A New Movement in the Philosophical Tradition: Experimental Philosophy

Year 2023, Issue: 59, 43 - 55, 29.12.2023

Necmiye Yüksel

https://doi.org/10.26650/arcp.1302607

Abstract

Experimental philosophy has emerged as an interdisciplinary philosophical movement that has become very popular both in Europe and America, showing a rapid and wide spread in the contemporary philosophical literature over the past 20 years. This new philosophical movement generally combines two key elements: (1) It is based on topics associated with traditional philosophy, and (2) unlike traditional philosophy, it methodologically uses social and cognitive science methodology, not only for philosophers but also for ordinary people outside the field of philosophy by conducting systematic empirical studies on philosophical intuitions. In light of this, after briefly introducing the principal motivation of experimental philosophy, I will give an overview in this article of the methodological difference between traditional analytical philosophy and experimental philosophy, of what philosophical intuitions are, and of the role intuitions have in experimental philosophy. Then I will examine the latest developments and discuss the criticisms that have been brought to the results of these studies. Another purpose of this study is to contribute to the Turkish literature on philosophy by investigating the latest developments in this field. This field is quite new and limited to only a few studies in the Turkish literature on philosophy. As such, this study will examine the results from some experimental studies and reveal the similarities and differences this method has with traditional philosophy, thereby bringing the latest experimental studies in this new field to the Turkish literature on philosophy, which has yet to become well-known.

Keywords

Experimental philosophy, traditional philosophy, methodology of the social and cognitive sciences, philosophical intuition, epistemic intuition

Felsefi Gelenekte Yeni Bir Hareket: Deneysel Felsefe

Abstract

Deneysel Felsefe (Experimental Philosophy) geçtiğimiz yirmi yıl içerisinde çağdaş felsefe literatüründe hızlı ve geniş bir yayılım göstererek gerek Avrupa’da gerek Amerika’da oldukça popüler olan disiplinler arası bir felsefi akım olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu yeni felsefi akım genel olarak iki temel unsuru bir araya getirir. (1) Geleneksel felsefeyle (traditional philosophy) ilişkilendirilen konuları temel alarak, (2) metodolojik açıdan geleneksel felsefenin aksine sosyal ve bilişsel bilimler (social and cognitive science) metodolojisini kullanarak yalnız filozofların değil felsefe alanı dışında olan sıradan insanların (ordinary people) da felsefi yargıları (philosophical intuitions) hakkında sistematik deneysel çalışmalar yürütür. Bu bilgiler ışığında bu makalede deneysel felsefenin temel motivasyonuna kısa bir giriş yaptıktan sonra, metodolojik açıdan geleneksel analitik felsefe ve deneysel felsefe arasındaki farka, felsefi yargıların ne olduğuna ve yargıların deneysel felsefedeki rolüne genel bir bakış açısı getirerek, deneysel felsefe alanında yapılmış olan bazı sistematik deneysel çalışmalara ve bu alandaki son gelişmelere göz atıp yine bu çalışma sonuçlarına getirilen eleştirilerin tartışmasını okuyucuyla buluşturacağız. Bu makalenin bir başka amacı da Türkçe felsefe literatüründe henüz çok yeni olan ve Türkçe literatürde sadece birkaç çalışma ile sınırlı kalan bu alanı yine bu alanda yapılmış bazı deneysel çalışmaların sonuçlarıyla inceleyerek yöntem bakımından geleneksel felsefeyle olan benzerlik ve farklılıklarını ortaya koyarak Türkçe felsefe literatürüne katkı sağlamak olacaktır.

Keywords

Deneysel felsefe, geleneksel felsefe, sosyal ve bilişsel bilimler metodolojisi, felsefi yargı, epistemik yargı

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