Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Relativizing the Relativized A Priori: On the Development of Reichenbach’s Axioms of Coordination / Axioms of Connection Distinction
Flavia Padovani, University of Geneva, Switzerland
12:05 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning

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Abstract: In recent years, Reichenbach’s 1920 conception of the principles of coordination has attracted increased attention after Michael Friedman’s attempt to revive Reichenbach’s idea of a “relativized a priori”. This paper follows the origin and development of this idea in the framework of Reichenbach’s axioms of coordination / axioms of connection distinction. It suggests a further differentiation between the coordinative axioms and accordingly proposes a different account of Reichenbach’s “relativized a priori”, providing another way of specifying the laws of nature and of dividing them into conceptual units.