Defending Longino's Social Epistemology (1) ABSTRACT: Though many agree that we need to account for the role that social factors play in inquiry, developing a viable social epistemology has proved to be a difficult task. According to Longino, it is the processes that make inquiry possible that are aptly described as social, for they require a number of people to sustain them. These processes not only facilitate inquiry, but also ensure that the results of inquiry are more than mere subjective opinions, and thus deserve to be called knowledge. In this paper, I explain Longino’s epistemology and defend it against criticisms recently raised by Kitcher, Schmitt and Solomon. Longino rightly recognizes that not all social factors have the same (adverse) effect on inquiry. She also recommends that we reconceptualize ‘knowledge,’ distinguishing knowledge from opinion by reference to a social standard. Though it is agreed that epistemologists need to account for the role social factors play in inquiry, developing a viable social epistemology has proved to be a difficult task. According to Longino, it is the processes that make inquiry possible that are social, requiring a number of people to sustain them. These processes, she claims, not only facilitate inquiry, but also ensure that the results of inquiry are more than mere subjective opinions, and thus deserve to be called "knowledge." Here, I want to both explain and defend Longino's epistemology. I Longino defines her account of scientific knowledge relative to positivist and wholist accounts. Though many regard positivism as offering an untenable account of science, because "no comparable sweeping and detailed philosophical view has replaced it," Longino believes that it still needs to be reckoned with (L1990, 21). Wholists are significant because they have been the greatest critics of positivism. After presenting these accounts, and explaining the difficulties that Longino has with them, I will present Longino's own account of scientific knowledge and inquiry. This discussion focuses on two issues: the relationship between evidence and hypotheses; and, the role of "contextual" values in inquiry. Longino contrasts contextual values with constitutive values. The latter, the "values generated from an understanding of the goals of scientific inquiry," "are the source of the rules determining what constitutes acceptable scientific practice or scientific method" (L1990, 4). That these values influence inquiry is not a problem. But the former, "personal, social, and cultural values," are thought to threaten the integrity of scientific inquiry (L1990, 4-5). According to positivists, "the fundamental base of inquiry, the source of confirming or disconfirming instances, is a set of .
Meryl Davids is a professional writer/editor with an education from the University of Pennsylvania. With an outstanding twenty plus years of experience under her belt, Davids has work featured in magzines and journals such as: U.S. News & World Report, Wall Street Journal, and The Journal of Business Strategy. In this article Davids brings to our attention the successfulness of Henry Ford as well as the some of the struggles he faced trough out his life. Davids lets us know right from the start that Ford was a smart man and he knew that time was money. Ford states, “Time loves to be wasted.” The solution to this was a large-scale assembly line. With the successfulness of the assembly line and the money Ford was saving he double the wages of his employees from $2.50 to $5 overnight as
In the given case study, the patient has arrived at the emergency department in disturbed and agitated condition. She was silent however her expressions were reflecting as she was depressed. The bloody clothes were representing that she may have attempted suicide. Janet’s parents informed that they have noticed change in her behaviour from few months. She has lost her focus on work and studies and as a result left school. She becomes angry, agitated and violent when her family members try to ask questions or try to discuss with her regarding her health, hygiene or dressing. According to her parent she does not take meals which affected her health. Most importantly, she had broken a mirror by smashing with her hands and locked herself in her room before she came to the emergency department which shows her anger, violence and agitation that may be harmful for her and for others as well.
ABSTRACT: Imre Lakatos' "methodology of scientific research programs" and Alasdair MacIntyre's "tradition-constituted enquiry" are two sustained attempts to overcome the assumptions of logical empiricism, while saving the appearance that theory-change is rational. The key difference between them is their antithetical stand on the issue of incommensurability between large-scale theories. This divergence generates other areas of disagreement; the most important are the relevance of the historical record and the presence of decision criteria that are common to rival programs. I show that Lakatos' rejection of the incommensurability thesis and dismissal of actual history are motivated by the belief that neither are compatible with the rationality of theory-change. If MacIntyre can deny the necessity of dispensing with the historical record, and show that incommensurability and the consequent absence of shared decision criteria are compatible with rationality in theory-change, then Lakatos' argument will lose its force, and MacIntyre will better honor the intention to take seriously the historicality of science. I argue that MacIntyre can dissolve tensions between incommensurability and rationality in theory-change if he is able, first, to distinguish a sense of the incommensurability thesis that preserves genuine rivalry between theories, and second, to show that the possibility of rationality in theory-change depends not on the presence of common decision criteria, but on the fact that traditions can fail by their own standards. After reconstructing and examining the argument, I conclude that the notion of a tradition's "internal failure" is coherent, but that it leaves crucial questions about the epistemology and ontology of traditions that must be answered if MacIntyre's proposal is to constitute a genuine improvement on Lakatos.
Moser, Paul. The Blackwell Guide to Epistemology. (Eds. Greco, J. and Sosa, E.). Blackwell.(1999). Chapter 2. pp. 70-91.
This detailed text provides an understanding of reading and writing through detailed case studies, reflective questioning and further reading; in addition to links with the Early Years Curriculum (EYFS)(DCSF, 2008) provide informative information accessible to both practitioner and parent. As pointed out by the authors, literacy relates to fifty % of the early learning goals, therefore highlights the importance by the practitioner to make the acquisition of literacy exciting and meaningful through a multitude of role play scenarios, stories, rhymes and oral language, thus providing opportunities for the child to put life experiences of literacy into context, while scaffolding existing knowledge.
tangible and other physical factors are equal. As a matter of law, "Where the state has
things are comparable in some values then they must be comparable in other values. It refers to
On the other hand, if there is at least one property that two objects do not share, the objects are
2. A: They are very similar, but they are not the same, but show how we
...y nor that the distinctions between each perspective are absolute. The separation of the different perspectives is complex and ambiguous. Therefore the apparent relation between the different aspects partly coincide with one another.
This means that literacy, in the twenty first century, encompasses a number of skills beyond reading and writing in the form of digital literacy, multi-literacy and cross-disciplinary literacy. This essay will discuss the above forms of literacy by considering different perspectives in the following paragraphs. Further, the essay will discuss about the different methods of assessing these literacy skills in early childhood and primary school level by taking into account of Early Years Learning Framework and Australian
While skills developed in the preschool years are important aspects of literacy development, for the purpose of this paper only the key stages of emergent literacy development stages will be explicitly discussed along with the compulsory instruction
Being literate sparks from the importance of immersing a child within a literate classroom. Goodwin (2011) states that ‘a literate classroom will be full of purposeful interaction between children and adults, where genuine conservations spark ideas and allow learners to work on understanding’ (p2). This indicates that a large contribution to the literate classroom is the ability for children to develop their speaking and listening with confidence. Goodwin develops the importance of a literate classroom in that, if children are confident and believe in themselves with regards to being readers and writers, then they shall read and write (p2, 2011).
Henry Ford is known as one of the men who started to use the ideas of mass production and sub-divided labor. When his life and leadership is reviewed on a deeper level, the fact that he was a truly ingenious leader reveals itself. The leadership abilities of Henry Ford were significant and his skills as a leader become most evident when analyzed using the leadership skills that have been explored by Kouzes and Posner. These skills are Modeling the Way, Inspiring a Shared Vision, Challenging a Process, Enabling Others to Act, and Encouraging the Heart. In reflecting on the life of the great leader Henry Ford, it can be seen that his life and leadership methods keep with Kouzes and Posner’s teachings.
takes note of the fact that two or more things are similar in some respects and