Cultures of meta-cognition: developing an anthropological theory of belief
Paper given at the Goldsmith's anthropology seminar, 7 December 2011.
Can science tell us what's objectively true?
by Brian Earp
Earp, B. D. (2011). Can science tell us what’s objectively true? The New Collection, Vol. 6., No. 1, 1-9. Featured article in the graduate journal of New College, Oxford.
Can science tell us what’s objectively true? Or is it merely a clever way to cure doubt – to give us something to... more Can science tell us what’s objectively true? Or is it merely a clever way to cure doubt – to give us something to believe in, whether it’s true or not? In this essay, I look at the pragmatist account of science expounded by Charles Sanders Peirce in his 1877 essay, ‘The Fixation of Belief’. Against Peirce, I argue that science does not come naturally to our species, nor does the doubting open-mindedness upon which its practice relies. To the extent that science is successful in ‘curing’ doubt, it’s because it tracks the real state of the world; and I argue that Peirce himself – his pragmatist narrative notwithstanding – is implicitly committed to this view as well.
824 views
Seen by: and 167 moreThe will is caused, not 'free'
by Brian Earp
Bargh, J. A., & Earp, B. D. (2009). The will is caused, not 'free'. Dialogue, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 24 No 1, 13-15.
602 views
Seen by: and 84 more
