Date:          Tue, 7 Jan 1997 14:29:46 GMT +0200
Subject:       Re: BHA: Transitive & intransitive


Hello there,

> Thanks for the reply. yes I agree, we probably agree more than seems to
> emerge on the surface. Basically there is nothing in your last post that i
> fnd objectionable. But given the following do you accept Michael's original
> claim that science could never be considered an intransitive object to
> philosophers of science?

No. Again I think Bhaskar's discussion of the intransitivity of 
social objects in PON covers everything that needs to be said here. 
Science is intransitive enough to be studied, but as a social object 
will tend to be affected by the study in ways unlike those which 
apply to the objects of natural science.

[I would probably also say that we need to be quite careful 
here, and specify what aspects of science are the phenomena, and say 
for which things we are trying to produce explanations. I would 
prefer not to regard all explanations as referring to generative 
mechanisms since that would make the term "generative mechanism" 
hopelessly vague. I agree with Colin's point that phenomena may be 
pretty intransitive depending on who is observing...]

I think we will agree that although a measurement of the pressure of 
a gas, say, cannot be made without a change (however small) in the 
pressure itself, the measurement does not change what pressure "as 
such" is, any more than publicising the result of the measurement 
does. On the other hand when someone produces an influential 
philosophy of science it can be expected to make changes in the way 
scientists behave, and in doing so change the nature of the object 
itself. This does not make science transitive for philosophy of 
science, it shows that intransitive social objects are affected by 
the sciences which study them.

If all this talk has produced agreement I suppose someone should let 
Habermas know about it....

Cheers,
David

Department of Philosophy, UND
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