VII—Can Arguments Change Minds? Dutilh Novaes, Catarina
Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society,
07/2023, Letnik:
123, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Abstract
Can arguments change minds? Philosophers like to think that they can. However, a wealth of empirical evidence suggests that arguments are not very efficient tools to change minds. What to ...make of the different assessments of the mind-changing potential of arguments? To address this issue, we must take into account the broader contexts in which arguments occur, in particular the propagation of messages across networks of attention, and the choices that epistemic agents must make between alternative potential sources of content and information, which are very much influenced by perceptions of reliability and trustworthiness. Arguments can change minds, but only under conducive, favourable socio-epistemic conditions.
Abstract
The future of theory in the age of big data and algorithms is a frequent topic in management research. However, with corporate ownership of big data and data processing capabilities designed ...for profit generation increasing rapidly, we witness a shift from scientific to ‘corporate empiricism’. Building on this debate, our ‘Point’ essay argues that theorizing in management research is at risk
now
. Unlike the ‘Counterpoint’ article, which portrays a bright future for management theory given available technological opportunities, we are concerned about management researchers increasingly ‘borrowing’ data from the corporate realm (e.g., Google et al.) to build or test theory. Our objection is that this data borrowing can harm scientific theorizing due to how scaling effects, proxy measures and algorithmic decision‐making performatively combine to undermine the scientific validity of theories. This undermining occurs through reducing scientific explanations, while technology shapes theory and reality in a profit‐predicting rather than in a truth‐seeking manner. Our essay has meta‐theoretical implications for management theory per se, as well as for political debates concerning the jurisdiction and legitimacy of knowledge claims in management research. Practically, these implications connect to debates on scientific responsibilities of researchers.
What is a Conspiracy Theory? Napolitano, M. Giulia; Reuter, Kevin
Erkenntnis,
06/2023, Letnik:
88, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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In much of the current academic and public discussion, conspiracy theories are portrayed as a negative phenomenon, linked to misinformation, mistrust in experts and institutions, and political ...propaganda. Rather surprisingly, however, philosophers working on this topic have been reluctant to incorporate a negatively evaluative aspect when either analyzing or engineering the concept
conspiracy theory
. In this paper, we present empirical data on the nature of the concept
conspiracy theory
from five studies designed to test the existence, prevalence and exact form of an evaluative dimension to the ordinary concept
conspiracy theory
. These results reveal that, while there is a descriptive concept of
conspiracy theory
, the predominant use of
conspiracy theory
is deeply evaluative, encoding information about epistemic deficiency and often also derogatory and disparaging information. On the basis of these results, we present a new strategy for engineering
conspiracy theory
to promote theoretical investigations and institutional discussions of this phenomenon. We argue for engineering
conspiracy theory
to encode an epistemic evaluation, and to introduce a descriptive expression—such as ‘conspiratorial explanation’—to refer to the purely descriptive concept
conspiracy theory
.
In this article I take on the question of how the exclusion of Black American women from physics impacts physics epistemologies, and I highlight the dynamic relationship between this exclusion and ...the struggle for women to reconcile “Black woman” with “physicist.” I describe the phenomenon where white epistemic claims about science—which are not rooted in empirical evidence—receive more credence and attention than Black women’s epistemic claims about their own lives. To develop this idea, I apply an intersectional analysis to Joseph Martin’s concept of prestige asymmetry in physics, developing the concept of white empiricism to discuss the impact that Black women’s exclusion has had on physics epistemology. By considering the essentialization of racism and sexism alongside the social construction of ascribed identities, I assess the way Black women physicists self-construct as scientists and the subsequent impact of epistemic outcomes on the science itself.
The literature suggests that increasing investments in information and communication technologies (ICTs), knowledge exchange and sharing help SMEs tackle the current global and dynamic environment. ...Given that much of the useful knowledge resides outside the enterprises’ boundaries, these technological tools foster the gathering of big data and information. Despite these premises, few studies have considered the role of ICTs and big data in intra‐ and inter‐organizational ties and the consequent effects on enterprises’ innovation performance. The paper investigates whether ICTs oriented to intra‐organizational (in‐house research and development R&D) and inter‐organizational (open innovation) processes improve SMEs’ innovation performance. Therefore, via structural equation modelling (SEM), the study analyses a sample of 239 knowledge‐intensive SMEs located in Italy. The noteworthy results are that ICTs oriented to intra‐ and inter‐organizational innovation processes improve both these processes in generating new products and/or services. On this basis, managerial and academic implications are provided, along with avenues for further research.
Foreword McBride, Meredith R Aska
Northwestern University law review,
01/2019, Letnik:
113, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
...we want to create a space for empiricists themselves to take advantage of the law review format, including shorter publication timelines and the ability to reach audiences, such as courts and ...policymakers, who may read law reviews but not disciplinary scholarship. ...Issa Kohler-Hausmann, in Eddie Murphy and the Dangers of Counterfactual Causal Thinking About Detecting Racial Discrimination, breaks open the materialist-constructivist binary currently governing empirical approaches to race discrimination, and instead presents a thick ethical model that both retheorizes discrimination law and provides powerful new empirical tools to prove and ultimately combat race discrimination. ...we are grateful to the 2017-2018 editorial board, led by Editor-in-Chief Arielle Tolman, who developed the original idea for this issue in conversation with Law Review faculty advisors Erin Delaney and James Pfander.
This article serves as a welcoming introduction to feminist epistemologies and methodologies, written to accompany (and intended to be read prior to) the Virtual Special Issue on ‘Doing Critical ...Feminist Research’. In recalling our own respective journeys into the exciting field of feminist research, we invite new readers in appreciating the steep learning curve out of conventional science. This article begins by sketching out the emergence of feminist scholarship – focusing particularly on the discipline of psychology – to show readers how and why feminist scholars sought to depart from conventional science. In doing so, we explain the emergence of three main ways of doing and thinking about research (i.e. epistemologies): feminist empiricism, standpoint theory, and the various ‘turn to language’ movements (social constructionism, constructivism, postmodernism, poststructuralism). We then connect the dots between feminist epistemologies, methodologies and methods. We close by offering suggestions to guide the readers in using the Virtual Special Issue on their respective research journeys.
Objective
This special issue focuses on self‐determination theory (SDT) as an integrative framework for the wider field of personality research. In this commentary our aims include: reflecting on the ...utility and strengths of SDT as such a general framework and responding to the various contributions in this issue regarding their use of SDT as a guiding, complementary, or contrasting framework.
Methods and Results
We describe how SDT has developed organically and conservatively from “within” based on the emerging patterns of evidence, as well through the ongoing challenges from other models and frameworks. We then discuss each of the various contributions to this special issue, addressing themes that include SDT’s breadth of methods, and its relevance to topics such as narcissism, wisdom, individual differences, Big‐Five traits, and the neuropsychology of motivation, among others. Across these discussions, we highlight fruitful avenues for research and cross‐fertilization across the fields of personality, development, motivation, and neuroscience. At the same time, we counter some claims made about SDT, and forward certain cautions regarding the integration of SDT and other personality frameworks and models.
Conclusions
We conclude by revisiting the value of broad theory, and SDT in particular, for coordinating complex research findings concerning motivation, personality development and wellness across multiple levels of analysis and, perhaps more importantly, for pointing researchers to the right questions within today’s prolific empiricism.
The Kalman filter is an important technique for system state estimation. It requires the exact knowledge of system noise statistics to achieve optimal state estimation. However, in practice, this ...knowledge is often unknown or inaccurate due to uncertainties and disturbances involved in the dynamic environment, leading to degraded or even divergent filtering solutions. To address this issue, this paper presents a new method by combining the random weighting concept with the limited memory technique to accurately estimate system noise statistics. To avoid the influence of excessive historical information on state estimation, random weighting theories are established based on the limited memory technique to estimate both process noise and measurement noise statistics within a limited memory. Subsequently, the estimated system noise statistics are fed back into the Kalman filtering process for system state estimation. The proposed method improves the Kalman filtering accuracy by adaptively adjusting the weights of system noise statistics within a limited memory to suppress the interference of system noise on system state estimation. Simulations and experiments as well as comparison analysis were conducted, demonstrating that the proposed method can overcome the disadvantage of the traditional limited memory filter, leading to im-proved accuracy for system state estimation.
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