For and Against Scientism

Science, Methodology, and the Future of Philosophy

Buch | Hardcover

206 Seiten

2022
Rowman & Littlefield (Verlag)
978-1-5381-6333-7 (ISBN)

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Does scientism pose an existential threat to philosophy, as some philosophers think, or is it a way to make philosophy as ‘successful’ as science? This book intends is to put forward a fruitful dialogue about scientism and its implications for the future of philosophy as an academic discipline.

The term “scientism” is used in several ways. It is used to denote an epistemological thesis according to which science is the source of our knowledge about the world and ourselves. Relatedly, it is used to denote a methodological thesis according to which the methods of science are superior to the methods of non-scientific fields or areas of inquiry. It is also used to put forward a metaphysical thesis that what exists is what science says exists. In recent decades, the term “scientism” has acquired a derogatory meaning when it is used in defense of non-scientific ways of knowing. In particular, some philosophers level the charge of “scientism” against those (mostly scientists) who are dismissive of philosophy. Other philosophers, however, embrace scientism, or some variant thereof, and object to the pejorative use of the term. This book critically examines arguments for and against different varieties of scientism in order to answer the central question: Does scientism pose an existential threat to academic philosophy? Or should philosophy become more scientific?

Moti Mizrahi is associate professor of philosophy at the Florida Institute of Technology. He is the author of The Relativity of Theory: Key Positions and Arguments in the Contemporary Scientific Realism/Antirealism Debate (2020) and the editor of The Kuhnian Image of Science: Time for a Decisive Transformation? (2018).

1.Introduction
Moti Mizrahi
2.The Scientism Debate: A Battle for the Soul of Philosophy?
Moti Mizrahi
3.The Supposed Spectre of Scientism
Amanda Bryant
4.Conceptions of Philosophy and the Challenges of Scientism
Ian James Kidd
5.How to Defend Scientism
Petri Turunen, Ilkka Pättiniemi, Ilmari Hirvonen, Johan Hietanen, and Henrik Saarinen
6.Philosophy of Science in Practice and Weak Scientism Together Apart
Luana Poliseli and Federica Russo
7.“Science in the Crosshairs”
Catherine Wilson
8.Between Electrical Light Switches and Panpsychism: Scientism and the Responsibilities of the Humanities in the 21st Century
Ann-Sophie Barwich
9.Whither Academic Philosophy?
Moti Mizrahi
10.Epilogue
Moti Mizrahi
Index
About the Editor
About the Contributors

Erscheinungsdatum	08.10.2021
Reihe/Serie	Collective Studies in Knowledge and Society
Zusatzinfo	3 b/w illustrations; 4 tables;
Sprache	englisch
Maße	160 x 227 mm
Gewicht	476 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Erkenntnistheorie / Wissenschaftstheorie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Ethik
	Naturwissenschaften
ISBN-10	1-5381-6333-0 / 1538163330
ISBN-13	978-1-5381-6333-7 / 9781538163337
Zustand	Neuware