TY - Generic T1 - Can economics become a purely experimental science? A comparative study Y1 - 2012 A1 - Weber, Erik ED - Aerts, Diederik ED - Broekaert, Jan ED - D'Hooghe, Bart ED - Note, Nicole AB -

The role of experiments in economics is increasing. This paper deals with a philosophical question that is raised by this evolution: can economics become a purely experimental science? I answer this question by comparing economics with a branch of biomedical science.

JA - Worldviews, science and us : bridging knowledge and its implications for our perspectives on the world PB - World Scientific Publishing Company SN - 9789814383073 UR - http://www.worldscibooks.com/general/8341.html ER - TY - Generic T1 - History and Philosophy of Science: From Peaceful Coexistence to Golden Age of Interdisciplinarity? Y1 - 2012 A1 - Ducheyne, Steffen ED - Aerts, Diederik ED - Broekaert, Jan ED - D'Hooghe, Bart ED - Note, Nicole JA - Worldviews, Science and Us: Bridging Knowledge and its Implications for our Perpectives on the World. PB - World Scientific Publishing Company CY - Singapore SP - 26-36 ER - TY - Generic T1 - An Interdisciplinary Focus on the Concept of Causation: What philosophy can learn from psychology Y1 - 2012 A1 - De Vreese, Leen ED - Aerts, Diederik ED - Broekaert, Jan ED - D'Hooghe, Bart ED - Note, Nicole AB -

In philosophy of science, it is still a mainstream practice to search for the `truth' about fundamental scientific concepts in isolation, blind to knowledge achieved in other domains of science. I focus on the topic of causation. I argue that it is worthwhile for philosophy of science to leave its metaphysical tower in order to pick up knowledge from other domains where empirical research on causal reasoning is carried out, such as psychology. I will demonstrate what the psychologist Peter White's theory, on the origin and development of causal reasoning, can impart to philosophy of causation. It concerns different but interre- lated subjects with respect to the philosophy of causation: conceptual pluralism, a core causal concept of causation, the analysis of \what cau- sation is", epistemological pluralism, causation as a secondary quality and weak causal realism. The divide between metaphysical and epis- temological approaches to causation|and hence between philosophy and psychology|may be much smaller than is often presupposed. Keywords: philosophy of causation, developmental psychology, causal pluralism, interdisciplinarity

JA - Worldviews, Science and Us: Bridging Knowledge and its Implications for our Perpectives on the World. PB - World Scientific Publishing Company CY - Singapore SP - 55-71 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Metaphysics and Cinema Y1 - 2012 A1 - Christiaens, Wim ED - Aerts, Diederik ED - Broekaert, Jan ED - D'Hooghe, Bart ED - Note, Nicole JA - Worldviews, Science and Us: Bridging Knowledge and its Implications for our Perpectives on the World. PB - World Scientific Publishing Company CY - Singapore SP - 118-141 ER - TY - Generic T1 - An atlas for the social world: what should it (not) look like? Interdisciplinarity and pluralism in the social sciences Y1 - 2011 A1 - Van Bouwel, Jeroen ED - Aerts, Diederik ED - D'Hooghe, Bart ED - Pinxten, Rik ED - Wallerstein, Immanuel AB -

Starting from the analogy between theories and maps, I will spell out which interdisciplinary approach to the social sciences can provide us with the atlas we need to navigate in the social world. After comparing the features of theories and maps in section 1, I elaborate how different social theories can collaborate or get into a dialogue in section 2, summarizing the different strategies that have been defended for interdisciplinarity in social science: theory-, method-, metaphysics-, and question-driven interdisciplinarity, which I will illustrate with actual proposals made by, inter alia, World-Systems Analysis, Critical Realism and Economics Imperialism. Building on the framework of explanatory pluralism I have been developing before, I will make a case for question-driven interdisciplinarity in section 3. My argument for question-driven interdisciplinarity will be illustrated in section 4 by discussing recent developments in economics (i.e., the debate between the orthodoxy and heterodox theories, the pleas for pluralism, and the impact of globalisation –and related institutional developments- on economics as a discipline). In conclusion, the contours of an adequate atlas for the social world should become clearer; when to use the different maps, how to activate the dialogue between social scientific disciplines in order to draw the different maps, and the risks of globalisation for social science (and adequate map making).

JA - Worldviews, Science and Us: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Worlds, Cultures and Society. T3 - Worldviews, science and us : interdisciplinary perspectives on worlds, cultures and society PB - World Scientific Publishing Company SP - 43–72 SN - 9789814355056 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Disentangling Causal Pluralism Y1 - 2010 A1 - De Vreese, Leen ED - Vanderbeeken, Robrecht ED - D'Hooghe, Bart AB -

Causal pluralism is increasingly gaining interest as a promising alternative for monistic approaches toward causation. However, although the debate is scarcely out of the egg, the term ‘causal pluralism’ already covers diverse meanings. This creates confusion, and to remedy that confusion, it is necessary to discern different kinds of pluralistic approaches to causation and different possible positions within them. In this paper, I argue for a general distinction between conceptual causal pluralism, metaphysical causal pluralism and epistemological-methodological causal pluralism. I mainly focus on metaphysical approaches to causation and discern herein four possible positions: metaphysical causal constructivism, metaphysical causal monism, weak metaphysical causal pluralism, and strong metaphysical causal pluralism. Each of these positions are further related to their most obvious conceptual counterpart, specifically conceptual causal monism or conceptual causal pluralism.

JA - Worldviews, Science and Us. Studies of Analytical Metaphysics. PB - World Scientific Publishing Company SP - 207–223 SN - 981-4295-81-7 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Why social emergence? Discussing the use of analytical metaphysics in social theory T2 - Worldviews, science and us : studies of analytical metaphysics Y1 - 2010 A1 - Van Bouwel, Jeroen ED - Vanderbeeken, Robrecht ED - D'Hooghe, Bart AB -

Recently the concept of emergence has been used in social theory to understand and defend social causation and nonreductive individualism (cf., Refs. 1, 2 and 3). In this paper, I want to analyse what the contribution of analytical metaphysics, and, in particular, the concept of emergence is, or might be, to the discussion in social theory. Especially Keith Sawyer's use of emergence in his defence of social explanation will be scrutinized. Therefore, it will be important to distinguish ontological from epistemological emergence. Where Sawyer focuses on ontological emergence, I will argue that social explanation might better be defended by putting emphasis on pragmatic aspects of explanation and considering emergence as an epistemological category.

JA - Worldviews, science and us : studies of analytical metaphysics PB - World Scientific Publishing Company SN - 9789814295819 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/9789814299053\_0010 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Introduction: Contemporary Analytic Metaphysics, Its Crisis and Challenge Y1 - 2009 A1 - Vanderbeeken, Robrecht ED - Vanderbeeken, Robrecht ED - D'Hooghe, Bart JA - Worldviews, Science and Us: Studies of Analytical Metaphysics. A Selection of Topics From a Methodological Perspective PB - World Scientific Publishing Company SP - 4–9 SN - 978-981-4295-81-9 ER -