In an age when political thinkers were writing books full of quotations of ancient and modern authors,Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury(1588-1679)developed a philosophical system which was based on scientific method rather ...In an age when political thinkers were writing books full of quotations of ancient and modern authors,Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury(1588-1679)developed a philosophical system which was based on scientific method rather than on the authority of books.He emphasized that the absurdities that philosophers fall into are actually due precisely to a lack of method and to the habit of quoting other thinkers as if the truth was to be found in their words.It is certainly not inappropriate to read what philosophers,historians,and poets wrote,whether for pure amusement or to find intellectual spurs useful for one’s own research and speculation;but the written word should not be confused with the truth.In the investigation aimed at discovering the truth in political matters,the philosopher must use his own intellect,relying on the strength of reasoning.Thus,political philosophy becomes a science:the science of“consequences from the accidents of politic bodies”.With his reflections on scientia civilis,Thomas Hobbes may be considered the inventor of political science.展开更多
There is a current debate about the extent to which Academic Freedom should be permitted in our universities.On the one hand,we have traditionalists who maintain that Academic Freedom should be unrestricted:people who...There is a current debate about the extent to which Academic Freedom should be permitted in our universities.On the one hand,we have traditionalists who maintain that Academic Freedom should be unrestricted:people who have the appropriate qualifications and accomplishments should be allowed to develop theories about how the world is,or ought to be,as they see fit.On the other hand,we have post-traditional philosophers who argue against this degree of Academic Freedom.I consider a conservative version of post-traditional philosophy that permits restrictions on Academic Freedom only if the following conditions are met,Condition 1:The dissemination of the results of a given research project R must cause significant harm to some people,especially to people from oppressed groups.Condition 2:Condition 1 must possess strong empirical support,and which accepts the following assumptions:(1)there is a world of objective facts that is,in principle,discoverable,(2)rational means are the means of discovering it and,(3)rational means requires strong empirical support.I define strong empirical support for an hypothesis h on evidence e in probabilistic terms,as a ratio of posterior to prior probabilities substantially exceeding 1.I now argue in favour of a research policy that accepts unrestricted Academic Freedom.My argument is that there is a formal and general quandary that arises within the standard theory of probability when we apply this account of empirical support to a set of possible causal hypotheses framed in such a way that the“reverse probabilities”,pr(e/h)are 1.I consider various possible ways to escape this quandary,none of which are without difficulties,concluding that a research policy allowing for unrestricted Academic Freedom is probably the best that we can hope for.展开更多
文摘In an age when political thinkers were writing books full of quotations of ancient and modern authors,Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury(1588-1679)developed a philosophical system which was based on scientific method rather than on the authority of books.He emphasized that the absurdities that philosophers fall into are actually due precisely to a lack of method and to the habit of quoting other thinkers as if the truth was to be found in their words.It is certainly not inappropriate to read what philosophers,historians,and poets wrote,whether for pure amusement or to find intellectual spurs useful for one’s own research and speculation;but the written word should not be confused with the truth.In the investigation aimed at discovering the truth in political matters,the philosopher must use his own intellect,relying on the strength of reasoning.Thus,political philosophy becomes a science:the science of“consequences from the accidents of politic bodies”.With his reflections on scientia civilis,Thomas Hobbes may be considered the inventor of political science.
文摘There is a current debate about the extent to which Academic Freedom should be permitted in our universities.On the one hand,we have traditionalists who maintain that Academic Freedom should be unrestricted:people who have the appropriate qualifications and accomplishments should be allowed to develop theories about how the world is,or ought to be,as they see fit.On the other hand,we have post-traditional philosophers who argue against this degree of Academic Freedom.I consider a conservative version of post-traditional philosophy that permits restrictions on Academic Freedom only if the following conditions are met,Condition 1:The dissemination of the results of a given research project R must cause significant harm to some people,especially to people from oppressed groups.Condition 2:Condition 1 must possess strong empirical support,and which accepts the following assumptions:(1)there is a world of objective facts that is,in principle,discoverable,(2)rational means are the means of discovering it and,(3)rational means requires strong empirical support.I define strong empirical support for an hypothesis h on evidence e in probabilistic terms,as a ratio of posterior to prior probabilities substantially exceeding 1.I now argue in favour of a research policy that accepts unrestricted Academic Freedom.My argument is that there is a formal and general quandary that arises within the standard theory of probability when we apply this account of empirical support to a set of possible causal hypotheses framed in such a way that the“reverse probabilities”,pr(e/h)are 1.I consider various possible ways to escape this quandary,none of which are without difficulties,concluding that a research policy allowing for unrestricted Academic Freedom is probably the best that we can hope for.
