The naturalism of the sciences |
| |
Authors: | Gregory W Dawes Tiddy Smith |
| |
Institution: | 1. Department of Cardiology, University of Erlangen, Ulmenweg 18, 91054 Erlangen, Germany;2. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA;3. Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA;4. Knight Cardiovascular Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA |
| |
Abstract: | The sciences are characterized by what is sometimes called a “methodological naturalism,” which disregards talk of divine agency. In response to those who argue that this reflects a dogmatic materialism, a number of philosophers have offered a pragmatic defense. The naturalism of the sciences, they argue, is provisional and defeasible: it is justified by the fact that unsuccessful theistic explanations have been superseded by successful natural ones. But this defense is inconsistent with the history of the sciences. The sciences have always exhibited what we call a domain naturalism. They have never invoked divine agency, but have always focused on the causal structure of the natural world. It is not the case, therefore, that the sciences once employed theistic explanations and then abandoned them. The naturalism of the sciences is as old as science itself. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|