Скачать или смотреть METHOD AND CONVERGENCE 2025. International Conference on Methodology of Philosophy. PANEL DISCUSSION

PANEL DISCUSSION

METHOD AND CONVERGENCE 2025
International Conference on Methodology of Philosophy
2-4 June 2025 University of Helsinki, Finland.

June 4 2025. Metsätalo, Sali 1.

The panel debated whether philosophy needs a unified method like science's abduction (inference to the best explanation). A key tension emerged: Should all philosophy, including ethics and aesthetics, follow a scientific model, or are these fields too different? The discussion centered on whether philosophy's goal is discovering truth—for which a rigorous method seems apt—or encompasses aims like understanding and wisdom, which demand diverse approaches.

Critics of a single method warned it would become intellectual gatekeeping, stifling the diversity that makes philosophy vibrant. They noted that in science, dominant paradigms can suppress alternatives, potentially hindering progress. Instead, they advocated for methodological pluralism, where the chosen tool fits the specific philosophical aim, whether that's comparison, justification, or dialogue. One argument even suggested that a community using varied methods might collectively achieve more than one using a single "best" approach.

However, pluralists faced a tough challenge: Without shared goals or success criteria—unlike scientists aiming to cure a disease—how can methods be evaluated or calibrated? This "calibration problem" makes convergence difficult. The conversation also touched on teaching, agreeing that methodology is best learned through practice, not in the abstract, and should be presented as a diverse toolkit.

A final point suggested that philosophical reasoning itself might be explained by brain science, pushing toward a naturalistic view. The panel ended without consensus, highlighting philosophy's core meta-question: Is its lack of a unified method a weakness or a defining strength of a discipline exploring fundamentally different kinds of questions?


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