Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences / The Universe as a Construct: Epistemic Beliefs and Coherence of Justification in Modern Cosmology

Full text (.pdf)
Issue
Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences. 2013 6 (7)
Authors
Nesteruk, Alexei V.
Contact information
Nesteruk, Alexei V.: University of Portsmouth, Lion Gate Building, PORTSMOUTH, PO1 3HF, UK; e-mail:
Keywords
beliefs; cosmology; coherence; correspondence principle; epistemology; extrapolation; universe
Abstract

In this paper we continue to study the epistemic nature of cosmological claims, in particular the status of the notion of the universe as a whole. It is demonstrated that this notion has a status of a construct with some epistemic links with empirical reality. However, it is argued that the effective methodology of contemporary mathematical cosmology related to the modelling of the very early stages of the evolutionary universes, consists not in the principle of correspondence of its theoretical constructs with empirical reality, but in the coherence of epistemic justification which relates to belief-like commitments of the community of cosmologists. As a case study, the inflationary model of the early universe is analysed and it is demonstrated that the coherence of justification leads to the transcendental problems in the style of Kant.

Pages
957-100
Paper at repository of SibFU
https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/9868

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