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1.
- Carnap, Aufbau, first reading assignment: Explain both the similarities
and the differences between the two aspects of an axiomatized theory, as
discussed by Carnap in §2: the “deductive system” and the “constructional
system.” Explain further what Carnap means by “reduction” and
“construction,” in the context of a constructional system, and what the
equivalents would be in a deductive system. From the fact that Carnap
is engaged in setting up a constructional system, rather than a deductive
system, what can be ruled out as the purpose of the book?
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2.
- Carnap, Aufbau, second reading assignment: According to Carnap, what is
the connection between the following three ideas: (1) not every name makes
sense as an argument to every propositional function (for example, “Julius
Caesar is prime” is neither true nor false); (2) not every object is of the same
“type”; (3) objects of higher type are “logical complexes” of objects of lower
type? Why is he forced to claim that ordinary language is full of a special
kind of ambiguity — type-ambiguity — to make this work?
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3.
- Carnap, Aufbau, third reading assignment: In §102 (p. 160), Carnap says
that the point of construction theory is “rational reconstruction of a process
of cognition whose results are already known.” Explain what this means
and why it is important that he says it. In what sense does construction
theory serve to justify science, and in what sense does it not? Why is it
important that rational reconstruction involves “fictions” (see §100)? (Can
we use construction theory to check if scientific statements are true?)
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4.
- Carnap, Aufbau, fourth reading assignment: What, according to Carnap,
is the difference between a scientific question and a metaphysical question?
(Discuss the example of the Trojan war, §175, p. 281.) What is wrong with
a metaphysical question and why? Given that the constructional system is
so incomplete, how can we spot metaphysical questions and metaphysical
concepts? Explain both why this seems to be a problem for Carnap and
why it actually isn’t. Give an example of a question we can be sure now is
metaphysical (according to Carnap), and explain how we can tell.
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5.
- Carnap/Neurath, protocol sentences debate: Explain what Carnap means
by a “protocol sentence” in The Unity of Science. Why does Neurath think
there cannot be “protocol sentences” in this sense? What does he propose
instead? That is: what does he think the language of science should be like,
and how does he think scientific testing can work, if there are no protocol
sentences? (Again: explain both why this looks like a serious problem for
Neurath and how he would respond.)
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6.
- Carnap/Putnam, “Methodological Character” and “What Theories are
Not”: Explain the role of the “Observation Language” in the “Methodological
Character” paper and how Putnam’s attack on “observation terms” seems
to show that nothing could fulfill that role. Isn’t Carnap free to propose
whatever Observation Language he wants? Why won’t Putnam allow that?
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7.
- Goodman: Consider Goodman’s discussion of the relationship between
“flexible,” “inflexible,” “flexes,” and “fails to flex” (around p. 44). What
is the difference between saying that something “flexes” (as Goodman
defines the term) and saying that it is “flexible”? In what sense does the
dichotomy between “flexible” and “inflexible” amount to a “projection” of
the dichotomy between “flexes” and “fails to flex”? Why does Goodman want
to eliminate “flexible” in favor of “flexes” (that is, give a rule for translating
all sentences including “flexible” into sentences containing “flex”), and what
general strategy does he adopt for doing so? Why, according to him, is the
problem of getting such a strategy right similar to the problem of saying
which inductive inferences are valid?
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8.
- Quine, “Epistemology Naturalized”: Quine says (on p. 81) that we should
not reject “the verification theory of meaning,” even though the verificationist
project of the Aufbau fails. Why does he say that the theory must be true in
some form? Is this a reason that Carnap would give? Why or why not?