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Towards the Future of Fuzzy Logic pp 357–376Cite as

Fuzzy Concepts and Fuzzy Logic in Historical and Genetic Epistemology

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Part of the book series: Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing ((STUDFUZZ,volume 325))

Abstract

This paper discusses epistemology in two variations: Genetic and Historical Epistemology. Historical Epistemology combines research in history and philosophy of science to study developments in scientific research whereas Genetic Epistemology is the study of the cognitive development in childhood. We consider Kuhn’s theory of scientific paradigms and paradigm changes on the one hand and Piagest’s Genetic Epistemology of cognitive development on the other. We present parallels of these two structuralist approaches and we introduce “unsharp concepts” into these views. Then the paper throws a glance at their fuzzy extensions. Because of these “fuzzifications” we make an argument for using fuzzy instead of crisp concepts in Genetic and Historical Epistemology.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This is a quotation of Lotfi Zadeh’s paper [56] that appeared in 1962—three years before he founded the theory of fuzzy sets!

  2. 2.

    In later times Kuhn used the term “disciplinary matrix” instead of “paradigm”.

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Acknowledgments

Work leading to this paper was partially supported by the Foundation for the Advancement of Soft Computing Mieres, Asturias (Spain).

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  1. Institut für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Berggasse 7, 07745, Jena, Thuringia, Germany

    Rudolf Seising

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  1. Institut für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Berggasse, Jena, Germany

    Rudolf Seising

  2. Edificio de Investigación, 3ª Planta. C Gonzalo Gutiérrez Quirós S/N, European Centre for Soft Computing, Mieres, Asturias, Spain

    Enric Trillas

  3. Polish Academy of Sciences, Systems Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland

    Janusz Kacprzyk

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Seising, R. (2015). Fuzzy Concepts and Fuzzy Logic in Historical and Genetic Epistemology. In: Seising, R., Trillas, E., Kacprzyk, J. (eds) Towards the Future of Fuzzy Logic. Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing, vol 325. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18750-1_17

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