The material theory of induction and the epistemology of thought experiments

John D. Norton is responsible for a number of influential views in contemporary philosophy of science. This paper will discuss two of them. The material theory of induction claims that inductive arguments are ultimately justified by their material features, not their formal features. Thus, while a deductive argument can be valid irrespective of the content of the propositions that make up the argument, an inductive argument about, say, apples, will be justified (or not) depending on facts about apples. The argument view of thought experiments claims that thought experiments are arguments, and that they function epistemically however arguments do. These two views have generated a great deal of discussion, although there hasn't been much written about their combination. I argue that despite some interesting harmonies, there is a serious tension between them. I consider several options for easing this tension, before suggesting a set of changes to the argument view that I take to be consistent with Norton's fundamental philosophical commitments, and which retain what seems intuitively correct about the argument view. These changes require that we move away from a unitary epistemology of thought experiments and towards a more pluralist position.     

Debunking material induction

In this paper, we present an explanatory objection to Norton's material theory of induction, as applied to predictive inferences. According to the objection we present, there is an explanatory disconnect between our beliefs about the future and the relevant future facts. We argue that if we recognize such a disconnect, we are no longer rationally entitled to our future beliefs.     

Epistemic benefits of the material theory of induction

C. D. Broad famously labelled the problem of providing our inductive practices with a proper justification “the scandal of philosophy” (Broad, 1952). Recently, John Norton has provided a dissolution of this problem (2014). According to Norton, inductive inference is grounded in particular facts obtaining within particular domains (J. Norton, 2003b, 2010, 2014). Because the material theory does not involve a universal schema of induction, Norton claims it dissolves the problem of induction (which implies that such universal schemas cannot be justified).In this paper, I critically evaluate Norton's dissolution. In particular, I argue that the problem of induction is an epistemological problem, that Norton's material theory entails an externalist epistemology, and that it is a common feature of such epistemologies that they dissolve the problem of induction. The upshot is that the material theory is not unique in its ability to reap the specifically epistemic benefits of dissolving the problem of induction, and thus that the epistemic advantages of the material theory over extant alternatives in this regard are fewer than it may appear at first sight.     

石油生产企业物资零库存管理

石油生产企业,物资管理是其工作中的一项重要组成部分,物资库存管理又是物资管理的重要环节,是物资管理中的一个难点。零库存管理,是物资不以仓库存储的形式存在,而是均处于周转的状态,实现库存量的最优化。     

材料成形技术基础双语教学的教改实践

针对地方本科院校的材料成形技术基础双语教学的现状,本文总结了笔者承担双语教学任务中进行教学改革的一些经验和体会,并着重对双语教材、网络平台和教学措施进行了分析和讨论。     

宇宙年龄和宇宙物质密度

根据爱因斯坦广义相对论,时空弯曲,宇宙是有限的。现在已被主流物理学家普遍接受的是标准宇宙论,按标准宇宙论经过严格的数学推导,演算得到了宇宙的年龄、宇宙物质密度。作者根据广大天体物理工作者认可的观察数据和结论,通过初等数学的计算,得到的结果大相径庭。根本没天体物工作者寻找的暗物质。     

基于X方物流理论构建电子商务“云配送网络”

针对当前我国电子商务发展中出现的网上购物与物流配送之间的矛盾,提出从大物流论的视角出发,用X方物流理论,构建电子商务末端物流云配送网络;采用物联网技术,实现智能配送和建立城市公共物流信息平台,尽快推出城市配送行业标准的应对策略.     

赣东北地区下寒武统荷塘组页岩气保存条件分析

通过剖面测量等野外地质调查手段和"X"射线衍射分析等室内实验测试方法,分析了赣东北地区下寒武统荷塘组页岩气赋存的物质基础、孔隙特征、演化特征及构造发育特征等地质条件,在确认了下寒武统荷塘组页岩具有良好生烃条件的前提下,重点研究了荷塘组页岩气的保存条件及其差异性。研究结果表明:研究区页岩气保存条件整体良好,下寒武统荷塘组页岩含气量在(1.0~5.0)m3/t之间;受构造和岩浆活动的影响,不同地区页岩气保存条件存在差异;扬子地块、上饶地块及怀玉山区块在断裂、岩浆活动及成岩作用综合影响下,页岩层构造变形程度大,完整度遭到一定破坏,页岩气保存条件相对较差;玉山区块受后期构造运动影响小,岩浆活动弱,褶皱相对宽缓,下寒武统荷塘组页岩埋深和厚度大,页岩气保存条件相对较好。     

轴向小型绝缘堆真空沿面闪络实验设计

根据大型脉冲功率装置中的绝缘堆的结构特点,设计了一个新的四层轴向小型绝缘堆.它由四层绝缘环构成,分隔水界面与真空界面.在该绝缘结构开展静电场计算和电路仿真计算后,进行了有机玻璃小型绝缘堆的真空沿面闪络实验,实验结果反映了有机玻璃圆环结构的耐压特性.根据实验结果推算圆环结构下有机玻璃的材料常数,并计算了绝缘堆的闪络概率.圆环绝缘结构的尺寸大于一般真空沿面闪络实验中常用的圆柱与圆台结构绝缘子,结构和尺寸更接近于实际工程应用的绝缘堆结构,从实验结果中得到的关键材料常数将更适用于评估大型绝缘堆结构的闪络概率.     

Between meaning culture and presence effects: contemporary biomedical objects as a challenge to museums

The acquisition and display of material artefacts is the raison d’être of museums. But what constitutes a museum artefact? Contemporary medicine (biomedicine) is increasingly producing artefacts that do not fit the traditional museological understanding of what constitutes a material, tangible artefact. Museums today are therefore caught in a paradox. On the one hand, medical science and technologies are having an increasing pervasive impact on the way contemporary life is lived and understood and is therefore a central part of the contemporary world. On the other hand, the objects involved in medical diagnostics and therapies are becoming increasingly invisible and intangible and therefore seem to have no role to play as artefacts in a museum context. Consequently, museums are at risk of becoming alienated from an increasingly important part of contemporary society. This essay elaborates the paradox by employing Gumbrecht’s (2004) distinction between ‘presence’ and ‘meaning’.