Epistemology and the Material Environment :: Philosophy

Epistemology and the Material EnvironmentABSTRACT This paper presents an epistemic barbel to the investigation of substantive properties that is opposed to both phenomenalistic epistemology and recent linguistical and ontological accounts of subject area/mass terms. Emphasis is laid on the inherent context dependency of physical properties. It is shown that, if this is taken seriously, some deep epistemological problems arise, like infallible uncertainty, incompleteness, inductivity, and nonderivableness. It is further argued that some widely held epistemological accounts, namely that of essentialism, constructivism, and pragmatism, all break up some serious defects if related to the recognition of materials. In order to responsibly manage our material environment, a more realistic estimation of our epistemic abilities and prospects is suggested. Introduction The primacy of epistemologySince a couple of years we whitethorn witness a growing philosophical interest in matter(s), material substances, or material beings. (1) Far from their Aristotelean-Thomistic ancestors, todays philosophers focus on the ontology of matter(s) or the linguistics of mass terms by logical means, provided by analytical philosophy mainly in a Quinian manner. While this has enabled considerable insight in logical and linguistical features, it suffers from a certain sterility with regard to ordinary and, in cross, scientific experience of material/chemical substances. In fact, most accounts hold epistemological problems and presuppositions undiscussed or implicit.Against a (still) prevailing tendency to tell ontological stories based on logical-linguistic analysis, I claim for the primacy of epistemology, i.e. an analysis of the conditions, possibilities and limits of our knowledge gaining processes, that may lead, only in a second step, toward a (linguistically shaped) world view. in that location is no doubt that linguistic conventions are important constraints of, and even prestigious on, the social process of knowledge gaining, esp. in science. But these constraints only depend a conservative role, while our knowledge of materials tends to change and, as I will show, improve by experimental and conceptual refinements. Moreover, ignoring the non-linguistic constraints, in particular the epistemic conditions of experiencing materials, is even in danger of missing the meaning of our scientific (mass) terms.Starting from an epistemologized ontology of matter, I will point out some deeper epistemological problems of material properties, that arise mainly from its inherent context dependence. It turns out, that these problems forces us towards a more modest epistemological position neither skepticism, nor naive optimism.1. Ontology epistemologized material objectsThe problem of telling a pure epistemological story is that it seems to presume an ontological starting point What is matter?