Re: MD When is an interpretation not an interpretation?

From: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT (mpkundert@students.wisc.edu)
Date: Wed Nov 19 2003 - 00:31:05 GMT

  • Next message: MATTHEW PAUL KUNDERT: "Re: MD When is a metaphysics not a metaphysics?"

    David,

    David said:
    OK how do we understand that the experiment is open to different results? How is the possibility set up? What is the status of the results within the conceptual framework? Are they speech acts? Is there an agent involved? Or if you want to refer to causality, how do we get from causes to linguistic results? I think there is a big clue in the notion that we interpret the results. Any ideas?

    Matt:
    I'm not sure I understand all of your questions.

    Understand that the experiment is open to different results? I don't get it, I don't see how that's a problem.

    How is the possibility set up? Of different results? I don't get this, either. Anamolies pop up in our theories. That's what you might call "empirical". Didn't Godel write something about theories either being all-encompassing, but irrelevant or relevant, but partial? Something like that?

    Status of the results within the conceptual framework. Are they speech acts? Yeah, or they're written. An agent? Sure, the scientist.

    Causes to linguistic results? This, I think I understand. The answer to this is, first, neopragmatists follow Wilfrid Sellars in saying that "all awareness is a linguistic affair." Second, we follow Davidson in making a distinction between causes and reasons (which can also be causes). The experiment, like all things we percieve with our five senses, _causes_ us to have a belief. The belief is linguistic. We see something, a belief is generated. There's no getting to one to the other that needs to be explicated as far as the pragmatist is concerned. This fits with "interpreting results" because the belief that is generated by an experiment is going to depend on the beliefs that are already floating around in our web of beliefs.

    Matt

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