L1 - Science and Communication

Question 1

What are the three ways of knowing?

Answer 1

Authority, Reason, & Experience (Also known as the Philosophy of Science)

Question 2

How is Authority a way of knowing? (Examples)

Answer 2

• Church was dominant, had authority and gave information
• Professors have authority. You listen because of their authority through their titles

Question 3

How is Reason a way of knowing?

Answer 3

• Copurnicus logically went against the church to say the sun does not revolve around the earth
• Moved away from authority as a way of knowing, using reason instead.

Question 4

How is Experience a way of knowing?

Answer 4

Music makes you experience something.
- Comte’s Law of Three Stages suggests this.

Question 5

What does Comte’s Law of Three stages do? What are these stages?

Answer 5

• It describes the shift from authority to reason with ways of knowledge
• Theological: Explaining anomalies and identify causes using supernatural agents
• Metaphysical: The human rejects supernatural supernatural agents but points out abstract entities like destiny/fate.
• Positive: Humans reject speculation and limits itself to things that can be confirmed.

Question 6

What does Peirce argue?

Answer 6

• Apriori: Beliefs precede experience or data. Beliefs we think are true without any empirical evidence. (hypothesis)
• Creating two different answers when we think of reason and logic

Question 7

Critics of Positivism: (Popper)

Answer 7

• Limits of data, can only prove falsifiability.
• We cannot confirm a apriori belief, but can disprove it.

Question 8

What is induction?

Answer 8

• Have an observation
• Put a claim down
• Generalise from data

Question 9

What is deduction?

Answer 9

• Hypothesis
• Driving from theory and look for observation

Question 10

What did Kuhn say?

Answer 10

• Normal science will have anomalies that are ignored
• Anomalies will accumulate
• Causing a crisis
• Change in World View
• Pre-paradigm phase
• New Paradigm becomes dominant, this is normal science.

Question 11

What are the principles of ways of knowing? (PURE BOC PDF)

Answer 11

• Parsimony
• Usability
• Rationality
• Explanatory Power
• Breadth
• Originality
• Coherence
• Precision
• Descriptive Adequacy
• Falsifiability

Question 12

What are the ways of communicating?

Answer 12

• Conventions: not rules, but agreements, helping people know what to expect
• Communication: Clear&Concise
• Grammar: Active voice
• Format: APA