The non dialectical thought of Simon Blackburn

In his book “Truth, a Guide for the Perplexed” Simon Blackburn proposes a chart of
theories in each area of knowledge– for example: mathematics, ethics, aesthetics,
probability, chemistry,  biology – and presents the schema bellow designed. He writes:

«Any map of alternatives must be provisional, but there is good reason to attempt to
draw one. In the chart overleaf the central topic is discrebed as our area of discourse
and commitment. In other words, the phenomenon about which theories cluster is the
fact of our sayings and thoughts.» (...) 

 «

Eliminativism (1)                                      Realism(2)  

                                                                                                                                            
     

          AREA OF DISCOURSE AND COMMITMENT

                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                

 Constructivism  (3)                                   Quietism (4)

1) Eliminativism: (Get ride of it!)

2) Realism (Get it right, then talk of truth, ontology, reality, fact...)

3) Constructivism: (Keep on playing, but...) also fictionalism, instrumentalism,

pragmatism, expressivism...

4) Quietism (No contest) Soggy pluralism    »   (Simon Blackburn, A Guide for the
Perplexed, Penguin Books, page 113)
 
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                          
In the chart above, stays a mistaken division of theories, consequence of the non
dialectical thought of Simon Blackburn. He confuses different levels, mixing genus
with species of other genus, separating genus which mutually intersect. For
example, quietism is not contrary to realism - in his last philosophical phase,
Wittgenstein was realist and quietist - and can not be placed as it is (bellow realism) on
the chart above. Realism belongs to the genus ontology and quietism belongs to the
genus praxiology (this term means the discipline centred in action/ no action).
Quietism is opposite to epistemological Mobilism.
 
Constructivism belongs to a genus different from realism, not absolutely
extrinsic to it: there is a constructivist realism and a non constructivist (or static)
realism. So, in some way, a part of constructivism is included in realism like a
species: the realism constructivist. How can Blackburn exteriorize constructivism
from realism, if the first is simultaneously inside and outside realism? There is a realist
constructivism, an idealist constructivism and a phenomenological constructivism. And
eliminativism belongs to  genus ergoloy: it is not opossite to realism, because there is
an elimiminativist realism... In fact, we can be a constructivist, eliminativist and
quietist realist at the same time. These four terms are not excluding each other as
Blackburn supposed. This one does not distinguish the contraries from the
intermediates. He ignores dialectical reasoning.

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© (Direitos de autor para Francisco Limpo de Faria Queiroz)