39
votes
What is a ‘woman'?
'Woman' and 'man' are social categories founded on innate biological differences, but which extend far beyond such to imply numerous social and psychological features: social roles, habituated ...
- 22k
24
votes
What is a ‘woman'?
There are some good responses to a fair philosophical question, and I'll add a few thoughts.
First, philosophy often recognizes two broad types of definitions (SEP): real and lexical. Lexical ...
- 31.8k
16
votes
Can philosophy be useful?
Absolutely.
I think especially in the realms of the personal, but also in the social and scientific as you've said.
For a start, being a theist and Catholic, I will of course have to point to how ...
- 657
8
votes
What is a ‘woman'?
"Woman" is a category which is historically based on the reproductive function of a human.
Categories of real-life observables are often correlated with measurable properties (such as ...
7
votes
Accepted
If everything is theory laden, how can one argue against climate change deniers?
Quinean underdetermination is such a generic form of skepticism that I'd suggest it's epistemologically better to focus on the specific arguments made by climate skeptics. For some philosophical ...
- 2,566
7
votes
What is a ‘woman'?
If woman means female human being, then the semantic heavy work is carried by the meaning of "female". Biologists seem to be able to neatly categorize an immense variety of life forms as ...
- 766
6
votes
If everything is theory laden, how can one argue against climate change deniers?
You bring up an important issue for philosophy of science. A rough picture of how science functions something like this. A theory is formed that makes hypotheses or predictions about the world. ...
- 161
6
votes
Two ways of thinking about social reality (progressive/fluid vs conservative/structure)
One of the interpretations for this difference across the political spectrum is 'tolerance of ambiguity'. There's also interesting work on politics and attachment-style, see Attachment Style and ...
- 23k
6
votes
Is belief nothing but a feeling of certainty about what something means?
You can believe something without being certain. You probably believe many things you aren't certain of.
There are various philosophies for dealing with uncertainty, such as Bayesianism, which gives ...
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5
votes
Social theory of science?
The most comprehensive text that I have run into outlining precisely how the philosophy of positive science — the study of purportedly rational theory choice — was conquered by the history/sociology ...
- 1,915
5
votes
How does one distinguish fact and belief?
When a person is arguing some point of uncertain truth, and to justify his argument he says, "it's a fact that X," what he means is that he asserts X is true and also he considers the truth ...
- 16.8k
5
votes
What is a ‘woman'?
Why I think this is a great question
Even after Matt Walsh insulted everyone who could not answer this question in his documentary "What Is a Woman?", and specifically accused someone of ...
- 199
4
votes
How can one objectivley measure the nobility or value of a given pursuit?
First off, why does Mill make this claim? Historically, Mill makes this claim to avoid an objection to Jeremy Bentham's utilitarianism. Bentham views all pleasures as equal so if you get more pleasure ...
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4
votes
How can one objectivley measure the nobility or value of a given pursuit?
First, keep in mind that the question of whether life as a professor affords a higher kind of pleasure than life as a programmer or a pornographer is one question. A different one is to ask which is ...
- 1,270
4
votes
If everything is theory laden, how can one argue against climate change deniers?
Per Quine's results from "Two Dogmas of Empiricism", the Duhem-Quine thesis, and later results such as those of Kuhn and Feyerabend, all empirical observations are theory laden.
You missed Popper ...
- 8,160
4
votes
What is the consensus on metaphysical innocence of social construction (2N2C)?
My google search shows that there are no papers discussing 2N2C. The thesis at most was mentioned as a passing interest, never as a focal point. Also, Richard Boyd’ entry on scientific realism in SEP (...
- 3,657
4
votes
Social theory of science?
Other answers and comments so far have mentioned the sociology of scientific knowledge, and science and technology Studies (STS). The recommendations below are related to the sociology of science / ...
- 418
4
votes
Accepted
References Request about Social Networks
Historian Niall Ferguson sets up the long context, comparing the internet age to the rise of the printing press, in The Square and the Tower. An accessible short discussion is this podcast episode of ...
- 23k
4
votes
Accepted
Is Durkheimian critique of Kantian understanding of space and time valid?
Short version
I would argue that Durkheim seemed to think that the a priori character of space as a unitary frame across all rational beings was a threat to the socially determined plurality of ...
- 14.5k
4
votes
Can philosophy be useful?
The question refers to the essay Everything of value is useful: How
philosophy can be socially relevant by the contemporary
philosopher Hans Radder.
Radders main thesis
As a discipline, philosophy is ...
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4
votes
Can philosophy be useful?
What is useful to one person might be useless to another. So my reading of the question is: "Can philosophy be useful to me?"
Generally, when someone asks this question, it is because one ...
- 2,561
4
votes
What is a ‘woman'?
Because I know a lot of people will describe a woman as someone who identifies as a woman... but what is that?
A name. More specifically a name for a grouping of people. Like what does your name mean?...
- 7,343
4
votes
What is a ‘woman'?
It's always had multiple contexts. In a biology lab, or a coming-of-age ceremony, the attention will be different.
In many social contexts, it is simple politeness to use the pronouns people ask you ...
- 23k
4
votes
Is belief nothing but a feeling of certainty about what something means?
Reductionism, that is, the desire to reduce one thing to another, is usually wrong. Belief is what it is and isn't anything else. It has aspects related to a feeling of certainty. It also has aspects ...
- 11.2k
4
votes
Most Widely Held Theories of How "Moral Sense" Arises in a Culture
common sense (which I define as ethical rules of thumb)
I am not sure how you come to take the expression "ethical rules of thumb" as a clarification of the expression "common sense&...
- 9,012
3
votes
Is evolutionary "morality" really the same thing as human morality?
You presented a specific set of claims of contemporary evolutionary moral theory, but I think there are different set of claims you don't acknowledge. It is not that the soldier sacrifices himself ...
- 30.4k
3
votes
Social theory of science?
In the 1980s and 1990s, feminist philosophers played a significant role in bringing attention to the social and political aspects of science. This was around the same time as, but basically ...
- 2,566
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