Beliefs- Theories of Science

Question 1

What do critics of religion claim?

Answer 1

There is a clear distinction between science and other ways of viewing the world

Question 2

What do critics of religion believe?

Answer 2

Science is based on theories that are backed up by evidence whereas religion is based on the interpretation of religious texts and holy books

Question 3

What is the traditional view of science? (3 points)

Answer 3

• Science is objective
• Scientific enquiry is evidence-based
• Scientific enquiry is ‘open’- ideas which are tested and proved wrong are rejected and more accurate ideas replace them

Question 4

What did Lynch argue?

Answer 4

Science is far less objective than scientists claim

Question 5

What did Lynch do in 1985?

Answer 5

He published a study of the interactions between scientists experimenting on lab rats and concluded that the scientists were more influenced by their existing theories then may have been expected

Question 6

What did Lynch say when anomalies occurred?

Answer 6

The scientists often put them down to errors in the images they were studying, rather than seeing them as evidence towards a new theory or hypothesis

Question 7

Why did Lyotard argue that science can be seen as another kind of metanarrative?

Answer 7

It claims to have a monopoly of truth and to explain how everything works- it’s just another ideology

Question 8

Why do positivists like Comte believe that sociology is scientific?

Answer 8

It consists of gathering information about the social world, classifying data, and drawing conclusions about ‘the social laws’ which govern human society

Question 9

What did Durkheim claim?

Answer 9

That by using the technique of multivariate analysis, ‘social facts’ could be uncovered

Question 10

What is multivariate analysis?

Answer 10

The attempt to isolate the impact of independent variables

Question 11

What does it mean that early positivists used an inductive approach?

Answer 11

They first collected data on their topic which they studied and analysed, they composed a theory or hypothesis, they then tested their hypothesis and drew conclusions

Question 12

When was the hypothesis considered a social fact?

Answer 12

If their results were repeatable

Question 13

What happens in the deductive approach?

Answer 13

It starts with the theory which then leads to the investigation

Question 14

What did Popper argue?

Answer 14

Theories or hypotheses could spring from anywhere such as flashes of inspiration or even from dreams

Question 15

Why did Popper reject the idea that there are permanent social laws governing human behaviour?

Answer 15

He claimed that any ‘law’ could at some point be falsified, no matter how many times it has been ‘proved’ correct in the past

Question 16

What is the famous example Popper gave?

Answer 16

The hypothesis ‘all swans are white’ can be ‘proved’ thousands of times until you encounter a black swan

Question 17

What did Popper say should be the aim of science and social science?

Answer 17

To constantly strive to falsify theories

Question 18

What idea did Kuhn introduce?

Answer 18

The idea that scientists work in a paradigm

Question 19

What is a paradigm?

Answer 19

The framework of accepted ideas in which scientists operate

Question 20

What might a paradigm include?

Answer 20

Ideas on truth, validity and methodology

Question 21

How did Kuhn argue that scientists tend to work?

Answer 21

Within the paradigm and so seek evidence which supports it- this will continue until anomalies are so strong as to trigger a paradigm shift or scientific revolution

Question 22

What happens when a new ‘normal science paradigm’ is established?

Answer 22

The process begins again