1. Identifying as X
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 09-12-17 19:18
View mindmap
- 1. Identifying as X
- Kinds of things
- Kind
- A type of stuff
- Natural kinds
- "To say that a kind is natural is to say that it corresponds to a grouping that reflects the structure of the natural world rather than the interests and actions of human beings"
- Alexander Bird & Emma Tobin, "Natural Kinds", Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- In the case of people
- Twins
- Homo-sapiens (humans)
- Diabetics
- Mammals
- Animals
- Carbon Based Lifeforms
- "To say that a kind is natural is to say that it corresponds to a grouping that reflects the structure of the natural world rather than the interests and actions of human beings"
- Social kinds
- Open to debate
- Starting point
- kind that in some way reflects interests and actions of human beings
- In case of people:
- Kings
- Pensioners
- Firefighters
- Alpinists
- Heretics
- Biologists
- French
- Kung-foo fighters
- Kind
- So, anything goes?
- Is it just relative to the judgement of the perceiver?
- No
- Objective/subjective distinction:
- Some (intuitively) objective facts:
- Water is H2O
- Dr Joseph Kisolo-Ssonko is a Home-sapien
- Nottingham University ha around 33,600 students
- Some (intuitively) subjective facts:
- Black coffee tastes better than milky coffee
- Tiddlywinks isn't a sport
- Philosophy and the Contemporary World lectures are more fun than watching Great British Bake-off
- John Searle thinks that when we talk about social facts that we need to think beyond just the objective/subjective distinction
- Social facts aren't just about social kinds (like being a Goth or a King) they are also about social objects (like £5 pound notes or Nottingham University)
- He thinks we need to talk about social facts as being ontologically subjective but epistemically objective
- Example: a screwdriver
- Clearly Objective features
- "...has a certain mass and a certain chemical composition. It is made partly of wood, the cells of which are composed of cellulose fibres, and also partly of metal, which is itself composed of metal alloy molecules."
- Socially dependent features
- "...it is a screwdriver only because people use it as (or made it for the purpose of or regard it as) a screwdriver"
- Clearly Objective features
- The Construction of Social Reality
- Dependent on observers doesn't = subjective
- "It is, for example, an epistemically objective feature of this thing that is a screwdriver"
- i.e. "It isn't just my opinion or evaluation that this is a screwdriver. It is a matter of ascertainable fact."
- "...but that feature exists only relevant to observers and users"
- i.e. "It isn't just my opinion or evaluation that this is a screwdriver. It is a matter of ascertainable fact."
- "It is, for example, an epistemically objective feature of this thing that is a screwdriver"
- key point is that it isn't subjective in the way I suggested milky coffee tastes better than black coffee is subjective
- Some (intuitively) objective facts:
- Joseph is not a Goth is:
- Ontologically subjective but not epistemically subjective
- Another way to put it
- There is some fact of the matter
- Fact of the matter is grounded (in some way) by our actions, conceptions and interests
- but that does not mean every individual perception is correct
- All opinions are not 'equally valid' (some are wrong some are right)
- Is it just relative to the judgement of the perceiver?
- Kinds of things
Comments
No comments have yet been made