practice of philosophy rosenberg pdf free

Frequently, the practice turn is associated with a shift from analyzing products of science to analyzing scientific processes or activities (Chang 2011), with a shift from theory-focused to practice-centered epistemology (Waters 2014), and with a shift from purely intellectual and conceptual perspectives on science to ones that also consider the social context and the material aspects of scientific practice (Soler et al. Philosophers spell out in different ways what it means for philosophy of science to turn towards scientific practice. 1 1 A recent indication of the turn towards scientific practice is the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP), founded in 2005. Philosophy of science that pays close attention to scientific practice is also called “philosophy of science in practice” (Ankeny et al. In other words, they agree that philosophical accounts about science must arise from an “empirical engagement with science” (Boumans and Leonelli 2013, 260) and that philosophers of science should seek to understand-“from the inside while retaining a philosophical perspective” (Wimsatt 2007, 27)-how science works, why it is successful, and why it sometimes fails. More and more philosophers of science agree that philosophical theories about science must account for how science actually is done and must be informed, for instance, by the explanations developed in scientific practice and by the investigative strategies that scientists in fact employ. 2014), that is, a turn towards scientific practice. In recent decades, many areas of philosophy of science have undergone what is now referred to as a “practice turn” (e.g., Soler et al. Distinguishing these three kinds of normativity gives rise to a nuanced and illuminating view of how philosophy of science can be normative.

Metanormativity arises from the kind of claims that a philosophical theory contains, such as normative claims about science as it should be. Object normativity emerges from the fact that the object of philosophical theorizing can itself be normative, such as when philosophers discuss epistemic norms in science. Methodological normativity arises from normative assumptions that philosophers make when they select, interpret, evaluate, and mutually adjust relevant empirical information, on which they base their philosophical theories. It analyzes the normativity of philosophy of science by articulating three ways in which a philosophical theory can be normative. It argues that normativity is a multifaceted phenomenon rather than a general feature that a philosophical theory either has or lacks.

This paper analyzes what it means for philosophy of science to be normative.

Practice of philosophy rosenberg pdf free