[FRIAM] Philosophy and Science

[Frank Wimberly]

Joe Ramsey, who took over my job.in the Philosophy Department at Carnegie
Mellon, posted the following on Facebook:

I like Neil DeGrasse Tyson a lot, but I saw him give a spirited defense of
science in which he oddly gave no credit to philosophers at all. His straw
man philosopher is a dedicated *armchair* philosopher who spins theories
without paying attention to scientific practice and contributes nothing to
scientific understanding. He misses that scientists themselves are
constantly raising obviously philosophical questions and are often
ill-equipped to think about them clearly. What is the correct
interpretation of quantum mechanics? What is the right way to think about
reductionism? Is reductionism the right way to think about science? What is
the nature of consciousness? Can you explain consciousness in terms of
neuroscience? Are biological kinds real? What does it even mean to be real?
Or is realism a red herring; should we be pragmatists instead? Scientists
raise all kinds of philosophical questions and have ill-informed opinions
about them. But *philosophers* try to answer them, and scientists do pay
attention to the controversies. At least the smart ones do.

---
Frank C. Wimberly
140 Calle Ojo Feliz,
Santa Fe, NM 87505

505 670-9918
Santa Fe, NM
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