Models The word “model” is highly ambiguous, and there is no uniform terminology used by either scientists or philosophers. Hier, a model is considered to be a representation of some object, Verhalten, or system that one wants to understand. This article presents the most common type of models found in science as well as the different relations—traditionally called “analogies”—between models and between a given model

Theories of Explanation Within the philosophy of science there have been competing ideas about what an explanation is. Historisch, explanation has been associated with causation: to explain an event or phenomenon is to identify its cause. But with the growth and development of philosophy of science in the 20th century, the concept of explanation began to receive more rigorous and specific analysis. Of particular concern

Thomas Hobbes: Moralische und politische Philosophie Der englische Philosoph Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) ist vor allem für sein politisches Denken bekannt, und das zu Recht. Seine Vision der Welt ist auffallend originell und für die zeitgenössische Politik immer noch relevant. Sein Hauptanliegen ist das Problem der sozialen und politischen Ordnung: wie Menschen in Frieden zusammenleben und die Gefahr und Angst eines Bürgerkriegs vermeiden können. Er posiert

G. E. M. Anscombe (1919—2001) Elizabeth Anscombe, or Miss Anscombe as she was known, was an important twentieth century philosopher and one of the most important women philosophers of all time. A committed Catholic, and translator of some of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s most important work, she was an influential and original thinker in the Catholic tradition and the Wittgensteinian manner. Although she worked in almost every

David Hume (1711–1776) „Hume ist unsere Politik, Hume ist unser Handwerk, Hume ist unsere Philosophie, Hume ist unsere Religion.“ Diese Aussage des Philosophen James Hutchison Stirling aus dem 19. Jahrhundert spiegelt die einzigartige Stellung des schottischen Philosophen David Hume im intellektuellen Denken wider. Ein Teil von Humes Ruhm und Bedeutung ist seiner kühnen skeptischen Herangehensweise an eine Reihe philosophischer Themen zu verdanken. In der Erkenntnistheorie, er stellte gängige Vorstellungen in Frage

Toleration The heart of tolerance is self-control. When we tolerate an activity, we resist our urge to forcefully prohibit the expression of activities that we find unpleasant. More abstractly, toleration can be understood as a political practice aiming at neutrality, objectivity, or fairness on the part of political agents. These ideas are related in that the goal of political neutrality is deliberate restraint of the power