Oysterium Posts 2005-2007

2007

3 November. Review of a collection of papers for Geoffrey Blainey, a great Australian historian.

26 September, Introduction to Popper on metaphysical research programs, best version here .

23 August. Summary and extracts from R G Collingwood's 1940 book on metaphysics.

7 August. Jan Lester's defence of  zero state anarchism "Escape from Leviathan", best version here.

20 July. Popper on public opinion and liberal principles, a 1954 talk to the Mont Pelerin Society.

20 July. Popperon the history of our time, an optimist's view.

20 July. Summary of Popper on the line of demarcation, criticism of Carnap. 

20 July. Summary of Popper's views on Kant.

20 July. Popper, "Back to the PreSocratics", the critical attitude in the western tradition.

20 July. Popper's crit of essentialism and instrumentalism in favour of conjectural realism.

20 July. Popper on the roots of philosophical problems in science etc, against over-specialisation.

18 July. Summary of  'The sources of knowledge and of ignorance' from Conjectures and Refutations, Popper's critique of the authoritaran strand in Western thought that inspired Bartley's work on rationality and the limits of criticism. A decisive critique of foundationalism in the two main forms - classical rationalism (intellectualism) and classical empiriciam (positivism). 

26 January. Critique of Steve Fuller's thesis that Popper and Adorno were (unwitting) fellow travellers in left-liberalism.

12 January. The Diversion through Kuhn.

2006

27 July. The Success and Failure of Talcott Parsons - best version.

17 May. Prematurity in scientific development (theories in advance of their time) - best version.

8 May. Jack Birner on situational analysis - best version.

20 Feb. Learning economics.

10 Feb. The invasion of economics by maths, summary of a book by Ingrao and Israel. 

29 January. Mises on Parsons, favourable!

2005

11 Dec  The Parsons project, continued.

1 Dec  The education of Talcott Parsons.

26 Nov, Carl Menger, fisherman and bibliophile.  

23 Nov. The triumph of Australian agriculture, and an interview with a great ag scientist, Jim Vincent.

20 Nov. Can the European miracle survive?  A link to Radnitzky on the taming of the state.

18 Nov. The paradoxes of Parsons.

18 Nov. Rothbard quotes Popper from the Poverty of Historicism.

15 Nov. Introduction to Jack Birner. 

15 Nov. Progress with Parsons.

10 Nov. A notice of a collection of Austrian papers edited by Birner and Garrouste. 

8 Nov. The rise and fall of Talcott Parsons. (1973 essay)

22 October. Introduction to myself with the principles of the liberal order etc.