:up:
I think you're misunderstanding by "extreme forms" here. I don't mean anti-realism, but rather those sorts of "Boltzmann brain" type arguments that conclude that it is more likely, or just as likely, that the world will dissolve at any moment or radically alter its behavior, as to maintain in its reliable form. This implies that science isn't even likely to be predictive or "useful" on any consistent timescale, and I don't see how that doesn't make it a waste of time. — Count Timothy von Icarus
I wouldn't propose radical skepticism, but also it's not a possibility I feel the need to deny. It is, after all, logically possible -- it's just entirely irrelevant to the task at hand.
Generally I treat radical skepticism as a special case rather than a case we generalize from, except for the cases where a philosopher is purposefully arguing for or utilizing it towards some other philosophical question (so, Descartes and Hume are the "good" kind of radical skeptics; The Freshman philosophy student who just heard about the possibility of solipsism isn't -- rather, that's a sort of "right of passage" that all people interested in philosophy bumble over)
Basically I think such arguments are sophomoric, in the literal rather than pejorative sense, and someone would have to present a radical thesis to make it credible, to my mind; i.e. the "default" position isn't radical skepticism, to my mind, and so isn't so worrying. Sure it's logically possible, so are a host of irrelevancies just like it. Where the bite?
IDK, my reading would be that denials of any knowable human good ("moral/practical anti-realism," which is often aided by other forms of anti-realism) have tended to be destructive to politics, applied science, and ethics. That a key concern of contemporary politics, and a constantly recurring motif in our media is that our technology will drive our species extinct or result in some sort of apocalypse or dystopia because it is "out of anyone's control," suggests to me a fundamental problem with the "Baconian mastery of nature" when combined with anti-realism about human ends and the ends of science. If the aim of science is to improve our casual powers, but then we are also driven towards a place where we are largely silent on ends, that seems like a recipe for disaster, the sort of situation where you get things like predictable ecological disasters that will affect generations of future people but which are nonetheless driven on largely by unrestrained and ultimately unfulfilling appetites. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Heh, this is something we're wig-wamming our way about here because it seems we both believe things like "it's a good idea to talk about ethics, especially with respect to what science does" and "Jewish science is a pseudo-science", but we keep on reading these bits of evidence towards our respective views
:D
All to be expected, but I want to say that I think it possible to be a skeptic towards scientific realism and realize it's important to direct ethically -- in fact, because there's no Architectonic of Science that one must follow, we are free to modify our practices to fit with our ethical demands.
I think there's a fundamental problem with
reducing reality to science, and with prioritizing the mastery of nature in our understanding of what science does. But then this might be something of an aside with respect to underdetermination. (heh, the rhetorical side of me thought: In fact, because underdetermination is true we
should see that science's activity is a direct result of our ethical commitments rather than an arche-method of metaphysical knowledge that's value-free.
It's descriptive, but not value-free, if that makes sense. Science is always interested for
some reason, even if that reason is "I just think snails are cool and like to study their behavior because they make me feel happy when I'm around them"
Phrenology was discredited because it was thought to be false. But if "true" and "false" are themselves just social endorsements, then truth cannot arbitrate between racist, sexist, etc. scientific theories. So, sure, both forms are open to abuse, but only one can claim that abuse isn't actually abuse, and that all science is about power struggles anyhow. If science is really just about power or usefulness, then there is strictly speaking nothing wrong about declaring sui generis fields like "Jewish physics" just so long as it suits your aims and gets you what you want. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Phrenology was always a pseudo-science. It has all the characteristics -- the theories follow the form of confirmation and don't try to disconfim them. They held some social significance which allowed people to justify their position or actions to others. They were vague and easy to defend in light of evidence.
Now I'll go this far: If underdetermination, as a theory, leads us to be unable to differentiate between science and pseudo-science, and we believe there is such a thing as pseudo-science (I do), then we're in a pickle.
But like you have a theory which takes care of underdetermination, within realist parameters I'd be able to defend our ability to spot pseudo-science on the social model of the sciences -- i.e. it's not just me, but all the scientists that say what science is. "Jewish Science" wasn't even as clear as phrenology; it was definitely a racist category for expelling Jewish scientists from the academy. That it resulted in expelling people who we still consider scientists -- like Bohr -- is an indication that it's not a science even if "Jewish Science" happened to get the aims desired after.
I.e. though underdetermination complicates the question, it's still addressable by my lights without a realist science.
Arguments from underdetermination is extremely influential in contemporary philosophy.
They have led to many radical, and seemingly skeptical theses.
These theses are perhaps more radical than we today recognize, when seen from the perspective of Enlightenment and pre-modern prevailing opinion.
These types of arguments were not unknown in the past, and were indeed often used to produce skeptical arguments.
The tradition most associated with these arguments, ancient Empiricism, sought skepticism on purpose, as a way to attain ataraxia.
Thus, we should not be surprised that borrowing their epistemology leads to skeptical conclusions.
Hence, if we do not like the skeptical conclusions, we should take a look at the epistemic starting points that lead to them.
Indeed, if an epistemology leads to skepticism, that might be a good indication it is inadequate.
The Thomistic response is given as one example of how these arguments used to be put to bed. I use it because I am familiar with it and because the Neoplatonist solution is quite similar. (But the Stoics also had their response, etc.).
I do think that solution is better, but the point isn't to highlight that specific solution, but rather the genealogy of the "problem" and how it arises as a means of elucidating ways it might be resolved or else simply understanding it better. — Count Timothy von Icarus
Ok, fair. It
may just not be for me, then -- here I'm saying "but I like the skeptical conclusions", and so the rest kind of just doesn't follow. The motivation isn't there for me.
But you were talking about a lot of the things I think about which is why I replied. I see I missed a good chunk of the essay just because of what grabbed my attention, though.