Susan Stebbing and the Language of Common Sense

Chapman, Siobhan

doi:10.1057/9781137313102

Cited by 36 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…First, much of what he is interested in researching brings human activity back into the picture of what logic is about. 46 Secondly, his view is more explicitly pluralistic. It sets an agenda for logic that is much broader than could be captured by any simple slogan.…”

Section: What Do We Think About Logic?mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…45 Stebbing's interactions with the Vienna Circle began in 1930 when she met Moritz Schlick, the founder and leader of the Vienna Circle. 46 In 1934 Stebbing invited Rudolf Carnap to lecture at Bedford College, and she was the 'only British philosopher on the first "Organisation Committee of the International Congress for the Unity of Science".' 47 She attended the Paris congress in 1935 and in 1938, when the International Congress of the Unity of Science came to Cambridge, she gave the inaugural lecture.…”

Section: The Vienna Circle: Learning the New Logicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…He also omits Create tasks because 'it is rare to include such tasks in an introductory logic class.' 46 The application of these sorts of tools in course design allows teachers to prepare a course which can be tuned to not only cover essential topics in logic but also deliver an appropriate level of challenge to students. Education theory supplies the tools for dealing with the practical problems for teaching in the 21 st century, where our rapidly changing conditions make tradition a less reliable guide.…”

Section: Transforming the Two-hump Curvementioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of those things could be psychological processes. 46 The same can be said of argument. The Handbook of the Logic of Argument and Inference 47 is an example of the sort of work which arises when 'argument' and 'inference' are taken as a serious candidates for the subject matter of logic.…”

Section: Figure 37: Words Frequently Used In Introductory Textbooksmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The Subject Matter of Logic: Explaining what logic is about

Olsen¹

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Logics are formal systems with many different applications. The boundary between logics and other formal systems, like mathematics, is unclear. One way of clarifying this boundary is by appealing to the subject matter; defining their purpose, for instance, showing how the truth of the premises guarantees the conclusion, demonstrating reasoning, or modelling an argument. There are two contemporary philosophical debates where the subject matter of logic is relevant. The first is that of logical pluralism, which needs a way to determine whether a logic is correct. The second is the argument that the normativity of logic supplies a mechanism for determining whether a logic is correct. In these debates, the subject matter of logic is relevant, but not discussed. And it does not need to be because the participants implicitly agree that the answer is validity. They also agree that this does not advance the debate. Validity is a dead-end because it only transforms the question. Logicians clarify validity by giving a definition. But it is a well-established fact that there is more than one way of defining a relation of logical consequence. So, how does one determine whether a given definition is correct? Or to put it another way, how does one know whether that definition captures validity? On this point, opinions are deeply divided. Moreover, there is no clear strategy for resolving the difference of opinion. MacFarlane comments that appeals to intuitions about validity are prevalent in these debates. Furthermore, he remarks, these intuitions are a product of education. In many parts of the advanced literature, logicians agree that the subject matter of logic is validity. But this explanation won't do as an introduction for a beginner. As Newton-Smith says, this 'has the fault of explaining the obscure in terms of the equally obscure.' Instead, teachers must give what Mates calls 'an informal and intuitive account of the matters with which logic is primarily concerned.' The constraints on introductory explanations provide an opportunity to investigate the subject matter of logic in a novel way and perhaps reveal the source of intuitions about validity, which might, in turn, shed light on questions of pluralism and normativity. My thesis examines the way that teachers introduce the subject matter of logic to beginners. I begin by exploring a slice of history and a tradition of logic instruction. I argue that a reliance on this tradition leads to flawed teaching in the modern context. After that, I examine modern introductory texts and the strategies they use to present the subject matter of logic. I draw several lessons from this examination. I conduct three interviews with Gillian Russell, Dave Ripley, and Johan van Benthem in which I ask philosophic and pedagogic questions directed by each of their interests. These dialogues are illuminating on their own. But brought together they show the interaction between the teacher's theory of the subject matter of logic and the practice of introductory logic teaching. After this investigation into modern logic pedagogy, I present a framework for a solution to the pedagogic problem. It is a framework because there is no single best way to introduce logic to a beginner. But it is possible to develop a guiding structure. The solution which I present relies on a widely accepted 'trivial' form of pluralism and a kind of relativism which I introduce, and argue for, in this thesis. This discussion also includes practical suggestions for developing introductory logic courses.

show abstract

Section: What Do We Think About Logic?mentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: The Vienna Circle: Learning the New Logicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Transforming the Two-hump Curvementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figure 37: Words Frequently Used In Introductory Textbooksmentioning

confidence: 96%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Subject Matter of Logic: Explaining what logic is about

Olsen¹

2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, exactly like Grice, Stebbing says that reflexive thinking emerges from a problem to be solved and is throughout controlled by the conditions of the problem and directed to its solution. For more details about Stebbing, see Chapman (2013).…”

Section: Part I -Aspects Of Reason and Rationality In Logic And Languagementioning

confidence: 99%

Grice on rationality

Giarolo

2018

Filosofia Unisinos

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

My main goal in this paper is to argue that the concept of rationality is central in Grice's philosophy. Grice does not affirm this explicitly, but on several occasions throughout his work he indicates that rationality is a key concept, which enables both conversational practice and the development of philosophical theses. In order to show the importance of rationality to Grice, I will analyze his work according to three aspects: (i) logical and teleological; (ii) ethical and metaethical; and (iii) linguistic and pragmatic. In my view, in all three rationality is fundamental. Actually, a proper characterization of some of his philosophical discussions is only possible through this concept. Furthermore, I intend to show the relationships between rationality and other basic concepts in Grice. RESUMOMeu objetivo principal neste artigo é argumentar que o conceito de racionalidade é central na filosofia de Grice. Grice não afirma isto explicitamente, mas, em várias ocasiões ao longo de sua obra, ele indica que racionalidade é um conceito chave, o qual possibilita tanto a prática conversacional, quanto o desenvolvimento de teses filosóficas. Com o intuito de mostrar a importância da racionalidade para Grice, irei analisar sua obra em três aspectos: (i) lógico e teleológico; (ii) ético e metaético; e (iii) linguístico e pragmático. Em meu ponto de vista, em todos os aspectos racionalidade é fundamental. Na verdade, uma adequada caracterização de algumas de suas discussões filosóficas somente é possível através desse conceito. Além disso, pretendo mostrar as relações mantidas entre racionalidade e outros conceitos básicos em Grice.

show abstract

Thinking About the “Common Reader:” Otto Neurath, L. Susan Stebbing and the (Modern) Picture-Text Style

Körber

2019

Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Susan Stebbing and the Language of Common Sense

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

The Subject Matter of Logic: Explaining what logic is about

The Subject Matter of Logic: Explaining what logic is about

Grice on rationality

Thinking About the “Common Reader:” Otto Neurath, L. Susan Stebbing and the (Modern) Picture-Text Style

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About