Larry Laudan | The University of Texas at Austin (original) (raw)
Papers by Larry Laudan
Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part A, Dec 31, 1988
Monist, 1971
PDC Homepage Home » Products » Purchase. LOGIN; PRODUCTS: All Products; Online Resources; Journal... more PDC Homepage Home » Products » Purchase. LOGIN; PRODUCTS: All Products; Online Resources; Journals & Series; Digital Media; Books & Reference Works. MEMBERSHIPS: Societies & Associations; Conference Registrations. E-COLLECTION: About; Alphabetically; By Category; By Type; Price Lists; Terms and Conditions. SERVICES: Conference Exhibits; Conference Registrations; Electronic Publishing; Journal Advertising; Mailing Lists; Marketing ...
El pensamiento de L. Laudan: relaciones entre …, 1998
Información del artículo Naturalismo normativo y el progreso de la Filosofía.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, 2000
Abstract: This paper diagnoses several of the liabilities of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, inc... more Abstract: This paper diagnoses several of the liabilities of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, including its subjectivity, its ambiguity, and its presumed universal applicability across all crimes and all defendants. It argues further that the Supreme Court's repeated claims that this standard follows logically from an acknowledgement that false convictions are worse than false acquittals is an unsound inference. Finally, it proposes that future discussions of the standard of proof should take place in an environment in which detailed empirical ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Science and Hypothesis, 1981
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Abstract: This paper investigates the epistemic obstacles posed by a legal system that prevents r... more Abstract: This paper investigates the epistemic obstacles posed by a legal system that prevents reversal of acquittals. Because such prevention disincentivizes appeals of non-guilty verdicts by prosecutors, false acquittals are virtually impossible to identify. Apart from entailing that such errors cannot be corrected (since they are not detected), this policy has a more egregious consequence; to wit, that appellate courts have little or no opportunity to learn what kinds of flaws lead to false acquittals. Without such knowledge, the courts are ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Abstract: This essay explores the connections between the criminal standard of proof, the rules o... more Abstract: This essay explores the connections between the criminal standard of proof, the rules of evidence and procedure, and the social contract. It argues that the deontological reification of existing procedures and standards into fixed, inviolable rights rests on an egregious misreading of what protections the contract obliges the state to provide to its citizens. It further shows that a proper definition of the appropriate standard of proof in criminal trials-which this paper purports to provide-has nothing to do with the famous ...
Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 1989
Philosophical Topics, 2001
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Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2012
Due process does not require that every conceivable step be taken, at whatever cost, to eliminate... more Due process does not require that every conceivable step be taken, at whatever cost, to eliminate the possibility of convicting an innocent person. Punishment of those found guilty by a jury, for example, is not forbidden merely because there is a remote possibility in some instances that an innocent person might go to jail.—Justice White 1
Scientific Theories, Aug 15, 1990
Author Index Adeel, M., 267 Airy, GB, 320-21, 323-25, 338, 340, 342-43, 347, 350-51 Allen, R., 10... more Author Index Adeel, M., 267 Airy, GB, 320-21, 323-25, 338, 340, 342-43, 347, 350-51 Allen, R., 107, 133 Allen, S., 298 Arago, DFJ, 324 Aristotle, 286, 299 Arrow, K., 132 Austin, JL, 306 Chihara, C, 221 Churchland, PM, 3, 6, 60, 86 Churchland, PS, 59 Clarke, S., 134 Collins, HM, 268, 293 Cooter, R., 133 Copernicus, N., 352 Craig, W., 159 Crick, F., 59 Bacon, F., 225 Barrett, M., 205 Bauder, M., 205 Becker, G., 130 Berkeley, G., 151 Bettelheim, B., 43 Biot, JB, 320, 344 Block, N., 298 Bloor, D., 268, 288, 289-91, 297, 319 Bohr, N., 299, 315327 Boyd ...
The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, Apr 23, 2012
There would appear to be no element in a trial, whether criminal or civil, more important than th... more There would appear to be no element in a trial, whether criminal or civil, more important than the standard of proof. Essentially, the standard provides a decision rule to the triers of fact, a rule that informs them when a guilty verdict or a finding for the plaintiff should be rendered. Without such a decision rule, jurors (or judges, depending on the judicial system in question) would be left without direction concerning the most important decision in a trial. This, in turn, would seem an open invitation to arbitrary variability from one trial to the next and would ...
No Truth Except in the Details: Essays in Honor of Martin J. Klein, 1995
This is a progress report on a long-term project to study the dynamics of theory-change in scienc... more This is a progress report on a long-term project to study the dynamics of theory-change in science. I use the word dynamics, just as in mechanics, to denote the analysis of causes of change, as distinct from the description of change (" kinematics"). I want to find out why scientists accept or reject a theory. The process of theory-change in science may be separated into, first, the origin and development of a theory, and, second, the decision of the scientific community to accept or reject that theory. In the past, most research in the history ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Abstract: This paper analyzes the case for utilizing different standards of proof for trying case... more Abstract: This paper analyzes the case for utilizing different standards of proof for trying cases involving, respectively, serial offenders and first-time offenders. It argues that, if we expect the standard in a trial to reflect the costs and benefits of the four possible outcomes at trial, then the empirical data leave no room for doubt that the profiles of all four outcomes--true and false convictions and true and false acquittals--are strikingly different for serial offenders than for those without prior convictions.
Science and Hypothesis, 1981
Relativism and Realism in Science, 1988
This essay is written as a dialogue between a relativist and his critic. It does not focus on all... more This essay is written as a dialogue between a relativist and his critic. It does not focus on all species of relativism (eg, I do not directly address here either ontological relativism, cultural relativism or moral relativism), but specifically on what might be called epistemic or cognitive relativism. I understand that view to amount to the claim that we are never warrantedly in a position to assert that any theory is objectively superior to another, or that the evidence and arguments in favor of one theory are stronger than those favoring any other. Although the ...
Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part A, Dec 31, 1988
Monist, 1971
PDC Homepage Home » Products » Purchase. LOGIN; PRODUCTS: All Products; Online Resources; Journal... more PDC Homepage Home » Products » Purchase. LOGIN; PRODUCTS: All Products; Online Resources; Journals & Series; Digital Media; Books & Reference Works. MEMBERSHIPS: Societies & Associations; Conference Registrations. E-COLLECTION: About; Alphabetically; By Category; By Type; Price Lists; Terms and Conditions. SERVICES: Conference Exhibits; Conference Registrations; Electronic Publishing; Journal Advertising; Mailing Lists; Marketing ...
El pensamiento de L. Laudan: relaciones entre …, 1998
Información del artículo Naturalismo normativo y el progreso de la Filosofía.
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, 2000
Abstract: This paper diagnoses several of the liabilities of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, inc... more Abstract: This paper diagnoses several of the liabilities of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, including its subjectivity, its ambiguity, and its presumed universal applicability across all crimes and all defendants. It argues further that the Supreme Court's repeated claims that this standard follows logically from an acknowledgement that false convictions are worse than false acquittals is an unsound inference. Finally, it proposes that future discussions of the standard of proof should take place in an environment in which detailed empirical ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Science and Hypothesis, 1981
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Abstract: This paper investigates the epistemic obstacles posed by a legal system that prevents r... more Abstract: This paper investigates the epistemic obstacles posed by a legal system that prevents reversal of acquittals. Because such prevention disincentivizes appeals of non-guilty verdicts by prosecutors, false acquittals are virtually impossible to identify. Apart from entailing that such errors cannot be corrected (since they are not detected), this policy has a more egregious consequence; to wit, that appellate courts have little or no opportunity to learn what kinds of flaws lead to false acquittals. Without such knowledge, the courts are ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Abstract: This essay explores the connections between the criminal standard of proof, the rules o... more Abstract: This essay explores the connections between the criminal standard of proof, the rules of evidence and procedure, and the social contract. It argues that the deontological reification of existing procedures and standards into fixed, inviolable rights rests on an egregious misreading of what protections the contract obliges the state to provide to its citizens. It further shows that a proper definition of the appropriate standard of proof in criminal trials-which this paper purports to provide-has nothing to do with the famous ...
Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 1989
Philosophical Topics, 2001
PDC Homepage Home » Products » Purchase. LOGIN; PRODUCTS: All Products; Online Resources; Journal... more PDC Homepage Home » Products » Purchase. LOGIN; PRODUCTS: All Products; Online Resources; Journals & Series; Digital Media; Books & Reference Works. MEMBERSHIPS: Societies & Associations; Conference Registrations. E-COLLECTION: About; Alphabetically; By Category; By Type; Price Lists; Terms and Conditions. SERVICES: Conference Exhibits; Conference Registrations; Electronic Publishing; Journal Advertising; Mailing Lists; Marketing ...
Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2012
Due process does not require that every conceivable step be taken, at whatever cost, to eliminate... more Due process does not require that every conceivable step be taken, at whatever cost, to eliminate the possibility of convicting an innocent person. Punishment of those found guilty by a jury, for example, is not forbidden merely because there is a remote possibility in some instances that an innocent person might go to jail.—Justice White 1
Scientific Theories, Aug 15, 1990
Author Index Adeel, M., 267 Airy, GB, 320-21, 323-25, 338, 340, 342-43, 347, 350-51 Allen, R., 10... more Author Index Adeel, M., 267 Airy, GB, 320-21, 323-25, 338, 340, 342-43, 347, 350-51 Allen, R., 107, 133 Allen, S., 298 Arago, DFJ, 324 Aristotle, 286, 299 Arrow, K., 132 Austin, JL, 306 Chihara, C, 221 Churchland, PM, 3, 6, 60, 86 Churchland, PS, 59 Clarke, S., 134 Collins, HM, 268, 293 Cooter, R., 133 Copernicus, N., 352 Craig, W., 159 Crick, F., 59 Bacon, F., 225 Barrett, M., 205 Bauder, M., 205 Becker, G., 130 Berkeley, G., 151 Bettelheim, B., 43 Biot, JB, 320, 344 Block, N., 298 Bloor, D., 268, 288, 289-91, 297, 319 Bohr, N., 299, 315327 Boyd ...
The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, Apr 23, 2012
There would appear to be no element in a trial, whether criminal or civil, more important than th... more There would appear to be no element in a trial, whether criminal or civil, more important than the standard of proof. Essentially, the standard provides a decision rule to the triers of fact, a rule that informs them when a guilty verdict or a finding for the plaintiff should be rendered. Without such a decision rule, jurors (or judges, depending on the judicial system in question) would be left without direction concerning the most important decision in a trial. This, in turn, would seem an open invitation to arbitrary variability from one trial to the next and would ...
No Truth Except in the Details: Essays in Honor of Martin J. Klein, 1995
This is a progress report on a long-term project to study the dynamics of theory-change in scienc... more This is a progress report on a long-term project to study the dynamics of theory-change in science. I use the word dynamics, just as in mechanics, to denote the analysis of causes of change, as distinct from the description of change (" kinematics"). I want to find out why scientists accept or reject a theory. The process of theory-change in science may be separated into, first, the origin and development of a theory, and, second, the decision of the scientific community to accept or reject that theory. In the past, most research in the history ...
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000
Abstract: This paper analyzes the case for utilizing different standards of proof for trying case... more Abstract: This paper analyzes the case for utilizing different standards of proof for trying cases involving, respectively, serial offenders and first-time offenders. It argues that, if we expect the standard in a trial to reflect the costs and benefits of the four possible outcomes at trial, then the empirical data leave no room for doubt that the profiles of all four outcomes--true and false convictions and true and false acquittals--are strikingly different for serial offenders than for those without prior convictions.
Science and Hypothesis, 1981
Relativism and Realism in Science, 1988
This essay is written as a dialogue between a relativist and his critic. It does not focus on all... more This essay is written as a dialogue between a relativist and his critic. It does not focus on all species of relativism (eg, I do not directly address here either ontological relativism, cultural relativism or moral relativism), but specifically on what might be called epistemic or cognitive relativism. I understand that view to amount to the claim that we are never warrantedly in a position to assert that any theory is objectively superior to another, or that the evidence and arguments in favor of one theory are stronger than those favoring any other. Although the ...