7/12/2016

ATranscendentalPhilosophyofScience?|Issue66|PhilosophyNow

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ATranscendentalPhilosophyof
Science?
OurphilosophicalsciencecorrespondentMassimoPigliuccireports.

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FOLLOWUSON

Unfortunateitmaybe,butdespitethespectacularsuccessesofmodernscience,
thereisnoultimatefoundationforourknowledgeoftheworld.ThiswasDavid
Humesgreatinsight,whenheformulatedhisfamousproblemofinduction.Hume
realizedthatallknowledgeabouttheworldisultimatelyderivedfromaprocessof
induction,iebygeneralizationfromspecificinstancestobroaderrules.Buthowdo
weknowthatinductionworks?Becauseithasworkedinthepast,obviously.Yet
thisitselfisanexampleofinductivereasoning,whichmakesthejustificationof
inductionandscienceitselfperilouslycircular.
ImmanuelKant,whofamouslywasrudelyawakenedfromhisphilosophical
slumberbytheverysameHume,tookphilosophyintowhatisnowcalledthe
transcendentalturn.Thishadsomeunintendedconsequences,includingthe
currentapparentlyunbridgeabledividebetweencontinentalandanalytical
philosophies.
Kantsbasicideaherewasthathumanbeingsarebornwithasetofinnate
categoriesbywhichourthinkingworks,suchastime,space,andcausality.These
arewaysoforganizingtheworldwederiveneitherfromexperiencenorfrom
rationalcogitation,butwhichtranscendbothoftheseandprovidethefoundation
forouruseofbothempiricalevidenceandrationalthinking.(InhisCritiqueofPure
Reason,Kantdefinedtranscendentalthisway:Icallallknowledgetranscendental
ifitisoccupied,notwithobjects,butwiththewaythatwecanpossiblyknow
objects,evenbeforeweexperiencethem.)Thetranscendentalmoveswiftlydid
awaywiththeperennialdebatebetweenrationalistsandempiricists,withthe
conclusionthattheywerebothrighttosomeextentwedoderiveknowledge
frombothexperienceandreasonbutwerebothalsomissingacrucialcomponent

https://philosophynow.org/issues/66/A_Transcendental_Philosophy_of_Science

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ATranscendentalPhilosophyofScience?|Issue66|PhilosophyNow

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Thereisnowasmallbutvociferousgroupwhoclaimthatphilosophyofscience
shouldtakeKantmoreseriously,inparticularthatitshouldadmitthatits
unabashedlynaturalistictakeonscienceisdeeplyflawed.Accordingtoa
prominentexponentofthisschool,GertrudisVandeVijverattheUniversityof
Gent,Belgium,commentingonthecurrentstatusofthephilosophyofbiology,Kant
teachesusthatitisimpossibletoobjectivelyunderstandtheessenceofthe
living.Ergo,scientistsareembarkedonahopelessquest,marredbytheirblind
commitmenttonaturalism.
WernerCallebautofHasseltUniversity,Belgium,andtheKonradLorenzInstitute,
Vienna,isoneoftheseallegedlyblindedphilosophers(andintheinterestoffull
disclosure,soamI).Callebauthasbattledtheforcesoftranscendentalisminthe
pagesofthejournalActaBiotheoretica,aswellasatthe2007meetingofthe
InternationalSocietyfortheHistory,PhilosophyandSocialStudiesofBiology
(whichgoesbythehorribleacronymofISHPSSB).

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Theproblem,Callebauthaspointedout,isthatbothscienceandphilosophyhave
movedonsinceKantsinsights.Afterall,theguywrotebeforeDarwin,quantum
mechanicsandQuine,tomentionjustafew.Modernphilosophersofscienceare
veryawareoftheimpossibilityofaGodseyeviewoftheworld.Theyarealso
awarethatnaturalsciencehasexplainedtheotherwiseentirelymysteriousorigin
ofKantscategories:wehaveaninnatesenseofspace,timeandcausalitybecause
naturalselectionfavoredsuchcapabilitiesinorderforustonavigatewhatKant
calledthephenomenalworld.(Thereappeartobenosurvivalvalueattachedto
understandingthenoumenalworld,whateveritis.)
Moreover,Idontknowofanybiologistwhoisattemptingtounderstandthe
Morearticles
essenceofthelivingpartlybecauseitisnotatallclearwhatsensethatphrase
fromthisissue
actuallymakes.Ontheotherhand,thereareplentyof(essential?)characteristics
oflivingorganismsthatonecan,infact,knowobjectively,orascloseto
objectivelyasitishumanlypossible(asKanthimselfcouldhavereasonablyput
it).Forexample,notranscendentaltwistorturncandoawaywiththefactthatthehereditarymaterialof
livingorganismscomprisesaparticularmacromoleculeknownasdeoxynucleicacid,andthatitismadeof
twostrandsrunninginoppositedirections,normallycoiledintheformofadoublehelixandthatitisthis
particularspatialarrangementofthemoleculewhichimmediatelyexplainshowDNAisreplicatedand
passedontothenextgeneration.
Analyticalphilosophyhasdonemuchduringthepastfewdecadestocontributetoourunderstandingof
whatscienceis,howitworks,andhowitachievesitsresults.Ithasevenhelpedustothinkaboutwhat
sortofconsequencessciencemayhaveforourabilitytolivemoreflourishinglives.Ontheotherhand,
Imnotawareofasingletranscendentalinsightthathasilluminatedanythingatallaboutscience,its
operation,oritsproducts.Inotherwords,transcendentalphilosophyhasntgivenusanyanswerswecan
useinthisareaithassimplytoldus(inrathervagueandquasimysticalterms)thatwecantdowhat

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ATranscendentalPhilosophyofScience?|Issue66|PhilosophyNow

weare,infact,doing.
Whenconfrontedwiththisabysmalrecordoftranscendentalismduringaroundtablediscussionatthe2007
ISHPSSBmeeting,VandeVijverremarked:Weknowtheanswer:theproblemistofindthequestionto
theanswer.Thisimmediatelyremindedme(and,Idiscoveredlater,severalotherswhowerepresent)of
DouglasAdamsimmortalwork,TheHitchhikersGuidetotheGalaxy.Asyoumayrecall,theinhabitants
ofadistantplanetbuiltamassivecomputercalledDeepThoughttoaskovertheobjectionsofthelocal
philosophersuniontheanswertothequestionoflife,theuniverseandeverything.Aftercogitatingfora
fewmillionyears,DeepThoughtreplied42andthenimmediatelyadvisedtheratherdisappointed
recipientsthatnowtheyoughttobegintosearchforthequestion.Toachievethat,itsaid,amuchmore
powerfulcomputerwouldbenecessary
PerhapswetoowillhavetowaituntiltranscendentalistshavemanagedtobuildImmanuelDeepThought
Kantssuccessor.Inthemeantime,analyticalphilosopherslikemearemorethanhappytokeepthinking
aboutsciencefromwithinthedeeplyflawednaturalisticframework.
DrMassimoPigliucci2008
MassimoPigliucciisProfessorofEcology&EvolutionandofPhilosophyatStonyBrookUniversityonLong
Island(NewYork).HeistheauthorofMakingSenseofEvolution:TowardaCoherentPictureof
EvolutionaryTheory(ChicagoPress,2006).Hisphilosophicalmusingscanbefoundat
www.platofootnote.org.

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https://philosophynow.org/issues/66/A_Transcendental_Philosophy_of_Science

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