Relating Logics Meet Scientific Understanding: On Clustering and the Methodology of Logical Classification

Abstrakt

Here I discuss the legitimacy of the cluster of logics that are considered to be relating logics. I argue that even if the cluster ⌜Relating logics⌝ satisfies the basic theoretical criteria for legitimate clusters, logicians and philosophers of logic have failed at providing the corresponding pragmatic backing. In response to this, I propose to provide the pragmatic justification of the cluster by showing a domain of application for which ⌜Relating logics⌝ fit more adequately the evidence than any of their rivals do; such a domain is the phenomenon of scientific understanding. Finally, I argue that the characterization of scientific understanding as a relating phenomenon provides a description of it that is more accurate than the ones offered by rival views.