scholarly journals The Methodological Implications of Resolving the Realism Debate

2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-77
Author(s):  
Dan McArthur
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Scientific Methodology ◽  
Realism Question ◽  
Realism Debate

This paper explores the question of whether or not the resolution of the realism question has any implications for scientific methodology. It proposes a solution to the question that draws features from recent “deflationary” approaches to the realism question. The normative methodological role of the deflationary approach is then defended from the claim that no interpretative, normative or methodological role is left for a deflationary position. An illustration of the utility of the approach is demonstrated through a case study of the role that the realism question has played in the field of quantum mechanics.

scholarly journals Misleading inferences from discretization of empty spacetime: Snyder-noncommutativity case study

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 1550073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Amelino-Camelia ◽  
Valerio Astuti
Keyword(s):  
Hilbert Space ◽  
Quantum Mechanics ◽  
Quantum Gravity ◽  
Recent Progress ◽  
Covariant Formulation ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Intrinsic Interest ◽  
Alternative Approaches

Alternative approaches to the study of the quantum gravity problem are handling the role of spacetime very differently. Some are focusing on the analysis of one or another novel formulation of "empty spacetime", postponing to later stages the introduction of particles and fields, while other approaches assume that spacetime should only be an emergent entity. We here argue that recent progress in the covariant formulation of quantum mechanics, suggests that empty spacetime is not physically meaningful. We illustrate our general thesis in the specific context of the noncommutative Snyder spacetime, which is also of some intrinsic interest, since hundreds of studies were devoted to its analysis. We show that empty Snyder spacetime, described in terms of a suitable kinematical Hilbert space, is discrete, but this is only a formal artifact: the discreteness leaves no trace on the observable properties of particles on the physical Hilbert space.

Framing the realism question

2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL SCOTT
Keyword(s):  
Prima Facie ◽  
Ontological Question ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Realism Question ◽  
Realism Debate ◽  
Religious Realism

This paper begins with a revaluation of Carnap's critique of existence questions, and finds that with modification his argument is successful in giving a prima facie cause for doubt that the ontological question addressed by religious realists and non-realists has content. The second part of the paper argues that these doubts can be met with proper attention to the role of truth in the religious realism debate. The paper concludes by arguing for a close relationship between the semantic and the ontological varieties of religious realism.

The role of multiplicity in a cult: A case study

1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Worrall ◽  
Ann W. Stockman

Endangered Butterflies and their Non-Native Host Plants: Examining Shifting Values of Belonging in Restoration

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Robert M. Anderson ◽  
Amy M. Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Restoration ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Puget Sound ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Social ◽  
Remote Island ◽  
Scientific Truth ◽  
Native Host

The island marble butterfly (Euchloe ausonides insulanus), thought to be extinct throughout the 20th century until re-discovered on a single remote island in Puget Sound in 1998, has become the focus of a concerted protection effort to prevent its extinction. However, efforts to “restore” island marble habitat conflict with efforts to “restore” the prairie ecosystem where it lives, because of the butterfly’s use of a non-native “weedy” host plant. Through a case study of the island marble project, we examine the practice of ecological restoration as the enactment of particular norms that define which species are understood to belong in the place being restored. We contextualize this case study within ongoing debates over the value of “native” species, indicative of deep-seated uncertainties and anxieties about the role of human intervention to alter or manage landscapes and ecosystems, in the time commonly described as the “Anthropocene.” We interpret the question of “what plants and animals belong in a particular place?” as not a question of scientific truth, but a value-laden construct of environmental management in practice, and we argue for deeper reflexivity on the part of environmental scientists and managers about the social values that inform ecological restoration.

Drama in Education Reaching Beyond the “Art Form or Teaching Tool” Dichotomy

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
Irina Lešnik
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Drama In Education ◽  
History Curriculum ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
Theatre Pedagogy ◽  
Emotional Level

Abstract In the following article we try to re-evaluate, the place drama occupies in contemporary elementary education. By limiting the role of drama to literature studies and theatre productions, we lose a greater potential Theatre Pedagogy has to offer to a much broader educational spectrum. The participatory practices of Theatre and Drama in Education (TiE, DiE) promote active learning, based on a most organic children’s activity - play. While students co-create the fictional world of drama, teacher's guidance is crucial in setting new challenges, encouraging students to find creative solutions and reflect on often-complex social issues. Because of its art component, drama challenges the participants on a cognitive as well as emotional level, becoming a truly transformational experience. As such, Drama in Education is especially useful when approaching sensitive and controversial topics. This thesis is presented on a case study observing Year 6 students at St’ Michael’s CE Academy in Birmingham, UK, using Drama in Education method as part of History curriculum.

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