Hans Radder, born in Numansdorp, the Netherlands, in 1949. Ph.D. from the VU University, Amsterdam. Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Science and Technology at the VU University, Amsterdam.
Fellow (1 September 1996 – 30 June 1997)
My research project is located in the fields of philosophy of science and epistemology. During my stay at NIAS the focus has been on the role of, and the connection between, experience and language in the production and reconstruction of scientific knowledge. Several issues have been investigated in detail. Focusing on the views of Norwood Hanson, Paul Churchland and Patrick Heelan, the significance of human agency for observation and the so-called theory ladenness of observation have been analysed and discussed. The issue of the locality or nonlocality of scientific knowledge has been dealt with by examining the views of Ian Hacking and Brian Wynne, among others. And the question of whether and, if so, in what sense, language or theory transcends the particularities of specific observational processes has been studied through analysing the views of Mary Hesse and David Bloor. On the basis of these separate studies the overall theme of the relationship of experience and language has been thoroughly explored, and a number of ideas for an integrated study of this theme have been developed.