II. The rationality principle and action explanations: Koertge's reconstruction of popper's logic of action explanations

Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 20 (1-4):72-81 (1977)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Reconstructing Popper's research programme for the Human Sciences, Noretta Koertge (Inquiry, Vol. 18 [1975]) has given a deductive?nomological account of explanations of actions by means of a Rationality Principle. It is argued here that such a Rationality Principle is fundamentally redundant. Neither is it logically necessary in order to deduce a cognitive action?explanandum, nor can it be given a semantic non?empty interpretation, at least not within Koertge's own syllogism. Any attempt to save the Rationality Principle as unfalsifiablc but nevertheless indispensable for action explanations is rejected in the light of possible alternative action explanations by empirical and therefore in principle falsifiable psychological laws.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

The Rationality Principle Idealized.Boaz Miller - 2012 - Social Epistemology 26 (1):3-30.
Rationality and the Social Sciences.James H. Moor - 1976 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1976:3 - 11.
Popper’s ontology of situated human action.Allen Oakley - 2002 - Philosophy of the Social Sciences 32 (4):455-486.
Popper's metaphysical research program for the human sciences.Noretta Koertge - 1975 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 18 (4):437 – 462.
Reasons, causes, and action explanation.Mark Risjord - 2005 - Philosophy of the Social Sciences 35 (3):294-306.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-03-05

Downloads
24 (#563,024)

6 months
1 (#1,040,386)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

References found in this work

The logical character of action-explanations.Paul M. Churchland - 1970 - Philosophical Review 79 (2):214-236.
Popper's metaphysical research program for the human sciences.Noretta Koertge - 1975 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 18 (4):437 – 462.

Add more references