Search

This paper challenges a standard interpretation according to which Frege's conception of logic (early and late) is at odds with the contemporary one, because on the latter's view logic is formal, while on Frege's view it is not, given that logic's subject matter is reality's most general features. I argue that Frege -- in Begriffsschrift -- retained the idea that logic is formal; Frege sees logic as providing the 'logical cement' that ties up together the contentful concepts of specific sciences, not the most general truths. Finally, I discuss how Frege conceives of the application of Begriffsschrift, and of its status as a 'lingua characteristica'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Kripke’s classic paper on truth it is argued that by adding a new semantic category different from truth and falsity it is possible to have a language with its own truth predicate. A substantial problem with this approach is that it lacks the expressive resources to characterize those sentences which fall under the new category. The main goal of this paper is to offer a refinement of Kripke’s approach in which this difficulty does not arise. We tackle this characterization problem by letting certain sentences belong to more than one semantic category. We also consider the prospect of generalizing this framework to deal with languages containing vague predicates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies our philosophical understanding of experience in order to question the current political and theoretical dismissal of experiential accounts in feminist theory. The focus is on Joan Scott's critique of experience, but the philosophical issues animating the discussion go beyond Scott's work and concern the future of feminist theory and politics more generally. I ask what it means for feminist theory to redefine experience as a linguistic event the way Scott suggests. I attempt to demonstrate that the consequences that she draws from such a theoretical move are both philosophically and politically problematic. A critical study of the evidence of experience does not have to imply metaphysical or epistemological foundationalism, as Scott claims, but on the contrary, such a study is indispensable for challenging them. We must hold onto experience as an important resource for contesting sexist discourses and oppressive conceptual schemas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper we propose a system of propositional logic for reasoning about justification, truthmaking, and the connection between justifiers and truthmakers. The logic of justification and truthmaking is developed according to the fundamental ideas introduced by Artemov. Justifiers and truthmakers are treated in a similar way, exploiting the intuition that justifiers provide epistemic grounds for propositions to be considered true, while truthmakers provide ontological grounds for propositions to be true. This system of logic is then applied both for interpreting the notorious definition of knowledge as justified true belief and for advancing a new solution to Gettier counterexamples to this standard definition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discovery proceeds in stages of construction, evaluation, and revision. Each of these stages is constrained by what is known or conjectured about what is being discovered. A new characterization of mechanism aids in specifying what is to be discovered when a mechanism is sought. Guidance in discovering mechanisms may be provided by the reasoning strategies of schema instantiation, modular subassembly, and forward/ backward chaining. Examples are found in mechanisms in molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, and evolutionary biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the works of philosopher Thomas Kuhn from a cognitive science perspective. Discussion of rule-based versus case-based reasoning; Relevance of the Schema theory to the cognitive sets; Details on the limits of cognitive representation.

Demonstrates the use of schema theory to suggest that justices of the Supreme Court in Canada has implemented an information processing model when deciding search and seizure cases. Data and methods; Factors considered by the judiciary system for the deciding cases on cognitive psychology; Relationship between schema theory and judicial rulings.

Based on their interest in politics and knowledge of political leaders, individuals are classified into three levels of partisan sophistication: (1) those scoring high in interest and knowledge (partisan schematics), (2) a middle group, and (3) those scoring low (partisan aschematics). In this experimental study, and consistent with findings from cognitive and social psychology, partisan schematics prove better able than partisan aschematics to classify campaign statements as either Republican or Democratic and to recall the policy stands taken by a fictitious congressman. Aschematics, at the other extreme, perform at no better than chance levels in either the recognition or recall of the congressman's policy statements. There are, however, liabilities to sophistication as well: Schematics demonstrate a "consistency bias" in recalling significantly more policy statements that are consistent with the congressman's party identification than are inconsistent with it. This "restructuring" of memory is especially pronounced among sophisticates, and reflects a serious bias in the processing of political information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]