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Re: [ontolog-forum] electric sheep

To: "[ontolog-forum]" <ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: Wacek Kusnierczyk <Waclaw.Marcin.Kusnierczyk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2007 08:52:18 +0100
Message-id: <47301D32.8050405@xxxxxxxxxxx>
John F. Sowa wrote:
> Wacek,
>
>  > Some progress has been made, though.  Aristotle claimed
>  > -- according to Russell, as far as I know -- that women
>  > have fewer teeth than men.
>
> Following is a review of a book about Aristotle's comments
> on women (or females of any species):
>
>     http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-09-19.html
>     Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2004.09.19
>
> I would guess that he actually did the test, but the man he
> examined happened to have fully developed wisdom teeth, but
> the woman didn't.
>
> You can find lots of very good examples as well as those
> "howlers" in Aristotle's writings.  Among the better ones
> is his conclusion that sponges are animals, not plants.
>
> An excellent example of experimental method is his study of
> embryos -- by starting with 30 chicken eggs, breaking open
> one each day, and describing how the embryo develops.
>
> In any case, the primary role of philosophy is not to
> accumulate facts and theories, as in science, but to develop
> methods of conceptual analysis.  For that purpose, it's hard
> to find more instructive examples than the writings of Plato
> and Aristotle.
>
>   
well, if aristotle's grounds to make the general claim that women have 
fewer teeth than men was an observation of *one* man (and at least one 
woman, i guess), then it is not the best example of how to do science.  
perhaps it is a good example of how philosophers do their work (i hope not).    (01)

vQ    (02)

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