Papers by Alireza Mansouri
Acta Analytica, 2024
The compatibility of scientific realism and evolutionary epistemology is a controversial issue in... more The compatibility of scientific realism and evolutionary epistemology is a controversial issue in contemporary philosophy of science. Scientific realism is the view that scientific theories aim to describe the true nature of reality, while evolutionary epistemology is the view that scientific knowledge is the product of natural selection and adaptation. Some philosophers argue that evolutionary epistemology undermines the epistemic status of scientific theories and thus poses a serious challenge to scientific realism. This paper examines this problem and explores whether scientific realism can be reconciled with evolutionary epistemology. The paper argues that critical rationalism (CR), a philosophical approach that rejects justificationism and emphasizes the role of criticism, rationality, and objectivity in science, can provide a viable framework for integrating scientific realism and evolutionary epistemology. The paper shows that by adopting a non-justificationist fallibilist stance toward scientific theories, CR can reconcile the realist and the evolutionary views on scientific knowledge.
Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 2024
This paper delves into the intersection between Kant’s moral theory and evolutionary perspectives... more This paper delves into the intersection between Kant’s moral theory and evolutionary perspectives on personhood. It explores how Kant’s emphasis on rationality in moral agency aligns with evolutionary studies on the development of moral behaviors. By examining the transcendental implications of Kant’s Categorical Imperative (CI) and the evolutionary origins of moral agency, this study aims to illuminate the link between Kant’s conception of moral agency and personhood. Additionally, it investigates how Kant’s call for CI resonates with evolutionary insights on the adaptive nature of social cooperation in human societies. Through this analysis, we seek to deepen our understanding of the cognitive, social dimensions of moral agency and moral status within the framework of Kant’s moral theory and evolutionary perspectives on personhood.
Philosophia, 2024
Despite the moral underpinnings of Karl Popper’s philosophy, he has not presented a well-establis... more Despite the moral underpinnings of Karl Popper’s philosophy, he has not presented a well-established moral theory for critical rationalism (CR). This paper addresses the ontological status of moral agents as part of a research program for developing a moral theory for CR. It argues that moral agents are selves who have achieved the cognitive capacity of personhood through an evolutionary scenario and interaction with the environment. This proposal draws on Popper’s theory of the self and his theory of three worlds, which offer both epistemological and ontological insights into the emergence and evolution of moral agents. The paper also discusses some of the consequences of this proposal for the objectivity and criticizability of moral judgments and the moral agency of artificial intelligence. It concludes by suggesting some directions for future research on the epistemological and ontological problems of ethics in CR.
Philosophical Investigations, 2023
Artifacts are ubiquitous and influential in our world, but their nature and existence are controv... more Artifacts are ubiquitous and influential in our world, but their nature and existence are controversial. Several theories have been proposed to explain the ontology of artifacts. Drawing on Popper's theory of three worlds, this paper suggests a metaphysics for artifacts along the line of a critical rationalist (CR) approach. This theory distinguishes between three realms of reality: the physical world (World 1), the mental world (World 2), and the world of objective knowledge (World 3). The paper argues that artifacts have different ontological components that correspond to these three realms, and that each component is real and causal. The paper shows how this perspective can account for the intentional and functional aspects of artifacts, as well as their dependence on plans that influence different realms of reality. The paper explains how this pluralistic ontology, compared to the rival theories, enables one to explain the relevant ontological problems of artifacts. The paper also explores how this proposal can lead to a research program encompassing a broader range of technologies, such as social artifacts. In sum, the paper suggests that Popper's three worlds theory provides a rich and comprehensive framework for understanding the metaphysics of artifacts.
Persian Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 2022
In this paper, we first examine the reasons for opposing metaphysics. While assessing these reaso... more In this paper, we first examine the reasons for opposing metaphysics. While assessing these reasons, we intend to reach a plausible stance regarding the relationship between science and metaphysics and its role and importance in scientific activity. There are different views on this old question. We argue that the interaction of metaphysics and science is a complex interaction that can only be defended in the light of a critical approach. In this critical attitude, one should not only pay attention to the role and importance of metaphysics in science but also should have an epistemic humility about his expectations of it.
Metaphysik, 2012
In this paper, we suggest an alternative interpretation for the state vector which, by considerin... more In this paper, we suggest an alternative interpretation for the state vector which, by considering temporal parts for physical objects, aims to give an intelligible account of measurement problem in quantum mechanics. This interpretation, it is claimed, has the capacity to solve three measurement problems: the problem of outcome, the problem of statistics and the problem of effect. We argue that it not only provides us with an account of measurement problem but also shows us yet another limitation of our perceptual experience, i.e. our inability to perceive unsharp reality.
Journal of Philosophical Theological Research, Feb 20, 2020
Søren Kierkegaard, in his essay "The Present Age," takes a hostile stance towards the press. This... more Søren Kierkegaard, in his essay "The Present Age," takes a hostile stance towards the press. This is because he maintains that the press prepares the ground for the emergence of nihilism. Hubert Dreyfus extends this idea to other information technologies, especially the Internet. Since Kierkegaard-Dreyfus’ attitude towards various forms of information technology originates from philosophical anthropology and a particular conception of the meaning of life, assessing the viability of the attitude they hold requires further critical scrutiny. This paper aims to show that, although, Kierkegaard’s and Dreyfus' insights are important in understanding the dangers of information technology their approach concerning the meaning of life and human identity is a one-sided analysis of the problem situation; In particular, their reliance on "Unconditional Commitment" could bring about new undesired consequences. This paper emphasizes that an appropriate stance towards information technology needs, among other things, a richer and more effective philosophical anthropology; one that by utilizing religious-moral wisdom in a sensible manner, provides an effective way to safely benefit from various types of technology without falling into the abyss of nihilism. The paper further argues that we also need to provide an institutional control of technology through piecemeal social engineering in a democratic process.
Persian Journal for Philosophical and Theological Research, 2020
A large part of Richard Rorty’s works focus on criticizing the received view about philosophy. He... more A large part of Richard Rorty’s works focus on criticizing the received view about philosophy. He argues, in his historical reconstruction of philosophical activity, that there has always been a misconception about philosophy in the history of philosophy. This misconception assumes that philosophy aims to grasp the ultimate knowledge, so it desperately engages in an attempt to achieve “truth”. In this view, which he calls representationalism and points to it by the metaphor of the mirror of nature, knowledge aims to represent something out of mind, and the duty of philosophy is to put forward a theory about the representation. According to Rorty, based on this popular view philosophy is a foundational discipline that aims to evaluate epistemological claims of other disciplines. Rorty attempts to criticize and reject this Cartesian epistemological agenda for philosophy. Rorty’s approach to philosophy is therapeutic; that is, he tries to resolve philosophical problems rather than solve them. By adopting a historical method, Rorty seeks to show that “philosophy as epistemology” is a result of the dominance of what he calls the metaphor of the mirror of nature. From a critical rationalist perspective, the present article intends to critique Rorty’s views on epistemology. In this paper, Rorty’s historiographical approach is criticized in several ways. First, Rorty offers a one-sided and biased reconstruction of the history of philosophy to fit the abovementioned metaphor. Secondly, he treats history as rigid data from which it is possible to draw doctrinal conclusions. Whereas, as critical rationalists have said time and again, history by itself has no meaning. Moreover, Rorty’s justificationism is criticized. Rorty maintains that knowledge needs to be justified, and since it cannot be justified through representation, it must be justified by the consent of society. In other words, agreement in a group of people can provide an epistemic authority. Thus, both Rorty’s view and foundationalism, despite their differences, share justificationism in epistemology. That is, they both believe that knowledge needs to be justified. On the other hand, as critical rationalists have shown, justification in any shape and form, whether internal or external, is neither possible nor necessary. We also attempt to illustrate how Rorty’s epistemological approach results in confusion between epistemology and psychology; moreover, his epistemological behaviorism still suffers from some sort of justifications. In conclusion, Rorty expresses his criticism of epistemology with the metaphor of the mirror of nature. According to him, foundationalism is the result of the conflation of the Platonic conception of knowledge as something unchangeable, with the Cartesian mind that seeks certainty. However, his ignorance of the main crux of the matter in epistemology causes his own suggestion of epistemological behaviorism to suffer from the same problem, that is justificationism, which now appears in another form, i.e., social consensus. While, as critical rationalists repeated time and again, justification is neither possible nor necessary and not even desirable. They have shown that a non-justificationist approach to knowledge aimed at truth as a regulative idea could be a better approach.
Zehn
For realists, the aim of science is to search for theories that provide an (almost) true descript... more For realists, the aim of science is to search for theories that provide an (almost) true description of the world. But talking about the truth of scientific theories always faces difficulties. In this paper, with the help of the teachings derived from Tarski's theory of truth, we explain in what sense we can talk about the truth of scientific theories and their relationship with reality. This suggests that Tarski's semantic theory of truth, along with the non-justificationist approach critical rationalism, can provide a clearer picture of the truth of theories.
Journal of Philosophy of Science (quarterly journal, Iran), 2020
Based on everyday experience and conventional understanding, there seems to be a difference betwe... more Based on everyday experience and conventional understanding, there seems to be a difference between the past and the future, which we call the "arrow of time." There are different explanations for the time arrow, one of them is the thermodynamic arrow. However, the fundamental laws of physics, in particular Newton's laws and statistical mechanics, which we expect to explain the phenomenological laws of thermodynamics, do not show the asymmetry. Boltzmann tried to explain the thermodynamic asymmetry by proposing a "past hypothesis" for the early universe. According to this hypothesis, the early universe was in very special initial conditions. But this proposal encountered with many criticisms. While presenting the philosophical dimensions of the "arrow of time" problem and the critiques of the "past hypothesis", we argue that the assumption of a fundamental "time arrow" assumes that the past hypothesis alone is not sufficient to explain it. And there is a need for a more fundamental explanation that may change our view of space-time structure.
http://philosophy.ihcs.ac.ir/article_5139.html
Journal of Philosophical Theological Research, 2020
Søren Kierkegaard, in his essay "The Present Age," takes a hostile stance towards the press. This... more Søren Kierkegaard, in his essay "The Present Age," takes a hostile stance towards the press. This is because he maintains that the press prepares the ground for the emergence of nihilism. Hubert Dreyfus extends this idea to other information technologies, especially the Internet. Since Kierkegaard-Dreyfus' attitude towards various forms of information technology originates from a distinct philosophical anthropology and a particular conception of the meaning of life, assessing the viability of the attitude they hold requires further critical scrutiny. This paper aims to show that, although Kierkegaard's and Dreyfus' insights are important in understanding the dangers of information technology, their approach concerning the meaning of life and human identity is a one-sided analysis of the problem situation; in particular, their reliance on "Unconditional Commitment" could bring about new, undesired consequences. The argument of the paper is, to avoid the ill effects of information technology, and to take an appropriate stance towards it, we need, among other things, to adopt a richer and more effective philosophical anthropology; one that, by utilizing religious-moral wisdom in a sensible manner provides an effective way to safely benefit from various types of technology without falling into the abyss of nihilism. Moreover, we also need to provide institutional control of technology through piecemeal social engineering in a democratic process.
In the current study, firstly, we will argue that the main challenge of evil to western theism is... more In the current study, firstly, we will argue that the main challenge of evil to western theism is not the occurrence of undesirable states of affairs, but the existence of pointless evil in the world. Secondly, considering the distinction between temporal perspective and eternal perspective, we will distinguish between apparently pointless evil and actually pointless evil. The claim is that recognizing the latter is not possible from a temporal perspective. Thirdly, we will study some well-known versions of the argument from evil and demonstrate that occurrence of pointless evil, which is the sufficient reason for nonexistence of God, is presupposed in these arguments.
The main claim of this study is that the problem of evil can be reduced to the disagreement about existence or nonexistence of pointless evil in the world. But this disagreement is undecidable from a temporal perspective.
Persian Journal for the Methodology of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2017
Through his phenomenological approach, Husserl criticized the situation of science and called it ... more Through his phenomenological approach, Husserl criticized the situation of science and called it a crisis. He aimed to suggest a way out of this crisis by presenting a philosophical program. However, restoring philosophy to its ancient unifying situation, saving science from this crisis, and giving it a human face, requires, according to critical rationalism, to consider the objectivity and rationality of science. Ignoring these considerations puts science on an incorrect and inconvenient path. These considerations require a revision of Husserl’s essentialism and justificationsim, and placing truth as the aim of science.
Persian Journal of Islamic Wisdom (Hikmate Islami), 2016
Based on an epistemological approach, humanities and natural sciences are two completely differen... more Based on an epistemological approach, humanities and natural sciences are two completely different realms that are governed by different rules. From this position, it is usually concluded that these two should not interfere in each other's territory. This idea, which also has supporters in other categorizations such as science and theology, relies mainly on Wittgenstein's doctrines. The purpose of the article is to argue that such an approach ultimately leads to the isolation of different realms of knowledge. We argue why this position is incorrect and has adverse consequences for the development of knowledge in all domains.
Persian Journal on Strategy for Culture, 2016
Development in all of its stages, from organizing the vision and strategy to implementing plans, ... more Development in all of its stages, from organizing the vision and strategy to implementing plans, requires policy-making. We show that the division of labor and specialization of sciences and some philosophical doctrines cause the emergence of technocracy in policies. Technocracy makes development not happen in the direction of public welfare. For this reason, for sustainable development, we need institutions, strategies, and philosophical contexts that provide a democratic ground for the possibility of criticizing and reforming policies.
Today's Culture Persian magazine, 2016
Published in Today's Culture Persian magazine in Memoriam of Hilary Putnam
Journal of Methodology of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2016
Essentialism is one of the common approaches in the philosophy of technology. Based on this appro... more Essentialism is one of the common approaches in the philosophy of technology. Based on this approach, technology has an independent essence, and knowing technology requires knowing this essence. The present article aims to criticize essentialism in the philosophy of technology in the framework of critical rationalism. The paper argues that essentialism is inadequate because it leads to irrationalism and determinism and destroys any ground for reform and critical discussion about technology; instead, it recommends sudden and irrational changes. Secondly, it contains some presuppositions and false doctrines about the evolution of technology and its relation to humans. We will also explain that essentialists’ recommendation to take refuge in art or hold a free relationship towards technology is inconclusive in facing technological inconveniences. Instead, local considerations should be taken into account in the modification process, and they should be carried out piecemeal and in a critical context.
Methodology of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2015
This paper explores the implications of viewing science as a biological phenomenon within the f... more This paper explores the implications of viewing science as a biological phenomenon within the framework of evolutionary epistemology. It examines how this perspective introduces features of science that may conflict with the realist viewpoint. The focus is on identifying and analyzing the challenges that evolutionary epistemology poses for scientific realism.
Persian Journal on Metaphysics, 2015
This paper examines how science and metaphysics interact in our theories about space and time. It... more This paper examines how science and metaphysics interact in our theories about space and time. It is argued that scientific development affects philosophical thoughts about space and time. We first review the traditional arguments of substantivalists and relationists about space and time, especially those contained in the correspondence between Leibniz and Clarke. Then we show the mutual influence of science and metaphysics in the modern scientific era: for example, in neo-Newtonian structure, field theory, and special and general theories of relativity. In the end, we claim that the substantivalist's position seems more defensible considering new scientific theories, such as Einstein's theory of general relativity.
Persian Philosophical Book Review Journal, 2015
The publication of the fourth edition of the book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Tho... more The publication of the fourth edition of the book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its publication, with an introduction by Ian Hacking, doubles the necessity of addressing his significant contribution to the tradition of contemporary philosophy of science and of giving some hints and notes regarding the attribution of some ideas to him; Despite the prevalent influence he has had on the mind and language of our scientific community, and Hecking has mentioned it in the new introduction to the book he wrote, there have been some misunderstandings about him. This article describes some of the most common misreadings of his philosophy in four main areas: 1) over-emphasizing the importance of Gestalt theory in his belief in a discontinuity in the history of science; 2) attributing externalism to his historiography; 3) Considering his epistemology as original and revolutionary; 4) Prescriptive reading of Kuhn’s ideas.
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Papers by Alireza Mansouri
http://philosophy.ihcs.ac.ir/article_5139.html
The main claim of this study is that the problem of evil can be reduced to the disagreement about existence or nonexistence of pointless evil in the world. But this disagreement is undecidable from a temporal perspective.
http://philosophy.ihcs.ac.ir/article_5139.html
The main claim of this study is that the problem of evil can be reduced to the disagreement about existence or nonexistence of pointless evil in the world. But this disagreement is undecidable from a temporal perspective.
In essence, this book is a journey that takes you through the most significant milestones of the 19th century in the realm of physics. It illuminates a theoretical framework, i.e., critical rationalism, that facilitates examining the interaction between physics and metaphysics. With the unraveling of history and the preparation of philosophical thought, the book prepares the reader for the eventual abandonment of the 'ether' and paves the way for the birth of the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics.