Precautionary Principles The basic idea underlying a precautionary principle (PP) is often summarized as “better safe than sorry.” Even if it is uncertain whether an activity will lead to harm, for example, to the environment…
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Zhang Junmai (Carsun Chang, 1887—1969)
Zhang Junmai (Carsun Chang, 1887—1969) Zhang Junmai (Chang Chun-mai), also known as Carsun Chang, was an important twentieth-century Chinese thinker and a representative of modern Chinese philosophy. Zhang’s participation in “The Debate between Metaphysicians and…
Juan Donoso Cortés (1809—1853)
Juan Donoso Cortés (1809—1853) Juan Donoso Cortés, parliamentary statesman, diplomat, government minister, royal counselor, theologian, and political theorist, may not be well known among modern political philosophers. However, his ideas had an enormous influence in…
The Axiology of Theism
The Axiology of Theism The existential question about God asks whether God exists, but the axiology of theism addresses the question of what value-impact, if any, God’s existence does (or would) have on our world…
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839—1914)
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839—1914) C.S. Peirce was a scientist and philosopher best known as the earliest proponent of pragmatism. An influential thinker and polymath, Peirce is among the greatest of American minds. His thought was…
Ethnoepistemology
Ethnoepistemology As a species of naturalized epistemology, ethnoepistemology treats all human epistemological activities as fully natural phenomena to be described, understood, and evaluated from a broadly anthropological and fully a posteriori perspective. In this spirit…
Fallibilism
Fallibilism Fallibilism is the epistemological thesis that no belief (theory, view, thesis, and so on) can ever be rationally supported or justified in a conclusive way. Always, there remains a possible doubt as to the…
The Aim of Belief
The Aim of Belief It is often said that belief has an aim. This aim has been traditionally identified with truth and, since the late 1990s, with knowledge. With this claim, philosophers designate a feature…
Dai Zhen (Tai Chen, 1724—1777)
Dai Zhen (Tai Chen, 1724—1777) Dai Zhen, also known as Dai Dongyuan (Tai Tung-yuan), was a philosopher and intellectual polymath believed by many to be the most important Confucian scholar of the Qing (Ch’ing) dynasty…
Alfred North Whitehead (1861—1947)
Alfred North Whitehead (1861—1947) Alfred North Whitehead was a notable mathematician, logician, educator and philosopher. The staggering complexity of Whitehead’s thought, coupled with the extraordinary literary quality of his writing, have conspired to make Whitehead…