Theoretical Concepts
to that goal, and it is hoped that it will incorporate further works dealing in an exact way with interesting philosophical issues. Zurich, April 1973 Mario Bunge Preface In this book I have investigated the logical and methodological role of the much deb
- PDF / 27,546,743 Bytes
- 266 Pages / 439.32 x 666.12 pts Page_size
- 30 Downloads / 177 Views
Springer-Verlag Wien New York
Library of Exact Philosophy
10
Raimo Tuomela
Theoretical Concepts
Springer-Verlag Wien New York 1973
Composed and printed by Herbert Hiessberger, Pottenstein Design: Hans Joachim Boning, Wien
ISBN 978-3-7091-7108-0 ISBN 978-3-7091-7106-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-7091-7106-6
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustrations, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. © 1973 by Springer-VerlaglWien Library of Congress Card Number 73 - 80989
To the memory of my parents
General Preface to the LEP Exact philosophy can be described as the field of philosophy tilled with exact tools, i. e. logic and mathematics. Exactness concerns the methods or tools, not the subject. Regardless of its subject, a piece of philosophical investigation qualifies as exact as long as it involves a precise statement of the problems, a careful analysis of the key concepts and principles, and an attempt at systematization. If the outcome is a full fledged theory with a definite mathematical structure, and moreover a theory that solves some important philosophical problems, so much the better. It is worth while, nay exciting and urgent, to try the exact
method in every branch of philosophy - in semantics, epistemology, philosophy of science, value theory, ethics, legal philosophy, the history of philosophy, and perhaps even in aesthetics. The more exactly we proceed in handling genuine philosophical problems, the narrower should become the gap between the humanities on the one hand, and mathematics and science on the other. And the better we bridge this gap the lesser will be the chances that the anti-intellectualist trends will destroy contemporary culture. Some great philosophers have worked in exact philosophy: not only Carnap and Russell but also Bolzano, Leibniz, and Aristotle. A whole school, the Vienna Circle, was devoted to the enterprise of reconstructing philosophy in an exact manner and in the light of the sciences. The Library of Exact Philosophy is a new link in this long thin chain. It was established in 1970 in order to stimulate the production and circulation of significant additions to philosophia more geometrico. The LEP has already made a contribution
x
General Preface
to that goal, and it is hoped that it will incorporate further works dealing in an exact way with interesting philosophical issues. Zurich, April 1973 Mario Bunge
Preface In this book I have investigated the logical and methodological role of the much debated theoretical concepts in scientific theories. The philosophical viewpoint underlying my argumentation is critical scientific realism. My method of exposition has been to express ideas first in general terms and then to develop and elaborate them within a specific formal framework. It is assumed in the book that the reader has a relatively good knowledge of the basic techn
