Blog Highlights

Science vs. non-science! Why the demarcation problem is still relevant and what we can do about it

What separates science from pseudoscience? In this post, Carlo Martini takes a fresh look at the familiar but largely forgotten problem of demarcation. He argues that demarcation is still a relevant problem, as scientific misinformation continues to plague public debates on topics such as global warming, vaccines, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Institutional Knowledge

Under what circumstances can we correctly attribute knowledge to an institution? The question is interesting not only because it can assist us in attributing responsibility, but also because it can illuminate what information structures and lines of communication should look like in institutions. This post by Säde Hormio is based on her forthcoming article “Institutional knowledge and its normative implications”.

Law, economics and interdisciplinarity

Péter Cserne and Magdalena Małecka tell us how their book Law and Economics as Interdisciplinary Practice came to be and give an overview on what kind of issues the book tackles. They discuss the position of Law and Economics at a time when questions are raised about the identity and possible further developments of the research project. Read more

Yet another handbook on the philosophy of social sciences?

There are many excellent handbooks on the philosophy of the social sciences out there. So who needs another one? Perhaps no one, at least not now.

In this post, Michiru Nagatsu and Attilia Ruzzene explain why they prepared another handbook,  Contemporary Philosophy and Social Science: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue, and why this is different. Read more

TINT in context

by Uskali Mäki

The story of Finnish philosophy of science is often told in terms of sequential generations, expanding from individuals to groups. There was Eino Kaila, logical empiricist, followed by Georg Henrik von Wright and his student Jaakko Hintikka, followed by the latter’s students such as Ilkka Niiniluoto, Raimo Tuomela, and Risto Hilpinen. The generic style of research has been markedly analytic, but the modes of analysis have not been uniform, and the themes addressed have evolved in the course of the past decades. Read more

Tieteeltä leikkaaminen ei ole säästämistä

by Uskali Mäki

Tiedemaailma toivoi, että Suomen eduskuntavaaleista vuosimallia 2019 tulisi tiedevaalit. Kukaan ei kuvitellut, että tieteen asia olisi ainoa tai edes päällimmäinen teema, sen verran kuumaa aiheistoa on tapetilla muutenkin, ilmastosta maahanmuuttoon, sotesta eriarvoistumiseen. Kunnollista kohennusta aikaisempaan kuitenkin kuulutettiin, sekä tieteelle osoitetussa tiedollisessa huomiossa että tieteelle osoitetuissa resursseissa. Read more