| The step to rationality: the efficacy of thought experiments in science, ethics, and free will. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 21635330 Owner: NLM Status: In-Data-Review |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Examples from Archimedes, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and others suggest that fundamental laws of physics were-or, at least, could have been-discovered by experiments performed not in the physical world but only in the mind. Although problematic for a strict empiricist, the evolutionary emergence in humans of deeply internalized implicit knowledge of abstract principles of transformation and symmetry may have been crucial for humankind's step to rationality-including the discovery of universal principles of mathematics, physics, ethics, and an account of free will that is compatible with determinism. |
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Authors:
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Roger N Shepard |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Cognitive science Volume: 32 ISSN: 0364-0213 ISO Abbreviation: Cogn Sci Publication Date: 2008 Jan |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2011-06-03 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7708195 Medline TA: Cogn Sci Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 3-35 Citation Subset: - |
Copyright Information:
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2008 Cognitive Science Society, Inc. |
Affiliation:
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Department of Psychology, Stanford University, and The Arizona Senior Academy. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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