World Hypotheses: A Study in Evidence

Stephen C. Pepper

University of California Press, 1942 - Philosophy - 348 pages

"World hypotheses" correspond to metaphysical systems, and they may be systematically judged by the canons of evidence and corroboration.

In setting forth his root-metaphor theory and examining six such hypotheses—animism, mysticism, formism, mechanism, contextualism, and organicism—Pepper surveys the whole field of metaphysics. Because this book is an analytical study, it stresses issues rather than men. It seeks to exhibit the sources of these issues and to show that some are unnecessary; that the rest gather into clusters and are interconnected in systems corresponding closely to the traditional schools of philosophy. The virtue of the root-metaphor method is that it puts metaphysics on a purely factual basis and pushes philosophical issues back to the interpretation of evidence.

This book was written primarily as a contribution to the field, but its plan excellently suits it for use as a text in courses in metaphysics, types of philosophical theory, or present tendencies in philosophy.

Contents

• The Utter Skeptic: 1
• Dogmatists: 11
• Evidence and Corroboration: 39
• Types of Corroboration in Refined Knowledge: 47
• Data and Positivists: 60
• Hypotheses: 71
• CHAPTER PACE: 84
• Examples of Inadequacies in World: 115
• A General View of the Hypotheses: 141
• 1: 151
• Root Metaphor and Categories of Transcendent: 162
• Amalgamation of the Immanent and the Tran scendent Categories of Formism: 167
• Concrete Existence: 168
• Truth in Formism: 180
• The Transition to Mechanism: 184
• Mechanism 1 Two Poles of Mechanism: 186
• The Mechanistic Root Metaphor: 187
• The Mechanistic Categories: 191
• Discrete Mechanism: 195
• Consolidated Mechanism: 197
• Secondary Categories: 215
• Mechanistic Theory of Truth: 221
• Contextualism 1 The Contextualistic Root Metaphor: 232
• Derivation of the Contextualistic Categories: 233
• Quality: 237
• Strands and Context of Texture: 246
• References of Strands: 252
• Individual Textures: 264
• Operational Theory of Truth PAGE: 268
• Organicism 1 The Root Metaphor of Organicism: 280
• The Categories of Organicism: 281
• An Illustration: 283
• Application of the Categories: 290
• Time and Truth 280: 308
• SUMMARY CRITICISMS AND ANSWERS: 315
• Review and Conclusions 1 A Review of the Argument: 317
• The Criticisms: 332
• The Answers 317: 334

About the author

Stephen C. Pepper, well known for this and his many other contributions to the field of philosophy, was at the time of his death Mills Professor Emeritus of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy and Civil Polity at the University of California, Berkeley campus.

Bibliographic information

• Title: World Hypotheses: A Study in Evidence; Volume 31 of Campus (Berkeley, Calif.)
• Author: Stephen C. Pepper
• Editor: University of California Press
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: University of California Press, 1942
• ISBN: 0520009940, 9780520009943
• Length: 348 pages
• Subjects: Philosophy / Political