Ontological pluralism and social values.
Stud Hist Philos Sci
; 104: 61-67, 2024 Apr.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38467080
ABSTRACT
There seems to be an emerging consensus among many philosophers of science that non-epistemic values ought to play a role in the process of scientific reasoning itself. Recently, a number of philosophers have focused on the role of values in scientific classification or taxonomy. Their claim is that a choice of ontology or taxonomic scheme can only be made, or should only be made, by appealing to non-epistemic or social values. In this paper, I take on this "argument from ontological choice," claiming that it equivocates on the notion of choice. An ontological choice can be understood either in terms of determining which taxonomic scheme is valid, or in terms of deciding which taxonomic scheme to deploy in a given context. I try to show that while the latter can be determined in part by social values, the former ought not to be so determined.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Values
/
Cultural Diversity
Language:
En
Journal:
Stud Hist Philos Sci
/
Studies in history and philosophy of science
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
Reino Unido