The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast Ep. 310: Wittgenstein On World-Pictures (Part Two)
Feb 13, 2023
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Background Beliefs Ground Inquiry
- Wittgenstein's 'world-picture' refers to deeply unarticulated background assumptions that make inquiry possible.
- These substratum beliefs (e.g., regularity of nature) underpin scientific practice without being explicitly stated.
World-Pictures Are Contingent
- World-pictures are relative and multiple such pictures can be available to us.
- Changing a world-picture often requires more than argument because it shifts the underlying criteria we use to judge reasons.
Methodological Virtues Guide Shifts
- Criteria like simplicity, parsimony, and consistency act as shared tools that help adjudicate between competing explanations.
- Even when paradigms differ, these methodological virtues often guide scientific conversion and evidence evaluation.