Owen, etal. I really like this resolution.
Philosophers as Mathematical Scouts. Nick Nicholas S. Thompson Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, Clark University ([email protected]) http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ > [Original Message] > From: Owen Densmore <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]>; The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[email protected]> > Date: 7/10/2009 5:07:29 PM > Subject: Re: [FRIAM] Analytic philosophy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia > > Not contempt. I'm puzzled. Hence the question: > Why is it that philosophy does not build on prior work > in the same way mathematics does? > > The answer Glen gave is quite satisfying: they're not expected to, > they're on the frontier figuring out the right questions to be > addressing. Math is the cleanup squad. > > This makes philosophy much easier to understand: just wait until they > tickle your fancy, then apply formalism to make it last. Philosophy > is not constructive. I think I knew that but hadn't put it into words. > > -- Owen > > > On Jul 10, 2009, at 10:48 AM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: > > > Glen, > > > > What you have written below is beautifully said. I often feel that > > Owen's > > contempt for philosophy arises from bulldozing everything he finds > > contemptible into a pile and calling it philosophy. I know so many > > mathematicians who dip back into philosophy from time to time to > > agree with > > the proposition that nothing that not been formalized is worth talking > > about. > > > > But I do think that you and I and others may have contributed to his > > contempt by failing to articulate where we have made progress and, in > > particular, where the arguments of one of us has improved or > > corrected the > > argument of the other. Or perhaps, even, to reveal problems that we > > have > > uncovered that we now find insoluble. It would be interesting to > > make a > > list of points of agreement between us on the subject of emergence. > > > > Owen is correct that Wittgenstein would not necessarily be our ally > > in such > > a project, since he seems to have come to regard philosophy as > > nothing more > > than a tool for its own destruction. . > > > > His aphorism, "That of which we cannot speak [clearly?] we should > > pass over > > in silence" cuts so many ways. > > > > Nick > > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, > > Clark University ([email protected]) > > http://home.earthlink.net/~nickthompson/naturaldesigns/ ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
