The silence of the norms: The missing historiography of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

History has been disparaged since the late 19th century for not conforming to norms of scientific explanation. Nonetheless, as a matter of fact a work of history upends the regnant philosophical conception of science in the second part of the 20th century. Yet despite its impact, Kuhn’s Structure has failed to motivate philosophers to ponder why works of history should be capable of exerting rational influence on an understanding of philosophy of science. But all this constitutes a great irony and a mystery. The mystery consists of the persistence of a complete lack of interest in efforts to theorize historical explanation. Fundamental questions regarding why an historical account could have any rational influence remain not merely unanswered, but unasked. The irony arises from the fact that analytic philosophy of history went into an eclipse where it remains until this day just around the time that the influence of Kuhn’s great work began to make itself felt. This paper highlights puzzles long ignored regarding the challenges a work of history managed to pose to the epistemic authority of science, and what this might imply generally for the place of philosophy of history vis-à-vis the problems of philosophy.     

The role of orientation experiments in discovering mechanisms

Many types of experiments have been recognized in the literature. One important type we discuss in this article is the orientation experiment. While orientation experiments are like other types of experiments in that they are tests for causal relevance, they also have other qualities. One important (but not the only) goal of these experiments is to offer a rough, qualitative characterization of the mechanism responsible for a capacity of interest, effectively constraining future research. This makes them particularly useful during the early stages of investigation, when an explanandum-phenomenon has just been identified and several (often competing) hypotheses as to the qualitative character of the mechanism responsible for it are proposed. We illustrate our claims, and explicate a number of additional aims that orientation experiments can sometimes serve, by considering three case studies from different era's, namely the discovery of the mechanisms responsible for i) the capacity of eels to produce numbing sensations (17th and 18th century), ii) puerperal fever in Semmelweis' Vienna Maternity Hospital (19th century), and iii) the capacity of pigeons to home (20th century).     

Prediction in context: On the comparative epistemic merit of predictive success

The considerations set out in the paper are intended to suggest that in practical contexts predictive power does not play the outstanding roles sometimes accredited to it in an epistemic framework. Rather, predictive power is part of a network of other merits and achievements. Predictive power needs to be judged differently according to the specific conditions that apply. First, predictions need to be part of an explanatory framework if they are supposed to guide actions reliably. Second, in scientific expertise, the demand for accurate predictions is replaced with the objective of specifying a robust corridor of estimates. Finally, it is highly uncertain to predict the success of research projects. The overall purpose of the paper is to enlarge the debate about predictions by addressing specifically the roles of predictions in application-oriented research.     

《被遗弃的奶奶韦瑟罗》与《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》的人物形象比对

《被遗弃的奶奶韦瑟罗》与《献给艾米丽的玫瑰》两部小说通过意识流及追溯手法塑造人物,将人物自我的内在展现与人物故我的反思结合创造出动态发展的人物形象.此外,在对两位人物的塑造过程中,叙述角度的选择展现出来的自我与他我的差异也可以展现矛盾的人物形象.     

亚氏的悲剧理论和苔丝的悲剧人生

托马斯.哈代是十九世纪的英国文学巨匠,他的代表作《德伯家的苔丝》早已深入人心。亚里士多德是古希腊伟大的哲学家,他的代表作《诗学》是西方美学史上第一部最为系统的美学和艺术理论著作。亚氏提出的悲剧理论也一直被用作分析悲剧的理论基础。用该理论分析《苔丝》中女主人公的悲惨命运,以期帮助读者有效地理解苔丝悲剧人生的成因。     

文言释义应结合语境——以新课标教材文言文若干疑难注释为例

以新课标教材文言文中“素琴”等8个词语为研究对象，比较各家的不同释义，阐明各家说法的合理性，并指出其疏漏，运用训诂的原理，说明文言释义应结合语境。才能使释义符合实际。     

从多维的视角看胡锦涛对科学发展观的阐释

从价值追求、中心任务、人与自然、理论源泉等四个维度,进一步理解和揭示胡锦涛对科学发展观的精神实质和科学内涵的深刻阐释。     

敦煌文献释读两则

敦煌文献释读两例：一是S．1946宋淳化二年押衙韩愿定卖妮子契、φ96《双恩记》“换”读为“惠”．意为“忧虑，担忧”；二是x01409后梁贞明六年辛奴子典腹生男胡儿契“始”读为“计”，意为“办法，计策”。     

《读书杂志》运用“类比手法”释词浅析

《读书杂志》运用“类比手法”释词表现在六个方面，即：表明释词方式相同、揭明比喻义相同、直引同类训释为解、用类比推理说明词义训释、说明正反同词、说明古语今义。     

液压式风力致热系统风机限速控制装置的设计及计算机仿真

本文介绍了一种风力致热系统中风机限速自动控制装置的结构及工作原理,并应用空间状态分析法做出了限速装置功率键合图,进而建立起了的该装置的数学模型,进行了其动、静态特性的仿真。在仿真的基础上取得了合理的设计参数,并由此进行了该装置的设计和实验研究。