“n a new paper with Justin Sytsma, Adam Feltz, and Edouard Machery, we attack the problem from a different angle: Rather than looking at what philosophers do, we examine who philosophers are, and rather than confronting philosophical methodology, we consider philosophical temperament.”
The paper uses Tetrad to check their models of correlation and causality, and decides that while their data doesn’t rule out a more complex set of interactions, it does support a simple ‘philosophical training improves critical thinking’ conclusion. Which is interesting, I think.
Such tools can be useful. Here’s a link: http://experimentalphilosophy.typepad.com/experimental_philosophy/2009/09/philosophers-just-aint-twitterers.html
The paper uses Tetrad to check their models of correlation and causality, and decides that while their data doesn’t rule out a more complex set of interactions, it does support a simple ‘philosophical training improves critical thinking’ conclusion. Which is interesting, I think.