The language of Physics, a language that both reports and predicts, is an inherently empirical language that must also make an appeal to the unobservable . As such, within the realm of Physics, distinctions need be clarified between two types of terms; those that are observable, and those that are theoretical, and, consequently, between two [...]

In Two Dogmas of Empiricism, Quine critiques several attempts of defining the analyticity of synonnimity, definition, and semantical rules. His first observation is that the notion of synonnimity is in just as much need of definition as the concept of analyticity itself. Additionally, if we are to choose the concept of truth by definition, or [...]

By the simplest of terms, the object language is the language of science, and the metalanguage is the language of the philosophy of science. In other words, the metalanguage discusses and describes the object language. For example, the proposition all ravens are black exists in the object language, whereas the proposition all ravens are black [...]

In A Dream Deferred, Shelby Steele tries to delineate what he refers to as a “victim focused racial identity” that permeates post-sixties liberalism. He feels that this popular attitude has “stifled black advancement more than racism itself”, and has caused a shift in focus “from protest to suppression”(Steele, 4). Moreover, he asserts that an unhealthy [...]

Within the context of the current race debate, the question of whether race is a legitimate term rests on how we define it, and how, in turn, we deploy it. Can we use race to mandate a belief in biological determinism, or should we use it as a genetic surrogate to achieve equality? And, importantly, [...]

In Realism, Anti-Foundationalism and the Enthusiasm for Natural Kinds, Richard Boyd defends the use of cluster properties as natural kinds and natural kind terms, while refuting Ian Hackings claim that they are intrinsically social because they fail to satisfy the condition of being defined by a set of necessary and sufficient properties. While acknowledging that [...]

In Plato’s The Republic, Socrates’ argues that a just city-state is comprised solely of just individuals. Consequently, Socrates is able to define who a just individual is by first defining what a just city-state is, since in his viewpoint, it is impossible for a just city-state to be comprised of unjust souls. So, this begs [...]

Seventeenth century philosopher John Locke, born in England as the son of an attorney, was one of the first political advocates to espouse the benefits of individual freedoms and of a tolerant liberal justice. For Locke, the sole purpose of political institutions was to insure basic rights and peaceful security under the watchful eye of [...]