lecture 12

Question 1

the deductive-nomological account of explanation

Answer 1

the validity of the deductive nomological explanation depends on logical argument, and is thus independent of a physical understanding of causality

Law: in a free market supply and demadn will constantly adjust

Fact: demand for taxis is high

Expected effect: the offer for taxis will also rise (i.e. the taxi drivers will work longer hours)

Question 2

The deductive-nomological account of explanation a problem

Answer 2

The premises constituting the argument need to possess empirical content in order for the explanation to mean something in the world

–> taxi drivers behavior does not conform to the law of supply and demand

Question 3

Psychologists use two general tendencies to explain the taxi drivers particular behavior:

Answer 3

loss aversion: People tend to avoid losses more than they tend to maximize gains

One decision at a time: people dont process multiple possibilities in parallel, but only follow through the consequences of one

Question 4

causal conception of explanation a closer look

Answer 4

successful explanations refer to causes

Explanations are causal accounts aimed at identifying the factors, structures or mechanisms that bring out the phenomenon to be explained.

Remember - causal explanations are asymmetric

E.g. how does one get high?

THC acts on specific brain cell receptors that ordinarily react to THC like chemicals produced by the brain

Assuming THC over-activates parts of the brain that contain the greater number of these receptors. this causes the “high” one feels

Question 5

Causal conception of explanation problems

Answer 5

controversial what causes are (recall previous lecture)

Phenomena often have many causes (and many consequences), and it is sometimes contentious which cause(s) are the most relevant to explaining a phenomenon

Example: differences between countries in how the causes of death during the Covid-19 pandemic were determines

Question 6

the cumulative picture of scientific change

Answer 6

Textbook-picture of science

View that many scientistis have of their discipline

Problem: historians of science started saying “it did not happen that way”

Cone shaped with boundries of science, anything outside is not science

Question 7

what is a scientific revolution

Answer 7

a radical change of a reigning scientific paradigme being overturned in favor of a new paradigm (i.e. a new way of doing things)

Change in our image of reality
How data are collected, analyzed, interpreted

Which logic/methods are accepted

Who/what counts as scientific expert and scientific institution

Question 8

The structure of scientific revolution (1962)

Answer 8

Pre-paradigmatic inquiry –> competing paradigms –> supremacy of one paradigm ->
Crisis (anomalies become normalized -> new paradigm)

Collection of a lot of facts

Difficult to distinguish relevant and irrelevant facts

No agreement on what counts as “basic knowledge”

No agreement of who are the experts

A paradigm starts as a promise and grows “normal science”

Researchers all move within (more or less) the same conceptual frameworks

The framework defines which problems are interesting and which are left out

Question 10

anomalies

Answer 10

phenomena that the paradigm cant explain

Question 11

scientific change according to khun

Answer 11

gestalt switch, where someones perspective changes from one thing to another. Like with the vase with the faces

Question 12

even if science and explanatory knowledge

Answer 12

Even if science and explanatory knowledge do not proceed in a “straight line” it seems that our current best theories about reality are better than the earlier ones

E.g. newtons cosmology would be better than Ptolemys

Keynes economic theory would be better than smiths

Question 15

The pessimistic induction argument

Answer 15

Premise 1: there have been many empirically successful theories in the history of science that have subsequently been rejected as false

Premise 2: our best theories are no different from those theories that were previously rejected

By induction, there is reason to believe our current best theories will be rejected as false

so, there is reason to believe our current best theories are not true

Question 15

Yes progress! the no miracles argument

Answer 15

Premise 1: our best scientific theories are predictively successful and facilitate technological innovation

Premise 2: The best explanation for these successes is that our best theories are true

So our best scientific theories are true

So our understanding of reality is progressing

-> the claim is that our explanatory knowledge is superiour

Question 16

Problems with no-miracles argument

Answer 16

use of inference to the best explanation

Does not situate science in a historical and social context

What could we conclude about the nature of scientific change, if we paid attention tot he history and sociology of science

Question 17

how do our scientific explanations change? why?

If khun is right then

Answer 17

scientific revolution prevents science from proceeding in a straight line

Still, many factors count to understand science development

(in the structure) i have said nothing about the role of technological advance or external social, economic and intellectual conditions in the development of the sciences

Question 18

explanations typically involve

Answer 18

laws or causes

It is not always obvious that there is a best explanatory strategy: purposes are important

Question 19

Explanations

Answer 19

change over tme

This can happen through accumulation of knowledge or through radical breakthroughs

Question 20

is explanation change a progress

Answer 20

we can clarify our question through arguments (pessimistic induction, nno miracles argument) but we need history to engage with single claims