Open Access Published by De Gruyter

Volume 35 Issue 1

March 2021

Issue of KRITERION – Journal of Philosophy

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Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available March 30, 2021

Introduction

Open Access March 18, 2021

Introduction

Christian J. Feldbacher-Escamilla, Alexander Gebharter

Page range: 1-4

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Research Articles

Open Access March 18, 2021

Realism and the Epistemic Objectivity of Science

Howard Sankey

Page range: 5-20

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Abstract

The paper presents a realist account of the epistemic objectivity of science. Epistemic objectivity is distinguished from ontological objectivity and the objectivity of truth. As background, T.S. Kuhn’s idea that scientific theory-choice is based on shared scientific values with a role for both objective and subjective factors is discussed. Kuhn’s values are epistemologically ungrounded, hence provide a minimal sense of objectivity. A robust account of epistemic objectivity on which methodological norms are reliable means of arriving at the truth is presented. The problem remains that deliberative judgement is required to determine the relevance and relative significance of a range of methodological norms. A role is sketched for cognitive virtues which may be exercised in the course of the deliberative judgement.

Open Access March 22, 2021

Physics’ Contribution to Causation

Max Kistler

Page range: 21-46

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Abstract

Most philosophers of physics are eliminativists about causation. Following Bertrand Russell’s lead, they think that causation is a folk concept that cannot be rationally reconstructed within a worldview informed by contemporary physics. Against this thesis, I argue that physics contributes to shaping the concept of causation, in two ways. (1) Special Relativity is a physical theory that expresses causal constraints. (2) The physical concept of a conserved quantity can be used in the functional reduction of the notion of causation. The empirical part of this reduction makes the hypothesis that the transference of an amount of a conserved quantity is a necessary and sufficient condition for causation. This hypothesis is defended against several objections from physics: that amounts of energy do not possess the appropriate identity conditions required for being able to be transmitted, that there is no universal principle of the conservation of energy in General Relativity, and that there are at least two types of physical systems in which causation does not involve any transference: entangled systems in quantum mechanics and the Aharonov–Bohm effect. In order to show that physics provides means to elaborate the concept of causation it is important to avoid certain misunderstandings. In particular, the claim that there is causation in a physical world does not mean that causation is an additional ingredient of the “furniture” of the world, over and above the ingredients identified by physics.

Open Access March 22, 2021

Joint Action without Mutual Beliefs

Giacomo Figà Talamanca

Page range: 47-70

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Abstract

Joint action among human beings is characterized by using elaborate cognitive feats, such as representing the mental states of others about a certain state of affairs. It is still debated how these capacities evolved in the hominid lineage. I suggest that the consolidation of a shared practice over time can foster the predictability of other’s behavior. This might facilitate the evolutionary passage from inferring what others might know by simply seeing them and what they are viewing towards a mutual awareness of each other’s beliefs. I will examine the case for cooperative hunting in one chimpanzee community and argue that it is evidence that they have the potential to achieve common ground, suggesting that the consolidation of a practice might have supported the evolution of higher social cognition in the hominid lineage.

Open Access March 25, 2021

The Quest for Certainty

Luca Zanetti

Page range: 71-95

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to vindicate the Cartesian quest for certainty by arguing that to aim at certainty is a constitutive feature of cognition. My argument hinges on three observations concerning the nature of doubt and judgment: first, it is always possible to have a doubt as to whether p in so far as one takes the truth of p to be uncertain; second, in so far as one takes the truth of p to be certain, one is no longer able to genuinely wonder whether p is true; third, to ask the question whether p is to desire to receive a true answer. On this ground I clarify in what sense certainty is the aim of cognition. I then argue that in judging that p we commit ourselves to p ’s being certain and that certainty is the constitutive norm of judgment. The paper as a whole provides a picture of the interplay between doubt and judgment that aims at vindicating the traditional insight that our ability to doubt testifies our aspiration to know with absolute certainty.

Open Access March 16, 2021

Miller’s Tale: Why the Sympathy Principle is Inadequate

Joe Slater

Page range: 97-111

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Abstract

In the aftermath of Peter Singer’s ‘Famine, Affluence and Morality’, the argument he put forward received significant criticism, largely on the grounds that it demanded too much of moral agents. Several attempts have been made since to formulate moral principles that adequately express the stringency of our duties of beneficence. Richard Miller proposed one such option, which has several advantages over Singer’s principle. In particular, because it concerns our dispositions rather than operating over every possible occasion for beneficence, it avoids problems of iterative demands. However, I argue that Miller’s principle is inadequate, because 1) it seems too weak, 2) it appears to be ambiguous and 3) it can give unduly harsh verdicts on unlucky moral agents.

About this journal

KRITERION - Journal of Philosophy provides a forum for rational discussion in any field of philosophy. As dedicated to the analytic tradition, it publishes highly understandable and criticisable work making use of clear and thorough argumentation. We believe that this is the only possible way of contributing to progress in philosophy, which is the journal's main objective.

The journal was founded in 1991. Since 2021, it is published and distributed as an open access journal by De Gruyter. We are convinced that this collaboration will further increase the quality and visibility of the journal.

KRITERION - Journal of Philosophy accepts contributions in English language. All contributions go through a double-blind peer review process. Since we especially want to encourage early career authors, the journal's policy is to reach a decision on every submission within five weeks of receipt. The journal is known for providing friendly and helpful reviewer comments and suggestions of how to improve manuscripts. This becomes manifest also in our current statistics: The initial acceptance rate is 5%, the overall acceptance rate is almost 30%, and over 90% of authors receive reports from external reviewers.

KRITERION - Journal of Philosophy also publishes special issues and monographic sections. For more information on guest-editing a special issue or monographic section, please see the supplementary material below.

Volume 35 Issue 1

Issue of KRITERION – Journal of Philosophy

Frontmatter

Introduction

Realism and the Epistemic Objectivity of Science

Abstract

Physics’ Contribution to Causation

Abstract

Joint Action without Mutual Beliefs

Abstract

The Quest for Certainty

Abstract

Miller’s Tale: Why the Sympathy Principle is Inadequate

Abstract