Abductive Reasoning as a Way of Worldmaking

The author deals with the operational core oflogic, i.e. its diverse procedures ofinference, in order to show that logicallyfalse inferences may in fact be right because –in contrast to logical rationality – theyactually enlarge our knowledge of the world.This does not only mean that logically trueinferences say nothing about the world, butalso that all our inferences are inventedhypotheses the adequacy of which cannot beproved within logic but only pragmatically. Inconclusion the author demonstrates, through therelationship between rule-following andrationality, that it is most irrational to wantto exclude the irrational: it may, at times, bemost rational to think and infer irrationally.Focussing on the operational aspects of knowingas inferring does away with the hiatus betweenlogic and life, cognition and the world(reality) – or whatever other dualism one wantsto invoke –: knowing means inferring, inferringmeans rule-governed interpreting, interpretingis a constructive, synthetic act, and aconstruction that proves adequate (viable) inthe ``world of experience', in life, in thepraxis of living, is, to the constructivistmind, knowledge. It is the practice of livingwhich provides the orienting standards forconstructivist thinking and its judgments ofviability. The question of truth is replaced bythe question of viability, and viabilitydepends on the (right) kind of experiential fit.     

图书馆与信息科学的认知基础--耶希·霍克·沙拉的社会认识论构想

沙拉的社会认识论把知识理解为"书写记录",并根据载体的不同而区分为"内在知识"和"外在知识",而传播则构成了人们获取知识的主要途径.其思想对于图书馆与信息科学的主要作用规范性的理论框架、信息分类的规范性扩展、信息仲裁服务和专家意见的批判性完善.最后本文指出了其所面临的信息哲学的挑战.     

意向性行为中的非观察性知识

安斯康姆指出,在意向性行为中行为者不用观察就知道自己在做什么,这是一种区别于思辨性知识的实践知识,是行动的原因.其中有两个未明确的问题;一是行为者如何无需观察就知道自己在做什么;二是实践知识的"知道"和思辨性知识的"知道"有何实质区别.学者对意向所知的证据进行了分析,但这些分析显示出,难以在意向所知是行动的原因和意向所...     

Evolution of Cognition: Towards the Theory of Origin of Human Logic

The main problem discussed in this paper is: “Why and how did animal cognition abilities arise?” It is argued that investigations of the evolution of animal cognition abilities are very important from an epistemological point of view. A new direction for interdisciplinary researches – the creation and development of the theory of human logic origin – is proposed. The approaches to the origination of such a theory (mathematical models of ``intelligent invention'' of biological evolution, the cybernetic schemes of evolutionary progress and purposeful adaptive behavior) as well as potential interdisciplinary links of the theory are described and analyzed.     

Mathematical,Philosophical and Semantic Considerations on Infinity (I): General Concepts

In the Reality we know, we cannot say if something is infinite whether we are doing Physics, Biology, Sociology or Economics. This means we have to be careful using this concept. Infinite structures do not exist in the physical world as far as we know. So what do mathematicians mean when they assert the existence of ω (the mathematical symbol for the set of all integers)? There is no universally accepted philosophy of mathematics but the most common belief is that mathematics touches on another worldly absolute truth. Many mathematicians believe that mathematics involves a special perception of an idealized world of absolute truth. This comes in part from the recognition that our knowledge of the physical world is imperfect and falls short of what we can apprehend with mathematical thinking. The objective of this paper is to present an epistemological rather than an historical vision of the mathematical concept of infinity that examines the dialectic between the actual and potential infinity.     

On The Impossibility Of Empirical Controls Of Scientific Theories – From The Point Of View Of A Psychologist

Standard considerations of philosophy of science are reformulated in psychological terms and arguments, suggesting a fundamental change in life perspective: subjective experiences or introspective data are subject to motivational biases and therefore not admitted as objective empirical facts in science, However, we never experience objects or events of the external world, i.e., so called objective facts, but exclusively subjective percepts or mental events. They are merely assumed to, but may or may not be accurate or distorted mental representations of objects or events of an external world. Accordingly, the latter are theoretical constructs, i.e., constructs of the fictitious but most successful predictive (implicit) theory, called external world, which seems to be constructed from regularities observed in mental events and serves as a reference fiction for, erroneously called empirical, tests of predictions of scientific theories.Relevant Publication: Micko, H.C.: 2001, Psychologie: Von der Geistes – zur Naturwissenschaft – und weiter wohin? Erkenntnistheoretische Erwägungen vor und nach dem Aufkommen des philosophischen Konstruktivismus. Ztschr. f. Psychologie, 209: 54–68.     

航空术语语义知识库ATHowNet的构建

语义知识库在自然语言处理的许多领域中起着重要的作用。现有的语义知识库主要面向常识知识,特定领域的语义知识库则很少。文章将知网(HowNet)的理论体系与概念表示方法扩展至航空领域,提出了一个航空领域术语语义知识库——ATHowNet,并介绍了构建过程。该知识库包含3700个概念、3959个概念关系和3864个术语。在航空术语相似度计算及词类比任务上应用与验证了ATHowNet,结果证实了其在航空领域概念语义描述及基于概念关系推理上的有效性。     

Inconsistencies in Constituent Theories of World Views: Quantum Mechanical Examples

We put forward the hypothesis that there exist three basic attitudes towards inconsistencies within world views: (1) The inconsistency is tolerated temporarily and is viewed as an expression of a temporary lack of knowledge due to an incomplete or wrong theory. The resolution of the inconsistency is believed to be inherent to the improvement of the theory. This improvement ultimately resolves the contradiction and therefore we call this attitude the ‘regularising’ attitude; (2) The inconsistency is tolerated and both contradicting elements in the theory are retained. This attitude integrates the inconsistency and leads to a paraconsistent calculus; therefore we will call it the paraconsistent attitude. (3) In the third attitude, both elements of inconsistency are considered to be false and the ‘real situation’ is considered something different that can not be described by the theory constructively. This indicates the incompleteness of the theory, and leads us to a paracomplete calculus; therefore we call it the paracomplete attitude. We illustrate these three attitudes by means of two ‘paradoxical’ situations in quantum mechanics, the wave-particle duality and the situation of non locality. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

克里普克论知识悖论

知识悖论及其解决涉及到知识论的核心问题。克里普克在一篇新作中对意外考试悖论进行了深刻分析,并指出这一悖论的产生是由于错误地使用了"知识的持久性"这一前提,并以此为基础提出了一种新的知识悖论,即独断论悖论。通过分析可见,克里普克对"知识的持久性"的反驳以经典的知识论为框架,面对经典知识论所遭受的强有力的挑战,克里普克对意外考试悖论的解决缺乏可靠的理论支撑。知识悖论触及的是知识论的核心问题,任何尝试性的解决方案都要重新思考知识的本质到底是什么。     

Mathematics as a Quasi-Empirical Science

The present paper aims at showing that there are times when set theoretical knowledge increases in a non-cumulative way. In other words, what we call ‘set theory’ is not one theory which grows by simple addition of a theorem after the other, but a finite sequence of theories T ₁, ..., T _n in which T _i+1, for 1 ≤ i < n, supersedes T _i . This thesis has a great philosophical significance because it implies that there is a sense in which mathematical theories, like the theories belonging to the empirical sciences, are fallible and that, consequently, mathematical knowledge has a quasi-empirical nature. The way I have chosen to provide evidence in favour of the correctness of the main thesis of this article consists in arguing that Cantor–Zermelo set theory is a Lakatosian Mathematical Research Programme (MRP).     

词汇系统、真理和不可通约性--库恩的"结构之后的路"

不可通约性是库恩科学哲学思想的一个核心论题，同时也招致相当多的误解和责难。库恩在《科学革命的结构》发表之后就一直致力于该论题的阐明和澄清。从视觉格式塔和语言使用过程中的意艾变化，到局部不可通约性。再到词汇系统或者分类学范畴，库恩联系知识进化与生物进化的共时性类比等问题，对于不可通约性进行深入的分析，并结合对真理符合论的批评，提出一种新的真理现。“结构之后的路”实际上就是库恩努力澄清不可通约性论题之路。     

"哲学资本"——布迪厄社会理论的"工具箱"

布迪厄是法国当代著名社会学家,更是法国当代著名哲学家。但由于多种原因,我国学界并没有把他作为法国当代著名哲学家来对待,因此,我国学者对布迪厄的哲学思想了解的不多。布迪厄依靠自己拥有的哲学资本①(哲学博士和哲学教师资格文凭),创造性地运用系统论、普遍联系和认识论等哲学思想,使其社会理论凸现出建构的结构主义或结构的建构主义、关系主义和反思性的哲学特征,布迪厄在创立社会理论的过程中,哲学资本起到了工具箱②的作用。     

Cognitive? Science?

Cognitive Science is a promising field of research that deals with one of the most fundamental questions ever: how do beings know? However, despite the long and extensive tradition of the field it has not yet become an area of knowledge with scientific identity. This is primarily due to three reasons: the lack of boundaries in defining the object of study, i.e. cognition, the lack of a precise, robust and consistent scientific methodology and results, and the inner problems derived from its interdisciplinary nature. This paper presents a background review, a theoretical frame and a humble reflection on these topics in order to arouse the internal debate among readers once more.     

Abductive Reasoning,Interpretation and Collaborative Processes

In this paper we want to examine how the mutual understanding of speakers is reached during a conversation through collaborative processes, and what role is played by abductive inference (in the Peircean sense) in these processes. We do this by bringing together contributions coming from a variety of disciplines, such as logic, philosophy of language and psychology. When speakers are engaged in a conversation, they refer to a supposed common ground: every participant ascribes to the others some knowledge, belief, opinion etc. on which to rely in order to reach mutual understanding. As the conversation unfolds, this common ground is continually corrected and reshaped by the interchanges. An abductive reasoning takes place, in a collaborative setting, in order to build new possible theories about the common ground. In reconstructing this process through the use of a working example, we argue that the integration of a collaborative perspective within the Peircean theory of abduction can help to solve some of the drawbacks that the critics of the latter have outlined, for example its permissivity and non generativity.

Theory of Knowledge in System Dynamics Models

Having entered into the problem structuring methods, system dynamics (SD) is an approach, among systems’ methodologies, which claims to recognize the main structures of socio-economic behaviors. However, the concern for building or discovering strong philosophical underpinnings of SD, undoubtedly playing an important role in the modeling process, is a long-standing issue, in a way that there is a considerable debate about the assumptions or the philosophical foundations of it. In this paper, with a new perspective, we have explored theory of knowledge in SD models and found strange similarities between classic epistemological concepts such as justification and truth, and the mechanism of obtaining knowledge in SD models. In this regard, we have discussed related theories of epistemology and based on this analysis, have suggested some implications for moderating common problems in the modeling process of SD. Furthermore, this research could be considered a reword of system dynamics modeling principles in terms of theory of knowledge.     

框架术语学的三大研究焦点

框架术语学对普通术语学进行了反思和批判,是描写术语学的最新流派之一.文章介绍了该学派的三个研究焦点:主张基于事件概念组织,从而把术语的句法和组合特征纳入研究视野;考察了术语概念的多维性,突出了语境要素在术语概念表征中的重要作用;把专业语料库作为提取概念知识的主要来源,采用自下而上为主的研究路径.     

Towards a Hierarchical Definition of Life,the Organism,and Death

Despite hundreds of definitions, no consensus exists on a definition of life or on the closely related and problematic definitions of the organism and death. These problems retard practical and theoretical development in, for example, exobiology, artificial life, biology and evolution. This paper suggests improving this situation by basing definitions on a theory of a generalized particle hierarchy. This theory uses the common denominator of the “operator” for a unified ranking of both particles and organisms, from elementary particles to animals with brains. Accordingly, this ranking is called “the operator hierarchy”. This hierarchy allows life to be defined as: matter with the configuration of an operator, and that possesses a complexity equal to, or even higher than the cellular operator. Living is then synonymous with the dynamics of such operators and the word organism refers to a select group of operators that fit the definition of life. The minimum condition defining an organism is its existence as an operator, construction thus being more essential than metabolism, growth or reproduction. In the operator hierarchy, every organism is associated with a specific closure, for example, the nucleus in eukaryotes. This allows death to be defined as: the state in which an organism has lost its closure following irreversible deterioration of its organization. The generality of the operator hierarchy also offers a context to discuss “life as we do not know it”. The paper ends with testing the definition’s practical value with a range of examples.     

Error, Error-Statistics and Self-Directed Anticipative Learning

Error is protean, ubiquitous and crucial in scientific process. In this paper it is argued that understanding scientific process requires what is currently absent: an adaptable, context-sensitive functional role for error in science that naturally harnesses error identification and avoidance to positive, success-driven, science. This paper develops a new account of scientific process of this sort, error and success driving Self-Directed Anticipative Learning (SDAL) cycling, using a recent re-analysis of ape-language research as test example. The example shows the limitations of other accounts of error, in particular Mayo’s (Error and the growth of experimental knowledge, 1996) error-statistical approach, and SDAL cycling shows how they can be fruitfully contextualised.     

安德烈·高兹的汽车社会意识形态理论及其意义

安德烈·高兹认为汽车是一种具有特权标志的非民主化奢侈品,一旦被大众化就会丧失其独特的使用价值。在资本逻辑推动下,大众化消费的汽车成为资本主义意识形态,是一种掩盖现实的虚假意识,控制、影响着人们的日常生活。汽车的大众化消费使得汽车提供的消费神话及特权在现实中幻灭,带来严重的交通堵塞、生态恶化等问题,令人们原本统一的生活被分割。高兹揭示了汽车的社会意识形态功能及其本质,分析他的汽车社会意识形态理论,能为绿色交通、低碳出行等民生问题的解决提供启示。     

Taxonomy Based Models for Reasoning: Making Inferences from Electronic Road Sign Information

Taxonomy Based modeling was applied to describe drivers’ mental models of variable message signs (VMS’s) displayed on expressways. Progress in road telematics has made it possible to introduce variable message signs (VMS’s). Sensors embedded in the carriageway every 500m record certain variables (speed, flow rate, etc.) that are transformed in real time into “driving times” to a given destination if road conditions do not change. VMS systems are auto-regulative Man-Machine (AMMI) systems which incorporate a model of the user: if the traffic flow is too high, then drivers should choose alternative routes. In so doing, the traffic flow should decrease. The model of the user is based on suppositions such as: people do not like to waste time, they fully understand the displayed messages, they trust the displayed values, they know of alternative routes. However, people also have a model of the way the system functions. And if they do not believe the contents of the message, they will not act as expected. We collected data through interviews with drivers using the critical incidents technique (Flanagan, 1985). Results show that the mental models that drivers have of the way the VMS system works are various but not numerous and that most of them differ from the“ideal expert” mental model. It is clear that users don’t have an adequate model of how the VMS system works and that VMS planners have a model of user behaviour that does not correspond to the behaviour of the drivers we interviewed. Finally, Taxonomy Based Modeling is discussed as a tool for mental model remediation.