Thursday, October 31, 2013

Science and Philosophy

On the importance of recognizing the relationship between philosophy (and other humanities) and science. The authors revisit the case of H.M. who was unable to form new long-term memories but could learn new skills. What is the difference between knowledge of skills and knowledge of facts: know-how and know-that?
Constructing an argument in mathematics or history is one kind of human activity. Football and cabinetmaking are others. We argue that skilled human activity generally requires the acquisition and manipulation of knowledge, as well as implicit processes that do not depend on propositional knowledge (for example, increased dexterity). It is hard, and perhaps not possible, to forge a theoretically significant distinction between working with one’s hands and working with one’s mind.

THE STONE October 27, 2013, Is the ‘Dumb Jock’ Really a Nerd?By JASON STANLEY and JOHN W. KRAKAUER

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