In this paper, we critically examine the essay by Shiffrin, Stigler, and Keil (2026) on scientific understanding. We argue that, despite its uncontroversial moral message, the paper largely fails to articulate a compelling thesis. The central notion of an “illusion of understanding” is left insufficiently specified and supported by ill-suited examples. The analysis further rests on a narrow conception of explanation that largely equates understanding with causal claims. When discussing linear regression and related examples (e.g., Simpson’s Paradox), the essay also fails to clarify what is actually at stake. Its treatment of regression to the mean, in particular, is misconceived. We conclude by suggesting that discussions of scientific understanding would benefit from a model-hierarchical perspective.
Abstract This article argues that the approach to political theory articulated by Shmuel Nili’s Philosophizing the Indefensible needs to be modified to address non-ideal political circumstances in illiberal political societies in deep conflict. Building on Nili’s analysis of Israeli politics as a paradigmatic example,...
L. Erez· Moral Philosophy and Politic...· 0 citations
Abstract:This essay takes its point of departure in Jacques Derrida’s contribution to a colloquium on “nuclear criticism,” published in Diacritics in 1984. Today the threat of nuclear war again looms, and the need to analyze the discourse and rhetoric surrounding it is just as great as in 1984. Drawing on Derrida’s nuc...
There has been a recent surge of interest in normative internalism, according to which what you ought to do depends on your beliefs about morality. This view has potentially wide-reaching implications for practical action, policy choice, and societal norms. The view is motivated by certain compelling examples, but in...
Abstract In the concluding chapter of Die Philosophie des Als Ob, Vaihinger offers an interpretation of Nietzsche’s epistemology in terms of his own fictionalism. Here, I suggest that Vaihinger’s interpretation is close to being correct, and that we still have much to learn from it. In particular, his reading promises...
This essay introduces Father Michael Amaladoss, SJ, with a focus on the praxis-oriented framework that shapes his theological thought. Central to this is his countercultural stance, which is best understood within its broader historical, intellectual, and theological context. Father Amaladoss critiques academism—the pr...
Enrico Beltramini· International Bulletin of Mi...· 0 citations
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