MINIMALIST FRAMEWORK FOR THOUGHT EXPERIMENT ANALYSIS

• Authors: Picha Marek
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Thought experiments are frequently vague and obscure hypothetical scenarios that are difficult to assess. The paper proposes a simple model of thought experiments. In the first part, the author introduces two contemporary frameworks for thought experiment analysis: an experimentalist approach that relies on similarities between real and thought experiment, and a reasonist approach focusing on the answers provided by thought experimenting. Further, he articulates a minimalist approach in which thought experiment is considered strictly as doxastic mechanism based on imagination. He introduces the basic analytical tool that allows us to differentiate an experimental core from an attached argumentation. The last section is reserved for discussion. The author addresses several possible questions concerning adequacy of minimalistic definition and analysis.

Keywords

EN

EXPERIMENTALISM; MINIMALISM; RECONSTRUCTION; THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Institute of Philosophy of Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic
• Journal: Organon F. medzinárodný časopis pre analytickú filozofiu
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 23
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 503 – 524

Contributors

author

Picha Marek

• Department of Philosophy, Masaryk University in Brno, Arne Nováka 1, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic