Daniel Courgeau

19 Questions 159 Answers 0 Followers

Questions related from Daniel Courgeau

What is the definition and use of a model-based theory?

There are many definitions of model-based sciences, which have a different philosophical meaning. This is due to the fact that the signification of the term ‘model’ is ambiguous: some of these...

01 January 2018 7,973 4 View

How to deal with doubly censored information in statistics?

We can say that we have doubly censored information in the occurrence of an event when we don’t know the exact time of its occurrence, but only that it may have occurred during a given period. I...

11 November 2017 9,357 0 View

Are there fundamental differences between mathematical, physical, biological and social sciences or do they follow the same principles?

Many mathematicians think that physical and biological sciences cannot be really considered as mathematics. Many physicians and biologists consider that social sciences cannot be really considered...

10 October 2015 4,590 23 View

Is Newton’s argument that “Hypotheses are not to be regarded in experimental Philosophy” still valid nowadays in natural or social sciences?

In his book on Opticks (1704) Newton clearly described the method he used to proceed from particulars to more universal conclusions with this strong rejection of hypotheses. And it has been...

08 August 2015 4,546 11 View

Can Fisher’s controversial idea of fiducial inference, in the 20th century, be accepted by the statistical community in the 21st century?

Fisher introduced the concept of fiducial inference in his paper on Inverse probability (1930), as a new mode of reasoning from observation to the hypothetical causes without any a priori...

05 May 2015 7,285 46 View

What are the links between scientific reasoning on one side, and religious, political, medical, media or popular ways of thinking on the other side?

Every scientific activity has some relationship, negative or positive, with the other ways of human thinking, which may occur in diverse instances, such as religion (i.e. hermeneutics), politics,...

10 October 2014 3,738 10 View

Are errors of thinking and judgement, which Francis Bacon called idols, still alive in natural, biological, and social sciences?

There are four Idols – errors of thinking and judgement – according to Francis Bacon’s Novum Organum (1620) which beset human minds. These are Idols of the Tribe – false assertions that the sense...

10 October 2013 9,313 14 View

What kind of cumulativeness may exist in natural or social science?

In the past cumulativeness in natural science was entirely recognized by the main scientists. For example Newton wrote: If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood on the...

09 September 2013 7,966 1 View

Why does behavior genetics, which is based on assumptions that are nowadays recognized as incorrect, exert so strong an influence on social scientists?

Ten years ago, I wrote with Atam Vetta a paper on 'Demographic behavior and behavior genetics', which showed clearly that Fisher's assumptions and heritability analysis are based on false...

07 July 2013 2,843 5 View

Do the contained interactions at the individual level generate behaviours that transcend the behaviours of components?

John Holland in his books on Hidden Order (1995) and Emergence (1998) shows that a small number of rules or laws can generate systems of surprising complexity, but concludes on saying that it is a...

06 June 2013 9,435 14 View

What are the conditions permitting an international comparison of different kinds of rates?

In social sciences many kinds of rates are estimated but they rarely permit a true international comparison due to the effect of time, space, etc. For example, for internal migration only...

04 April 2013 4,525 2 View

Is behavior genetics a well grounded scientific field and are the assumptions given by Fisher still verified?

We, along with Atam Vetta, have previously given a negative answer to this question. We will, however, be happy to have the answers of other researchers involved in this field.

01 January 2013 9,239 28 View

Was astrology or religion a political power's instrument in the past, and is it still?

Since the dawn of the appearance of political elites, astrology (in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, China, etc.) or religion (in the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, Christian Roman...

01 January 1970 2,215 2 View

Do you know the papers written by Poulain, Riandey, Firdion, and myself on a comparison between survey and population register data (1992)?

We organised a life history survey and compared its results with data on population registers in Belgium. The main result was that even if errors in dating of past events are frequent, these do...

01 January 1970 4,645 1 View

Do you know the the work I undertook with the geneticist Atam Vetta on eugenism and behaviour genetics?

From 2003 to nowadays we undertook a fight against the theses of eugenics, hereditarianism and behaviour genetics which lead to racism and more awful eugenic experiments. I give you here some...

01 January 1970 5,568 1 View

Why Ramsey's criticism of Keynes book on probability lead Keynes to abandon a number of his ideas?

In my book on Probability and social science, I thought that Ramsey laid the foundations of the subjective approach to probability, while Kolmogorov axiomatized objective probability and Keynes...

01 January 1970 695 0 View

Is the distinction Aristotle made between monarchy, oligarchy and democracy always true?

Aristotle wrote in Politics III the following sentences: "But there are difficulties about these forms of government, and it will therefore be necessary to state a little more at length the...

01 January 1970 9,983 97 View

What do you think about the assessment of the validity of retrospective surveys?

Dear Dennis, I am interested in your project on Human memory as we (Michel Poulain, Benoît Riandey, Jean-Marie Firdion and me) undertook An assessment of the validity of retrospective survey...

01 January 1970 912 3 View

How and why a statistical man can exist?

Individuals belonging to a given population will have an unlimited number of different characteristics other than those assigning them to that particular population. However a true social science...

01 January 1970 2,199 4 View