Title: Pragmatism, Measurement, and the Value-free Ideal
Early American pragmatists, included but not limited to James and Dewey, took a holist approach to how measurement and evidence connected to more theoretical elements of scientific theories. I will lay out some historical points of interest with respect to pragmatism and what is now called the value-free ideal in science, as it overlaps with and differs from the approach taken by the Vienna Circle. These historical points are then put to use in an integrated history and philosophy of science approach to contemporary discussions around values in science, in particular, in variable choice in modelling contexts. Rather than being a detriment to effective modeling, historical situatedness (e.g. Chang 2004, Massimi 2022) is a bonus to effective choice of variables in causal modelling.
The College of Arts