.
A colleague of mine and I in the English and Humanities Department at my University (Shawnee State University) will be working on a project on John Maynard Keynes' "The Economic Consequences of the Peace." We are starting with an exchange during an event sponsored annually at my University called "Faculty Festival of Achievement". I will … Continue reading Announcing: The Economic Consequences of the Peace. An Exchange.
Does economics need axiomatic foundaions?
In my previous posts on secular stagnation I noted the common threads between the New Classical effort to build macroeconomics on the foundations of neo-Walrasian general equilibrium theory and the ways in which mainstream Keynesians have found themselves in a decades long cul de sac of ad hoc reasoning. While I agree with the arguments … Continue reading Does economics need axiomatic foundaions?
Citizen Rat 