Alvin Plantinga＇s Evolutionary Argument against Naturalism （hereafter ＂EAAN＂） is an argument intended to prove that atheism is not highly probably true in the Darwinian framework. Many critics believe that this a...Alvin Plantinga＇s Evolutionary Argument against Naturalism （hereafter ＂EAAN＂） is an argument intended to prove that atheism is not highly probably true in the Darwinian framework. Many critics believe that this argument Cannot work. I am one of them; but I have a different perspective. In my view, although EAAN was originally elaborated for defending theism, the failure of EAAN itself will not consequently undermine theism （as a religious position）, but will definitely undermine reliabilism （as an epistemological position）. My points include： （1） in Plantinga＇s epistemological reliabilist narrative, it is quite hard to clarify the meaning of the term ＂reliability＂ （as a key word of his whole narrative）, and it is the ambiguity of this term that makes some steps in Plantinga＇s argument more confusing than it ought to be; （2） conversely, if he wiped out this terminological ambiguity, the whole EAANnarrative based on ＂reliability＂ would have to be given up, and this cost may be too high for any EAANadherent to pay.展开更多
The economy as a whole and most of its constituent parts, like markets, government institutions, firms, or households, are inherently complex conceptual constructions. Micro-level diversity,decentralized interaction, ...The economy as a whole and most of its constituent parts, like markets, government institutions, firms, or households, are inherently complex conceptual constructions. Micro-level diversity,decentralized interaction, self-organization, adaptation and learning, emergence, and evolution, are some of the fundamental features that the above entities share and that allow to classify them as being complex entities. In a complex economic system, existing structures of interaction are in constant mutation as individual agents contact and influence one another and, by doing so, reshape the macro environment in which socio-economic relations unfold. Notwithstanding the observed pervasiveness of complexity in economics, there are a few areas of economic thought where the discussion on the theme has gained an exceptional relevance. In this article, six of such areas are identified and their complex nature is highlighted and scrutinized. These pertain to:(i) Knowledge interactions and technological innovation;(ii) Corporate design and organizational learning;(iii) Public policies directed at market regulation;(iv) Banking and financial markets;(v) Environmental economics, sustainability,and climate change;and(vi) income inequality.展开更多
文摘Alvin Plantinga＇s Evolutionary Argument against Naturalism （hereafter ＂EAAN＂） is an argument intended to prove that atheism is not highly probably true in the Darwinian framework. Many critics believe that this argument Cannot work. I am one of them; but I have a different perspective. In my view, although EAAN was originally elaborated for defending theism, the failure of EAAN itself will not consequently undermine theism （as a religious position）, but will definitely undermine reliabilism （as an epistemological position）. My points include： （1） in Plantinga＇s epistemological reliabilist narrative, it is quite hard to clarify the meaning of the term ＂reliability＂ （as a key word of his whole narrative）, and it is the ambiguity of this term that makes some steps in Plantinga＇s argument more confusing than it ought to be; （2） conversely, if he wiped out this terminological ambiguity, the whole EAANnarrative based on ＂reliability＂ would have to be given up, and this cost may be too high for any EAANadherent to pay.
基金supported by the Portuguese National Funding Agency for ScienceResearch and Technology(FCT)+1 种基金under the Project UID/SOC/04521/2020by the Instituto Polit′ecnico de Lisboa as a part of the IPL/2019/MacroV irtu/ISCAL and IPL/2020/MacroRates/ISCAL Projects。
文摘The economy as a whole and most of its constituent parts, like markets, government institutions, firms, or households, are inherently complex conceptual constructions. Micro-level diversity,decentralized interaction, self-organization, adaptation and learning, emergence, and evolution, are some of the fundamental features that the above entities share and that allow to classify them as being complex entities. In a complex economic system, existing structures of interaction are in constant mutation as individual agents contact and influence one another and, by doing so, reshape the macro environment in which socio-economic relations unfold. Notwithstanding the observed pervasiveness of complexity in economics, there are a few areas of economic thought where the discussion on the theme has gained an exceptional relevance. In this article, six of such areas are identified and their complex nature is highlighted and scrutinized. These pertain to:(i) Knowledge interactions and technological innovation;(ii) Corporate design and organizational learning;(iii) Public policies directed at market regulation;(iv) Banking and financial markets;(v) Environmental economics, sustainability,and climate change;and(vi) income inequality.
