Holism in a Computational Setting: The Case of Reconstructor

ROFFÉ, ARIEL JONATHAN

Lisboa

Conferencia; Ciclo de conferencias CFCUL; 2022

Centro de Filosofia das Ciências de la Universidade de Lisboa

Philosophical metatheories have had a great development in recent times. They have been used to reconstruct theories in many different scientific fields, from physics to biology to the social sciences. However, they lack means to systematically test the adequacy of their products. Most “tests” of reconstructions (and thus, of the metatheories themselves) are carried out by eye, if at all. This talk has two main objectives. The first is to develop a systematic way of testing reconstructions (and metatheories indirectly, through them). The second is to discuss whether these tests resemble those of empirical theories. More specifically, I will show how to use a computer program called Reconstructor, programmed by myself, to carry out tests of formal reconstructions. I will also discuss the extent to which these tests are subject to the phenomenon of holism, by examining the wide variety of knowledge (both empirical and computational) that is presupposed by these procedures.