(2) Consider next an example of an ill-typed variable. Suppose we are interested in the roles played by people in some community; we could not introduce an observable standing for those beauticians who depilate just those people who do not …What Gassendi seems to have in mind is that observables relating to tasting wine include the attributes that commonly appear on “tasting sheets”: nose (representing bouquet), legs or tears (viscosity), robe (peripheral colour), colour, clar…Adequacy/validation and coherence/verification neither entail nor support naive realism. GoAs ultimately construct models of systems. They do not describe, portray, or uncover the intrinsic nature of the systems they analyse. We understand …
Pierre Gassendi
philosopher · 3 mentions across 1 reading
In this course
Gassendi appears as a historical reference point for empiricist thinking about observation and sensory attributes, particularly in how observable properties are framed and structured—the excerpt on wine tasting suggests his concern with cataloging what can actually be perceived rather than assumed. The course readings invoke him to support the idea that observables are constructed categories (what qualities "commonly appear" on tasting sheets) rather than direct windows onto reality, which aligns with the constructivist epistemology underlying discussion of General of array models and cybernetic systems. His work legitimizes the move away from naive realism toward understanding systems through structured, mediated observation—a critical foundation for thinking about AI and machine learning as model-builders rather than truth-discoverers.
Mentioned in 1 reading
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