Gerhard Schurz:

Optimality Justifications
New Foundations for Epistemology

 The leading idea of epistemology in the enlightenment tradition was foundation-theoretic: to reach knowledge we must not legitimize our beliefs by external authorities, but justify them by rational arguments. Presently the foundation-theoretic ideal of justification has come under attack, the chief criticism being that been that its universal standards of justification are illusionary because the justificational regress problem is unsolvable. Alternatives to foundation-theoretic epistemology such as coherentism, externalism or dogmatism have been developed that give up central claims of enlightenment epistemology such empirical support, cognitive accessibility or rational justifiability.
In this book Gerhard Schurz develops a new account of foundation-theoretic epistemology based on the method of optimality justifications. Optimality justifications offer a solution to the regress problem. Rather than striving for a priori demonstrations of reliability, which are impossible, they show
that certain epistemic methods are optimal in regard to all accessible alternatives, which is more modestly but provably possible. In particular,  optimality
justifications can achieve a non-circular justification of deductive, inductive and abductive reasoning.   All in all this book pursues two goals: a general renewal of foundation-theoretic epistemology based on the account of optimality justifications, and the advancement of methods of optimality justification in important domains of epistemology and philosophy of science, logic and cognition. Connected with these two goals is the aspiration of this book to develop new ideas for mainstream epistemology as well as for formal epistemology, philosophy of science and cognitive science, intended to attract researchers, students and all other readers interested in these fields. 

Published in 2024

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Michel Ghins: 

Scientific Realism and Laws of Nature: 

A Metaphysics of Causal Powers

This book addresses central issues in the philosophy and metaphysics of science, namely
the nature of scientific theories, their partial truth, and the necessity of scientific laws within a moderate realist and empiricist perspective. Accordingly, good arguments in favour of the existence of unobservable entities postulated by our best theories, such as electrons, must be inductively grounded on perceptual experience and not their explanatory power as most defenders of scientific realism claim. Similarly, belief in the reality of dispositions such as causal powers which ground the natural necessity of scientific laws must be based on experience. Hence, this book offers a synthetic presentation of an original metaphysics of science, namely a metaphysics of properties, both categorical and dispositional, while at the same time opposing strong versions of necessitarism according to which laws are true in all possible worlds.
The main theses and arguments are clearly presented in a non-technical way. Thus, on top of being of interest to the specialists of the topics discussed, it is also useful as a textbook in courses for third year and more advanced university students.

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Published in 2024.

Reinhard Kahle, Giovanni, Sommaruga - 
Paul Bernays

Paul Bernays (1888–1977) belonged to a well-known German-Jewish family, tracing back to the Hamburg Chief Rabbi Isaak Bernays (1792–1848). As a collaborator of David Hilbert, one of the most significant mathematicians of his time, he made fundamental contributions to mathematical logic. Possessing Swiss citizenship, he found refuge in Zurich after his dismissal in Göttingen in 1933. This volume traces Bernays’ life, which was influenced not only by mathematics and logic but also by music and philosophy. His scientific career exemplifies the complexities of the 20th century. However, the modesty, kindness, and humanity of Paul Bernays stand in stark contrast to his times.

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Published in 2023 

Realism and antirealism in metaphysics, science and language

Festschrift for Mario Alai

The book includes several essays written by prominent contemporary philosophers as well as by younger researchers in honor of Mario Alai on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The single original contributions delve into different foundational issues in the philosophy of science, epistemology, philosophy of language, and metaphysics, and engage in rigorous analyses of the structure and workings of different forms of human knowledge. This fruitful variety of perspectives reflects the wide-ranging and multifaceted character of Mario Alai's philosophical work and interests. The book also includes an extensive reply written by Alai himself, which amply testifies to his lifelong commitment to passionate yet fair-minded philosophical debate. 

Published in 2024

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