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Reposted by Paul L. Franco

Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science @mcps-philsci.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Thank you, @oscarw.bsky.social for the discussion last week on "Understanding to Some Purpose." The video, our latest in the International Postdoc Forum series, is now available to watch on the MCPS YouTube channel. buff.ly/CoQAi5c #philsci

buff.ly

IPDF September 2026: Oscar Westerblad, University of Iceland

Understanding to Some Purpose

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Been sort of getting into rocks and found one a few weeks ago that looks like a xenomorph.

It's a shiny black rock with a gray stripe that looks like a xenomorph.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I feel like someone could write a philosophy of language paper drawing some interesting lessons from the fact that the clean version of Get Low--in which 'b*****s' is replaced with 'females'--seems even more offensive than the explicit version.

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Reposted by Paul L. Franco

Adam Tamas Tuboly @tuadam.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I am happy to say that our volume on the history of value-laden ideals of science is out today! I am grateful to the wonderful contributors for their really nice chapters! First of its kind, check it out! www.routledge.com/Histories-of...

routledge.com

Histories of the Value-Laden Ideals of Science: Philosophical Perspectives

This volume challenges oversimplified accounts of the value-free (VFI) and the value-laden ideals (VLI) in twentieth-century philosophy of science. Rather than a single, unified position, it reveals a...

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Garber on the tragedy of Kuhn being led down a dead-end, re: incommensurability. www.jstor.org/stable/10.15...

Kuhn’s extended attempt to answer the philosophers has always struck me as one of the great tragedies in the history and philosophy of science. It didn’t have to be this way. There is much that was right in Kuhn’s idea of the incommensurability of paradigms at the very beginning, in Structure. The history of his later struggles with incommensurability is a sad story of a great thinker who allowed himself to be led down a dead end.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

"Histories of the Value-Laden Ideals of Science" edited by @tuadam.bsky.social and Gabor Biro is out! I have a paper in it about Feigl and Churchman, Ackoff, and Rudner. For the 3 or 4 of you itching for even more Churchman content, Roberto Gronda has a chapter on him in the volume, too. #HOPOS

taylorfrancis.com

Histories of the Value-Laden Ideals of Science | Philosophical Perspec

This volume challenges oversimplified accounts of the value-free (VFI) and the value-laden ideals (VLI) in twentieth-century philosophy of science. Rather than

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Hesse on what philosophy of science has to do with philosophy of language. www.jstor.org/stable/19245...

Perhaps the crucial difference between this "received opinion" and a
theory of meaning-change adequate both for science and for metaphoric
use in natural language, is that the latter would not recognize as
fundamental the distinction between "sentence meaning" and "utterance
meaning". If as a matter of fact "literal meaning" of a sentence
changes frequently in utterance because of shifts in the meaning of
words in different holistic contexts, then the category of literal
meaning becomes applicable only in local or limiting cases. These are
the cases where theory and background assumptions are more or less
stable, and where deductive and mathematical argument are applicable in
science. But the work of Kuhn and others has shown the importance of
instability of theory, and in any case current accounts of scientific
theory give a more modest place to strict entailment than did the
deductivist accounts of the 1950s and 60s.
What in the end is a theory of meaning for? So far it has had
roughly three areas of application : philosophical logic, scientific
linguistics, and philosophy of science. It has been shown to be
bankrupt in philosophy of science, not least by Kuhn's own work; it is
rapidly losing credibility as an explication of meaning in natural
language; there remains logic, which no doubt can look after itself.
But with regard to meaning in science and natural language, we need a
theory that takes it as axiomatic that meaning is strongly holistic,
and that it changes by however little with every change of context of
application. This is going to involve a new start for the theory of
meaning

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Damn. Philosophers in 1980 had a lot to read. (And imagine if philosophers of language had taken Hesse, who would later engage Rorty on metaphor, as seriously as they did Kripke!) www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Select Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature By Richard Rorty Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980, 401 pp., £12.50

Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature By Richard Rorty Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980, 401 pp., £12.50
Raimond Gaita

Published online by Cambridge University Press:
30 January 2009, pp. 427-429

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Select Revolutions and Reconstructions in the Philosophy of Science By Mary Hesse Brighton: Harvester Press, 1980, xxvi + 271 pp., £20

Revolutions and Reconstructions in the Philosophy of Science By Mary Hesse Brighton: Harvester Press, 1980, xxvi + 271 pp., £20
Roger Trigg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:
30 January 2009, pp. 430-431

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Select Naming and Necessity By Saul Kripke Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980, 172 pp., £7.95

Naming and Necessity By Saul Kripke Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980, 172 pp., £7.95
T. L. S. Sprigge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:
30 January 2009, pp. 431-433

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

This part is great (as is the letter's emphasis on the social nature of inquiry).

In recent months, the success of AI in solving major mathematical problems has made headlines even outside mathematical circles. But solving problems is only a tool and proxy for achieving the primary goal of conceptual understanding and insight. Forgetting this in the world of AI may turn the tool against the primary goal. Indeed, the mass production at faster and faster pace of "true/false" statements could destroy fertile ground instead of breathing life into new ideas.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The book launch today was great and I'm excited to check out Sander's book, especially the later chapters on the culture wars!

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Max Black offered to pick up Wittgenstein from NYC and drive him to Ithaca where W. would stay with Norman Malcolm. But W. wanted Malcolm to know that he didn't think highly of Black and wouldn't be sociable during the car trip. Ultimately, Malcolm took the train to NYC, then rode back with W.

Dear Norman,
Thanks for your very kind letter. I never meant to pay for your kindness in discus-
sions. Anyhow, the best I could give you would be lousy payment. All I meant was:
I don’t want to bore my kind hosts to death. However, let’s not talk about it any
more, especially as I’ve got good news: I’ve improved greatly during the last few days.
So, obviously, the iron and liver extract do work. – I’m very glad you’ve kept quiet
about my visit and I hope Black will do the same. His proposal to drive us is most
kind, there is, however, one thing I’ve got to say. I haven’t seen Black for over 16
years, but when I knew him in Cambridge, though he seemed quite pleasant, I never
thought highly of him as a serious thinker, and we never were particular friends. I’m
saying this because I don’t want him to believe that I’ll be a sociable person. If you
don’t think that this misunderstanding might arrise I’ll be glad to accept his offer.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Maybe Wittgenstein should've published some of his ideas from his lectures if he didn't want charlatans to take credit for them.

One was by a man Toulmin, who came
to my classes while you were in Cambridge, I think; the other seemed to contain
articles by Wisdom, Waismann, Ryle and other charlatans. The review I read particu-
larly praised one remark of Waismann’s which came straight out of my lectures. I’d
like to see a review some day which debunks these people.
Give my love to Lee and all my best wishes to everybody who can make use of
them.
Affectionately
Ludwig

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I'm not the first to note this, but an interesting historical fact is that parts of Kuhn (1962) and Quine (1951) were actually first published in 1926 by C.I. Lewis

In any given period, there is some body of generaly accepted
concepts in terms of which men describe and interpret their
experience. Later,these may all be strange. If we go back
to the Middle Ages or to the civilization of ancient Greece, and
try to view the world as men then saw
it,
only by an effort can
we do so.

There is hardly a category or principle of
explanation which survives from Aristotle or the science of the
Middle Ages. Quite literaly, men of those days lived in a
diferent world because their instruments of intelectual interpretation were so diferent. To be sure, the telescope and
microscope and the scientific laboratory have played an important part. As time goes on, the body of familiar experience
widens.

Truth here is not fixed,
because interpretation is not fixed, but is left for trial and error
to determine. The criteria of its success are accommodation to
our bent and service of our interests. More adequate or simpler
interpretation will mean practicaly truer. Old truth will pass
away when old concepts are abandoned. New truth arises when
new interpretations are adopted.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Re: Analytic philosophy, status quo, etc. This Aeon piece from Alexander Klein about Bertrand Russell, logical analysis, and nationalism is relevant, in part because it contextualizes the project of analysis by contrasting with other philosophical projects at the time. aeon.co/essays/philo...

aeon.co

Philosophy at war: nationalism and logical analysis | Aeon Essays

Should philosophy express the national character of a people? Bertrand Russell’s ‘scientific’ philosophy was a bulwark against nationalism

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The New Mexico legislature, clearly knowledgeable about work in the philosophy of science showing the complex interplay between values and ontology, refused to accept any such demotion. www.nmlegis.gov/sessions/07%...

nmlegis.gov

Memorial text for HJM054

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Reposted by Paul L. Franco

rose novick @rosenovick.com · 22/08/2026

i think people who disagree with rawls should present a compelling alternative B Theory Of Justice

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Sources: Paul L. Franco just completed his last class of summer. Upon submitting grades, UW will move him to Sabbatical Reserve for '26-'27. This move, long expected by insiders, comes after a promotion to Teaching Professor. It saves UW 33% of his salary, keeping the Huskies under the second apron.

Portrait of Paul Franco staring into the distance on a cloudy PNW beach. He's wearing a hat with the Zia symbol, which is also on the flag of New Mexico. The banner says: "Promoted & On Sabbatical. Breaking News from Shams Charania"

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Jason Stanley might not be impressed, but I think it'd be really cool if you had a visiting job at OSU. I visited for a conference two months ago. Great place; great philosophy department. I'd ask you if you ever had the biscuits from Fox in the Snow and the amazing Somali food at Hoyo's Kitchen.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Praying that the new show Roth has in the works is "Sandwich Time with Rohan."

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

An idea's objective reality must be caused by something containing at least as much formal reality.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Morning everybody! Who's ready to discover some truths? [Fires up my falsehood machine]

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Adjuncts lack the sort of initiative this editor clearly has, which is why they mistakenly think they're exploited.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

I wonder how Plato might fare with philosophy publishing today. Would he know MLA? Could he use an LLM to hone the main insight of Republic into something publishable in Philosophy & Public Affairs? Would he even be able to remember his editorial manager passwords? Something tells me he wouldn't.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

In case any of y'all find yourselves at one of my talks in the future, I think the best question you could ask me is: "Your project [career/argument/etc] seems to have the momentum of a runaway freight train. How do you explain your success?"

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I need some emergency NBA podcasts stat.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

A necessary but not sufficient condition for academics, especially philosophers, to gain back the public's trust is for them to start listing all the facts they know with certainty while also admitting that they don't really know what a proper analysis of those facts might entail.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Since the question 'Is that a hand or a finger?' makes sense to ask--especially in the context of a philosophy lecture--G.E. Moore cannot be said to know that either of his hands exist with certainty, and thus his proof of an external world fails.

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Reposted by Paul L. Franco

Retroist @retroist.com · 04/07/2026

Great moments in U.S. History.

Comic panel showing the Kool Aid Man walking past children with Benjamin Franklin. A child asks, “Excuse me sir, aren’t you Benjamin Franklin?” Franklin answers, “Yes I am. I’m also hot and thirsty.”

10073821829

Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

It seems to me that a better title for Carnap's "The Elimination of Metaphysics Through Logical Analysis of Language" would have been "The Silencing of Heidegger's Free Speech Through Logical Analysis of Language."

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Leibniz invented management science too?!

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

[Philosophy conference talk] Me: [chanting] tables, tables- Audience: tables, TABLES Session chair: [pounding her clipboard] TABLES, TABLES, TABLES!

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

My wife, who played and understands soccer, thinks my idea for an always-offsides defense is unworkable, but I refuse to give up on the idea.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The Professor from AND1 not only had that ball on a string, but he was also one of the youngest full professors of all time.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I had the pleasure of reviewing a new collection of Susan Stebbing's papers edited by Siobhan Chapman for Mind. There's some #HOPOS in the review, and a short section about public philosophy in the history of analytic philosophy. academic.oup.com/mind/advance...

academic.oup.com

Susan Stebbing: Philosophical Papers, by Susan Stebbing

In a short period of time, Susan Stebbing has gone from being relatively neglected in the history of analytic philosophy to being recognized as one of anal

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Man. I just don't know if you tried to fulfill your duty as a scholar to understand things if you're outsourcing your understanding to AI and a bunch of paid researchers. Try harder.

Our duty as scholars is to try to understand things, to be responsive to the best evidence and the best arguments about those things. In practice, we are individually limited creatures, and we’re no doubt more impressed by reasons for conclusions that we like than that we don’t. So there’s the task of the community of scholarship. Objectivity is not a property of individuals; it’s a property of the community of scholarship to test these ideas. If I like an idea, people out there can put pressure on it.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

"We [1] did a fair amount of research..." [1] To clarify, 'we' doesn't refer to the report's authors, but AI methods and a bunch of people hired with someone else's money.

Appiah: The decision was made to allow the authors of those internal reports to decide whether or not to make them public. They were the basis of our deliberation. I will make mine, which is about literary criticism, public at some point, and I think others will. But on the whole, I think it was right to do it the way we have, because we need people to think about the main conclusions and the main arguments, which are in this document.

We did a fair amount of research, including research using new artificial-intelligence methods to survey large bodies of text and see what was in them, and to identify themes and so on. My report will come with six appendices of such material, not produced by me but produced by the researchers that we were able to hire with the money that was given to us by the chancellors.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I would have also expected to see "C - Question makes no sense" as a possible option!

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Taking this prompt seriously for a second to say that any answer other than Bishop and Trout's "The Pathologies of Standard Analytic Epistemology" is wrong.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Same. I take pride in preserving old, soon-to-be-forgotten practices by handcrafting reference lists that are small-batch, artisanal works of art that automated journal citation managers then mangle beyond all recognition.

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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

My report on the state of scholarship.