The visual pyramid: evolution of a conceptual instrument (Phase 8)

Project: Research Project

Project Details

Description

The following question summarizes a more disturbing concern in the history of philosophy: How is it possible that there is in my field of vision a copy of events that I have learned to recognize as external to me? This question is already at the origins of the philosophical tradition and there is not yet an answer that can be agreed upon by all. We intend to offer a rational reconstruction, adjusted to the precepts recommended by Imre Lakatos, that accounts for: (i) the way in which it became attractive to use a visual pyramid as a conceptual instrument (strong core of the Lakatos-style research program); (ii) the substantial reforms to which this instrument was subjected until the 19th century and which increased its explanatory power (actions advanced in the protective belt, according to the categories proposed by Lakatos). The project is conceived in eight phases. The development of the seven previous phases has been supported by FIUR. In phase 8 we will deal with the period that brought the greatest progressive development of the program before its stagnation. We will study the imprint imposed by German optics in the 19th century. We will show that a research program is not abandoned simply because there is a strong criticism pointing to the weakening of the firm core. It may happen, as we will show in this case, that in spite of the existence of a demolishing criticism of the program's presuppositions (Berkeley's criticism studied in phase 7), the program was able to preserve its evolutionary dynamics by managing, by virtue of its positive heuristics, to offer theoretical anticipations that subsequently find strong empirical support adjusted to the validation criteria of the time. We will show that there is no phase that competes with the German optics in the production of novel theoretical anticipations.

Keywords

visual pyramid, rational reconstruction, conceptual instrument

Commitments / Obligations

To close the whole project (9 phases) gathering the results in a book.
StatusFinished
Effective start/end date2/9/174/6/18

UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality

Main Funding Source

  • Competitive Funds
  • Small Amount

Location

  • Bogotá D.C.

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