Works of Karl Schroeder

up a level
post article
search
admin
main
parent
thread

Re: Completing the Revolution
by Karl on Monday February 10, @08:45AM

You should not treat a science with contempt simply because its subject matter is too messy or squishy to be codified using mathematics. Physics has long reigned as the queen of sciences because of the mathematical method; but the underlying assumption there is once again that the mathematical methods somehow make it "more true" than other sciences. After all, mathematics is transcendent, right?...

So which is more true? Theory or observation? I would say the latter, which is what cognitive science depends on: it is a realm of replicable empirical experiment, and therefore definitely science, definitely not alchemy. It therefore has authority, whether or not its results can be formulated in mathemtical terms.

To put it another way, if you don't assume that mathematics is the language of a transcendent truth, then those sciences that lord it over the 'soft' sciences by using mathematical precision (physics, chemistry) have no call to do so. What is decisive in doing real science is replicable experiment, not mathematical theory.

At some point, however, natural science does smack up against philosophy--for instance, in the 'observer problem' in quantum mechanics. Nothing is proven yet about the fundamental constitution of the universe; you can continue to believe in the transcendent Platonic realm if you really want to. Just as long as you realize that it's a belief not grounded in empirical fact.

Post Reply

Name
Email
Notify	Notify me via email of responses to this message
Title
Comment	(Check those URLs! Don't forget the http://!)
Encoding	If none of the above mean anything to you, select 'Plain'!
Attachment	(You can attach a file to your reply which can then be retrieved by other readers. Try to keep the file sizes below 500Kb in order to conserve network and server resources.)

Allowed HTML	<B> <I> <P> <A> <LI> <OL> <UL> <EM> <BR> <TT> <HR> <STRONG> <BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV .> <DIV> <P .>

Important Stuff:

Note: Fields with bold titles are required.

Please try to keep posts on topic.

Try to reply to other people comments instead of starting new threads,

Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said.

Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about.

Please do not post offtopic, inflammatory, inappropriate, illegal, or offensive comments. Repeat offenders will be sanctioned.



All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest is owned and distributed by Karl Schroeder under the following license: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada License. If you use this material, please attribute Karl Schroeder. If you alter this material or make derivative works, please acknowledge that your aims and moral intent may be different than Karl Schroeder's aim for the original work.

home post article search admin