History of Rationalities: Ways of Thinking from Vico to Hacking and Beyond

by Luca Sciortino

Overview

Over time, philosophers and historians of science have introduced different notions of 'ways of thinking'. This book presents, compares, and contrasts these different notions. It focuses primarily on Ian Hacking’s idea of 'style of reasoning' in order to assess and develop it into a more systematic theory of scientific thought, arguing that Hacking’s theory implies epistemic relativism. Luca Sciortino also discusses the implications of Hacking’s ideas for the study of the problem of contingency and inevitability in the development of scientific knowledge

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783031240065
Publisher:	Springer Nature Switzerland
Publication date:	02/25/2023
Edition description:	1st ed. 2023
Pages:	337
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Luca Sciortino teaches history and philosophy of science at eCampus University (www.uniecampus.it/en) and at Unitreedu Milan. His research focuses primarily on historical epistemology.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: A brief history of the concept of ‘ways of thinking’: introduction and plan of work.- Chapter 2: Notions of the concept of ‘ways of thinking’: from classical historical epistemology to Kuhn.- Chapter 3: Notions of the concept of ‘ways of thinking’: from Hacking to Daston and Galison.- Chapter 4: Taxonomy of the notions of the concept of ‘ways of thinking’.- Chapter 5: Developing the styles project: towards a ‘theory of styles of reasoning’.- Chapter 6: Styles of reasoning and relativism.- Chapter 7: The incommensurability of styles of reasoning: the case of the existence of theoretical entities.- Chapter 8: Styles of reasoning, contingency and the evolution of science.- Chapter 9: Epilogue.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“In our day, Ian Hacking is the best-known spokesperson for the idea that we should speak not of scientific reason but of scientific rationalities, plural. This fascinating book brings historical learning and philosophical insight to bear on the task of introducing and exploring that idea with the care and consideration it has long deserved.”
— Gregory Radick, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds, UK

"History of Rationalities is an impressive book. It provides a comprehensive history and analysis of the concept of ways of thinking, in all its articulations, variations and diverse filiations, including styles of reasoning, styles of thought, mentality, mental a priori, paradigm, episteme, and epistemic virtues. History of Rationalities is an invaluable resource for any scholars of those concepts."

—Cristina Chimisso, The Open University, UK