ALL Flashcards
What is ontology
the study of existence
Two levels of ontology
Individual and Social
Individual ontology
the study of the nature of being and existence at the level of individual entities
Social ontology
the study of the nature of being and existence within social entities or groups, focusing on the relationships and structures that define social reality
What is epistemology
theory about knowledge and how we come to understand the world around us
Example of ontological questions
“Do social structures and institutions have an independent existence?
“Are human and social reality deterministic in the same way we believe physical reality to be?”
Example of epistemological questions
“What is knowledge and how is different from belief”
“can we study social reality in the same way we study physical reality?”
Describe Positive theory
- explains the world as it is and is based on facts
- makes explicit positive expectations towards the world
-has a theory-to-world direction of fit - involves facts, observations, cause-and-effect
Describe normative theory
- justifies the world as it ought to be
- makes explicit normative expectations towards the world
- has a world-to-theory direction of fit
-involve subjective opinions, doesn’t mainly rely on empiricism
What is a Logical argument
Process of creating a new statement from one or more existing statements
Example of an logical argument
Premise 1: All humans are mortal.
Premise 2: Socrates is a human.
Conclusion: Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
Follows classical logical argument structure called “syllogism”
if premises are true –> conclusion is true
what is the truth preservation of logic
with a logically valid argument, true premises will always lead to true conclusions
What is logical inference?
-reasoning where conclusion is drawn from premises and/or evidence.
-premises/evidence is known or assumed to be true
What are the four forms of arguments?
- Affirming the antecedent (valid)
- Denying the consequent (valid)
- Affirming the consequent (invalid)
- Denying the antecedent (invalid)
Affirming the antecedent
- If A then B
- X is A
- Thus, X is B
Denying the consequent
- If A then B
- X is not B
- Thus, X is not A
Affirming the consequent
- If A then B
- X is B
- Thus, X is A
Denying the antecedent
- If A then B
- X is not A
- Thus, X is not B
What is Philosophy of (management) science?
Investigates the nature, functioning and logic of scientific knowledge in management
What is logical positivism
movement combining empiricism with a strict adherence to the principles of formal logic
What are the key characteristics of logical positivism
- Verification principle
- empiricism
- rejecting metaphysics
Explain the verification principle
Only claims that can be verified through empiricial observation are meaningful and may be either true/false
What are the three grand theories of knowledge?
- Rationalism (“thinking is the basis for all knowledge)
- Empiricism (“knowledge comes only from observations)
- Idealism (“all knowledge comes from experience”)
Role Congruity Theory
A group is positively evaluated when its characteristics align with its typical social roles
- emphasis on stereotypes
Functional explanation
focuses on the purpose or role that a particular behaviour, feature, or system serves
Intentional explanation
centers around mental states, beliefs, desires, and intentions of individuals
Metaphysics
explores fundamental questions about the nature of reality & delves into abstract principles
Synthetic statement
-verified through observation
- e.g. “the circle has a diameter of ten meters”
Analytic statement
- verified through logical structure of the statement
- e.g. “the circle is round”
What are theoretical concepts
abstract ideas or constructs that are used to explain and understand phenomena within a particular field of study
Intension of concepts
the conjunction of general properties that define a concept together
Extension of concepts
set of all real-life phenomena that the concept refers to
Explain the difference between the intension and extension of concepts using the example of a car.
Intension: characteristics like being a motorised vehicle, having four wheels
Extension: all individual cars e.g. sedans and sports cars
What are the two main problems encountered in logical positivism?
- Theoretical concepts
- Problem of induction
Describe the problem of induction
-questions the reliability of inductive reasoning.
-questions why we assume the future will be like the past just because it has been that way before
Explain induction
-draws general conclusions from a finite number of observations
-new information can change the value of the truth of conclusion
Explain deduction
-draws specific conclusions referring to general rules
- new information has no influence upon the truth of conclusion
explain the process of. the hypothetical-deductive method
- Starts with a scientific hypothesis
- Deductively derives testable predictions from the hypothesis
- Empirically tests predictions through observation and experimentation.
Explain the stages in the model of the empirical cycle
- Observation: Begin with observations of the world.
- Pattern Recognition: Identify patterns or regularities in observations.
- Hypothesis Formation: Formulate a hypothesis to explain observed patterns.
- Prediction: Deductively predict consequences of the hypothesis.
- Testing: Empirically test predictions through experiments or observations.
- Analysis: Analyze results to confirm or reject the hypothesis.
Theory Formation: Develop a theory based on confirmed hypothese
What’s the difference between theoretical and observational language?
Observational language follows requirements of logical reducibility, theoretical language doesn’t.
(but it is still included in system of languages because it helps develop new scientific knowledge)
distinguish between truth-likeliness vs truth
truth: lies in observations
truth-likeliness: can be observed in empirical laws in hypotheses (degree to which observations match hypotheses)
What is rationalism?
The philosophical concept that claims all knowledge comes from thinking
what is critical rationalism?
A model of rationalism rotted in falsification. It urges you to think more skeptical about the knowledge obtained.
Describe Popper’s criticism of logical positivism
The problems in logical positivism and its model are too fundamental for adjustments
Describe the adjustments to logical positivism
- Include theoretical concepts and induction in the system of knowledge
-Distinction between theoretical/observational language and true/likely true statements
Explain the principle of falsification
for a hypothesis or theory to be considered scientific, it must make specific, testable predictions that, if proven false by empirical evidence, would falsify the theory
Explain the Quine-Duhem Thesis
-challenges the distinction between analytical and synthetic statements
-when you find a conflicting example, don’t immediately adjust the theory (it might just be an anomaly)
-investigate the new observation and understand how it came to this conflict
Can observations falsify a theory?
Yes, but there are some problems:
- Observation is never theory-independent
-Theories function as search-light theories, guiding and influencing observation
Describe the relationship between the degree of confirmation of a statement and its empirical content
What are search-light theories?
-concepts that guide people in what to look for and influence ones’s reporting of what is observed
-theories that are embedded in, fundamentally a part of, obeservational instruments
Should you always strive for the highest truth-likeliness?
No. Striving for the highes truth-likeliness will lead to undesirable results. The statements with the least empirical confirmations are most likely to be true
Describe Thomas Kuhn’s Theory of Paradigms
- Reflects real-life scientific development, starting with observations and explanations
- Paradigms have 4 elements: symbolic generalisations, exemplars, scientific values, and methodological prescriptions
- challenged the traditional view of scientific progress as a continuous and cumulative process –> emphasised the role of revolutions and paradigm shifts in shaping science
What are the four elements of Thomas Kuhn’s paradigms
- Symbolic generalisations (theories depicted through symbols, e.g. equations)
- Exemplars (examples of how to apply a theory)
- Scientific values (human interactions)
- Methodological prescriptions (how observations can be made & what requirements are for something to count as an observation)
What is an anomaly?
A very different occurrence than what would be expected based on the accepted theory
Distinguish between normal science and revolutionary science
Normal science: steady cumulative growth within a paradigm (e.g. solving a puzzle with a known picture)
Revolutionary science: Paradigm shifts leading to revolutionary knowledge growth (e.g. solving a puzzle with a new picture)
State the 3 issues with functional explanations
- Confusion of cause and effect
- Assumption of a higher order system at play
- Assumes that the explanans are a necessary conditions
Describe the difference between ontological and methodological individualism
Ontological: only individuals exist; social phenomena are outcomes of individual actions
Methodological: social phenomena exist but are explained through individual actions
Describe the Game Theory
-prisoner’s dilemma
-2 prisoners both have binary option of confessing to their crimes or denying
-optimal solution: denial
- aim of game theory: reach the most efficient solution that is the most beneficial for both parties
What is the Nash equilibrium?
- a situation in which each participant’s strategy is optimal, given the strategies chosen by the other participants
- no player has an incentive to deviate from their chosen strategy as doing so will not lead to better outcomes
Explain the Pareto optimum
A state of allocation of resources in which it is impossible to make any one individual better off without making at least one individual worse off.
What is the agency theory?
Explains imperfections in human cooperation and decision-making separation in agency relationships
What is the agency problem and what are solutions to it?
- The interests of the principal and the agent might not align –> agency problem
- e.g. the agent acting in their own interest rather than the principal’s
SOLUTIONS
1.) Bonding: incentive pay for managers
2.) Monitoring: establishing boards, use of auditors
Describe the Agency Relationship
Agency relationship can only exist if decision-making (done by agent and principal) are separated
2 ways to separate:
1. Formally: when people are given specific functions with specific decision-making rights
2. De facto: information asymmetry (e.g. doctors & lawyers have more info than clients and thus more agency
What are the agency costs in corporate government?
Monitoring costs (experienced by principal)
Bonding costs (experienced by agent)
Residual loss (experienced by principal)
Main challenge: minimise sum of agency costs as these constitute a deadweight loss
What is collective intentionality?
the shared attitudes, beliefs, or intentions that a group of individuals holds collectively
Quine’s view on analytic and synthetic statements
There is no fundamental difference between analytical and synthetic sentences
Duhem’s view on hypothesis
every test of a hypotheses requires background assumptions
Causality in social science
Ontological questions : Are humans
How are ontology, epistemology and methodology related?
What is POS?
A field that deals with
- what management science is
- How it works
- The logic through which we build scientific knowledge
System I vs System II thinking
System I: fast but unreliable (operates automatically & quickly, with little/ no effort. BUT: often false answer)
System II: slow but reliable (more consideration & thought)
What is a truth preservation?
True premises in a logical argument lead to true conclusions (truth preservation)
What forms of logical interference are valid?
- Denying the consequence (If A then B, X is not B, thus X is not A)
- Affirming the antecedents ( If A then B, X is A, Thus X is B)
What is a logical argument?
the process of creating a new statement from one or more
existing statements
“If P then Q”: what is the antecedent and what is the consequent?
P: Antecedent
Q: Consequent
Example of affirming the antecedent
Conditional Statement: If it is raining (P), then the ground is wet (Q).
Affirming the Antecedent: It is raining (P).
Conclusion: Therefore, the ground is wet (Q).
Example of denying the consequent
Conditional Statement: If it is snowing (P), then schools are closed (Q).
Denying the Consequent: Schools are not closed (not Q).
Conclusion: Therefore, it is not snowing (not P).
Example of affirming the consequent
Conditional Statement: If it is summer (P), then the days are longer (Q).
Affirming the Consequent: The days are longer (Q).
Conclusion: Therefore, it is summer (P).
Example of denying the antecedent
Conditional Statement: If the alarm is not set (not P), then you will oversleep (not Q).
Denying the Antecedent: The alarm is set (P).
Conclusion: Therefore, you will not oversleep (not Q).
Does the validity of an argument depend on truth of premises or the conclusion?
The Validity of the argument does not depend on the truth of the premises, nor the conclusion.
what is the central thesis of the Vienna circle?
–> Science could lead the way out of misery
Verification: a criterion of meaning –> only claims/sentences which can be verified through empirical observation can have any meaning
and therefore be true or false.
– Science can offer certainty where metaphysics and religion failed
What is metaphysics
Metaphysics: concepts and knowledge that are beyond
what we can verify.
What is the problem with empiricism?
Limited by our ability to observe
Observations can be wrong or sometimes impossible, challenging knowledge realiability
What is the problem with rationalism?
We need to put input ourselves -
the empirical content.
Otherwise,
Knowledge is empirically meaningless;
Essentially, with rationalism we have
theories about nothing
What is structuration?
The process from sensory experience to knowledge
What are the three grand theories of knowledge?
Rationalism, Empiricism, Idealism
What is idealism
All knowledge comes from experience and we need the ability to structure the experience
Explain the linguistic turn
Truth is not out there; it is a property
of sentence. - A sentence can be
true of false, but the world is not
true of false.
Explain the requirement for logical reducibility
it’s a requirement for all knowledge.
For every statement in a system of knowledge to be true, you should be able to use logic and through logic only to go back to individual experience.
If a statement cannot be reduced through logic to observation, it should not be scientific, therefore should not be in the system of knowledge
Explain the unity of science ideal
even though there are many different kinds of science (like physics, biology, chemistry), they’re all connected and work together. It’s as if there’s an underlying harmony or common way of looking at things that ties them all together.
–> it is not realistic with what is going on in science
What are the two building blocks of logical positivism?
Synthetic and Analytical statements
Synthetic = truth depends on factual matters, verified by observation
Analytical = Truth depends on logical structure, verified by logical analysis
What is a theoretical concept?
an idea or term that scientists use to explain and understand things that can’t be directly seen or measured.
Why are affirming the consequent and denying the antecedent invalid?
They represent logical fallacies and violate the principles of valid deductive reasoning. In a valid deductive argument, if the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true.
What makes a well defined concept?
it is based on solid theoretical arguments that explain its intention and only denotes any cases of the concept in reality.
Concepts in social science tend to have a complex structure.
What is the aim of logical positivism?
Seeks unity of science ideal using synthetic and analytic statements
uses logical reduction of synthetic statements to observations to unify scientific knowledge
What are reflective concepts?
They make up the properties of a concept.
E.g. firm performance: firm performance affects employee growth, profitability, revenue growth and shareholder returns
What are formative concepts?
They are made up of their respective properties.
E.g. Democracy: democracy entails free elections, the role of law, freedom of speech, etc.
–> we should ask ourselves “why do we include these criteria in the definition of democracy in the first place?” –> the reason for this is rooted in normative theory (normative theory does not reflect reality itself but what we think it ought to be)
What is the disease model?
Reflective concepts
How does new information affect the truth value of a conclusion?
New information can change the truth value of the
conclusion
Difference between inductive and deductive logic
Deduction is an analytical transformation of what we
already know, while induction is not.
Induction is invalid logic, which is not truth-preserving.
Relation between empirical content of a statement and its truth likeliness
The less empirical content the more likely it is to be true
Why falsify instead of verify?
Is the induction in principle a right or wrong method?
Wrong
Example: “can we say something about unobserved cases of X or about the truth or falsify general laws about X, based on observed cases of Y?”
Explain the “higher order system” in regards to functional explanations
e.g. talking about how individuals engage in crime to maintain balance in society (functional explanation) –> we assume that the higher order of the society is at play
Explain the rationalist and critical element of popper’s critical rationalism
rationalist: develops theories that reflect maximal amounts of empirical content
critical: the empirical testing of these theories as sharply as possible (falsification)
How should society be build based on scientific knowledge
It should be an open system
What are the conclusions based on Kuhn?
What are the 4 theories of truth? State and elaborate.
Correspondence theory of truth –> truth of a statement depends on how much what corresponds to reality (truth of synthetic statements)
Coherency theory of truth –> truth of a statement depends on its coherency to what we already know (truth of analytical statements, logic & math)
Consensus theory of truth –> Truth is what we collectively agreed upon
Pragmatic theory of truth –> Truth depends on pragmatic considerations
What is the ideal of positive science?
Explain the 3 issues with functional explanations with examples
- Confusion of cause & effect : “Birds have wings because they need to fly.” This explanation may imply that the need to fly caused the development of wings, when in reality, it is the presence of wings that enables birds to fly. The function (flying) is an outcome of the trait (wings), not necessarily its cause.
- Assumption of a Higher order at play:
For instance, asserting that a particular trait evolved because it enhances an organism’s survival might overlook other factors, such as historical constraints, genetic drift, or non-adaptive processes. Functional explanations may oversimplify the complex processes involved in evolution and adaptation. - assumes that explanans are a necessary condition
“the function of the appendix is to aid in digestion” might imply that the appendix is present in the human body solely for this purpose. However, if some individuals can live without an appendix without significant consequences, it challenges the idea that the identified function is a necessary condition for the existence of the trait
What is the typology of meta theories?
A typology of meta-theories refers to a classification or categorization of different ways in which theories about theories, known as meta-theories, can be organized or grouped.
What’s the difference between inductive and deductive arguments?
State and explain the 2 types of meta-theoretical questions
- ontological questions
What is the basic unit of analysis
(individualism or social holism)
* Individual is the one thing that exists.
Org actions are at best derivative of
individual actions.
* We accept the existence of
organizations like firms as reality (social
reality) - Epistemological questions
What type of explanation should
we strive for?
Can we separate positive and
normative explanatory ambitions?
What’s the difference between explaining and understanding?
Explaining: taking the outsiders perspective
Understanding: taking the internal perspective of a participant
What is the rational choice theory and its assumptions?
Explanatory model, explaining behaviour and social-level outcomes (e.g. institutions) from the rational choices of individual agents
Assumptions:
1. Explanations always start from the choices of individual agents: methodological individualism
2. Agents are fully self-interested
3. Agents are perfectly rational
This theory has both positive (explaining) and normative (justificatory) ambitions
What is the endowment effect?
The finding that people are more likely to retain an object they own than acquire the same object when they don’t own it
Game theory
-illustrates decision-making scenarios like the prisoner’s dilemma
- Aims for efficient solutions beneficial to all parties involved
What 3 types of explanations are there and elaborate
- Causal: this explanation uses cause & effect
- Logical: Providing reasons based on logical principles or rules. It involves demonstrating how conclusions follow logically from premises
- Explaining something by highlighting its purpose or the role it plays in a larger system. It answers the question, “What is this for?”
Strategic vs Parametric rationality
What are explanans and explanandum?
Explanandum: The ground is wet.
Explanan: It rained last night.
–> the explanandum is the wet ground, and the explanan is the statement that it rained last night, providing a causal explanation for why the ground is wet.
What is coleman’s ‘bathtub’ model of explanation?
Suggests looking at individual’s actions to explain social phenomena
what is the social ontology of institutions?
What is collective intentionality?
Collective intentionality is a concept in philosophy that refers to the shared intentions, beliefs, or attitudes of a group of individuals. It involves understanding how groups or collectives can have a form of intentionality that goes beyond the intentions of individual members. In other words, it explores how groups, as such, can have goals, plans, and actions that are distinct from the intentions of their individual members.
