Philosophy and the 'Dazzling Ideal' of Science
Recent decades have seen attacks on philosophy as an irrelevant field of inquiry when compared with science. In this book, Graham McFee defends the claims of philosophy against attempts to minimize either philosophy’s possibility or its importance by depl
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hilosophy and the ‘Dazzling Ideal’ of Science
Graham McFee
Philosophy and the ‘Dazzling Ideal’ of Science
Graham McFee University of California Fullerton Riverside, CA, USA
ISBN 978-3-030-21674-0 ISBN 978-3-030-21675-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21675-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: Panther Media GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
This monograph begins from the assumption that philosophy is possible and explores the kinds of creatures we must be, if that is to be true. Yet why might the possibility of philosophy be doubted? A pervasive image, or ideal, drawn from science provides the primary reason discussed here, an image generating scientism, whereby the successes of science seem to leave little or no room for philosophy. And, as Thomas Nagel (2012, p. 7) puts it, “almost everyone in our secular culture has been browbeaten into regarding the reductive research program as sacrosanct, on the ground that anything else would not be science”—just the kind of reductive conception against which this text presents a sustained argument. But more important, in practice, is our endorsement of the power of reason. For opposition to scientism—to the over-valuing of models of knowledge and understanding from science—can sometimes generate, or seem to generate, a rejection of science; and then, potentially, a rejection of the concept of truth; or of the distinction between truth and falsehood. Such rejections, too, must be set aside. Rather, the power of a certain image of science must be recognized, an
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