Science and Human Freedom

Science and Human Freedom PDF Author: Michael Esfeld
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030377717
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
This book argues for two claims: firstly, determinism in science does not infringe upon human free will because it is descriptive, not prescriptive, and secondly, the very formulation, testing and justification of scientific theories presupposes human free will and thereby persons as ontologically primitive. The argument against predetermination is broadly Humean, or more precisely ‘Super-Humean’, whereas that against naturalist reduction is in large Kantian, drawing from Sellars on the scientific and the manifest image. Thus, whilst the book defends scientific realism against the confusion between fact and fake, it also reveals why scientific theories, laws and explanations cannot succeed in imposing norms for our actions upon us, neither on the level of the individual nor on that of society. Esfeld makes a strong case for an ontology of science that is minimally sufficient to explain our scientific and common sense knowledge, not only removing the concern that the laws of nature are incompatible with human freedom, but furthermore showing how our freedom is in fact a very presupposition for science.

Science and Human Freedom

Science and Human Freedom PDF Author: Michael Esfeld
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030377717
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
This book argues for two claims: firstly, determinism in science does not infringe upon human free will because it is descriptive, not prescriptive, and secondly, the very formulation, testing and justification of scientific theories presupposes human free will and thereby persons as ontologically primitive. The argument against predetermination is broadly Humean, or more precisely ‘Super-Humean’, whereas that against naturalist reduction is in large Kantian, drawing from Sellars on the scientific and the manifest image. Thus, whilst the book defends scientific realism against the confusion between fact and fake, it also reveals why scientific theories, laws and explanations cannot succeed in imposing norms for our actions upon us, neither on the level of the individual nor on that of society. Esfeld makes a strong case for an ontology of science that is minimally sufficient to explain our scientific and common sense knowledge, not only removing the concern that the laws of nature are incompatible with human freedom, but furthermore showing how our freedom is in fact a very presupposition for science.

Scientific Freedom

Scientific Freedom PDF Author: Donald W. Braben
Publisher: Stripe Press
ISBN: 1953953298
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
A revolutionary and timely proposal for reinvigorating transformative scientific discovery, written by a preeminent leader in Venture Research. So rich was the scientific harvest of the early 20th century that it transformed entire industries and economies. Max Planck laid the foundation for quantum physics, Barbara McClintock for modern genetics, Linus Pauling for chemistry—the list goes on. In the 1970s, the nature of scientific work started to change. Increases in public funding for scientific research brought demands that spending be justified; a system of peer review that selected only the research proposals promising the greatest returns; and a push for endless short-term miracles instead of in-depth, boundary-pushing research. A vicious spiral of decline began. In Scientific Freedom, Donald W. Braben presents a framework to find and support cutting-edge, much-needed scientific innovation. Braben—who led British Petroleum’s Venture Research initiative, which aimed to identify and aid researchers challenging current scientific thinking—explains: —the conditions that catalyzed scientific research in the early 20th century; —the costs to society of our current research model; —the changing role of the university as a research institution; —how BP’s Venture Research initiative succeeded by minimizing bureaucracy and peer review, and the program’s impact; —the selection, budget, and organizational criteria for implementing a Venture Research program today. Even in the earliest stages, transformative and groundbreaking research can look unrecognizable to those who are accustomed to the patterns established by the past. Support for this research can, in fact, be low risk and offer rich rewards, but it requires rethinking the processes used to discover and sponsor scientists with groundbreaking ideas—and then giving those innovators the freedom to explore. First published in 2008, this new edition of Scientific Freedom is produced in a gorgeous archival quality hardcover with over 30 new illustrations and an up-to-date foreword by Donald Braben.

Modern Science and Human Freedom

Modern Science and Human Freedom PDF Author: David L. Miller
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780837121017
Category : Free will and determinism
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description


Freedom and Evolution

Freedom and Evolution PDF Author: Adrian Bejan
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030340090
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
The book begins with familiar designs found all around and inside us (such as the ‘trees’ of river basins, human lungs, blood and city traffic). It then shows how all flow systems are driven by power from natural engines everywhere, and how they are endlessly shaped because of freedom. Finally, Professor Bejan explains how people, like everything else that moves on earth, are driven by power derived from our “engines” that consume fuel and food, and that our movement dissipates the power completely and changes constantly for greater access, economies of scale, efficiency, innovation and life. Written for wide audiences of all ages, including readers interested in science, patterns in nature, similarity and non-uniformity, history and the future, and those just interested in having fun with ideas, the book shows how many “design change” concepts acquire a solid scientific footing and how they exist with the evolution of nature, society, technology and science.

The Soul of the Marionette

The Soul of the Marionette PDF Author: John Gray
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0374261180
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
"Originally published in 2015 by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books, Great Britain"--Title page verso.

The Psychology of Human Freedom

The Psychology of Human Freedom PDF Author: Malcolm R. Westcott
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461388139
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
In this book I pursue three goals. The first is to describe what has been learned about human freedom through psychological research. The second is to provide a conceptual and methodological critique of the large body of that research which has been conducted within the framework of a positivist natural science ex perimental social psychology. My third goal is to offer a contrasting human science approach to the study of human freedom and to illustrate its use in empirical study. For more than twenty years psychologists have inves tigated the conditions under which people are seen to be free, the conditions under which they report feeling free, the psychological consequences of interference with be havioural freedoms, and to a lesser extent, how it feels to feel free. Empirical fmdings on each of these facets of human freedom have arisen in quite separate research traditions, and they are brought together here for the first time. During the same twenty years, a general critique of the dominant positivist natural science approach to complex human phenomena has been growing. Although it has escalated recently, this critique has fIrm roots that go back to the turn of the century. I review this general critique and apply it specifically to the study of human freedom - surely a complex human phenomenon, more complex, ambiguous, and paradoxical than most of us im agine.

Rationality, Control, and Freedom

Rationality, Control, and Freedom PDF Author: Curran F. Douglass
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1611478383
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The subject of this book is the controversy—one of the oldest in philosophy—about whether it is possible to have freedom in the face of universal causal determinism. Of course, it is crucial to consider what such freedom might mean—in particular, there is an important distinction between libertarian “free will” and the more naturalistic view of freedom taken by compatibilists. This book provides background for laypersons through a historical survey of earlier views and some discussion and criticism of various contemporary views. In particular, it states and discusses the Consequence Argument, the most important argument challenging human freedom in recent literature. The main feature of the book is the argument for a solution: one that is within the compatibilist tradition, is naturalistic and in accord with findings of science and principles of engineering control theory. Some particular features of the offered solution include an argument for a close tie between freedom and control—where what is meant is the voluntary motion control of our bodies, and this “control” is understood naturalistically, by which the author means in accordance with concepts of engineering control theory and modern science. Such concepts are used to explain and demarcate the concept of “control” being used. Then it develops a working conception of what rationality is (since what is crucial is freedom in choice, and rationality is crucial to that), by reviewing texts on the subject by three expert authors (namely, Nathanson, Nozick, and Searle). It is argued that rationality is a species of biological learning control that involves deliberation; and that our freedom in choice is greatest when our choices are most rational.

Natural Science and Human Science Approaches to the Study of Human Freedom

Natural Science and Human Science Approaches to the Study of Human Freedom PDF Author: Malcolm R. Westcott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Liberty
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description


Love As Human Freedom

Love As Human Freedom PDF Author: Paul A. Kottman
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 150360232X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 348

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Book Description
Rather than see love as a natural form of affection, Love As Human Freedom sees love as a practice that changes over time through which new social realities are brought into being. Love brings about, and helps us to explain, immense social-historical shifts—from the rise of feminism and the emergence of bourgeois family life, to the struggles for abortion rights and birth control and the erosion of a gender-based division of labor. Drawing on Hegel, Paul A. Kottman argues that love generates and explains expanded possibilities for freely lived lives. Through keen interpretations of the best known philosophical and literary depictions of its topic—including Shakespeare, Plato, Nietzsche, Ovid, Flaubert, and Tolstoy—his book treats love as a fundamental way that we humans make sense of temporal change, especially the inevitability of death and the propagation of life.

Moder Science and Human Freedom

Moder Science and Human Freedom PDF Author: David Louis Miller
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description