Lecture 2 - Philosophy of Science Flashcards
Define philosophy.
- It means love of wisdom.
- It came from the Greek words, philo, meaning love, and sophos, meaning wisdom.
What do we need philosophy?
It helps teachers reflect on key issues and concepts in education.
Define philosophers.
They think about the meaning of things and interpretation of that meaning.
Define ethical.
- It is the study of VALUES in human behavior.
- It is the rightness and wrongness of actions.
Define epistemological.
- It is the study of KNOWLEDGE.
- It is how we come to acquire knowledge.
Define metaphysical.
- It is the study of what is really REAL.
- Laws, causation, and explanation.
Categories of metaphysics.
- Ontology - the nature of existence
- Cosmology - the origin and organization of the universe.
What are the two kinds of logic under epistemology?
- Deductive-general to specific.
- Inductive-specific facts to generalization.
Categories of axiology/ethics.
- Ethics - study of human conduct and examines moral values.
- Aesthetics - values beauty, nature, and aesthetic experience.
Science is based on _____.
FACTS
What is inductivism?
- It proposes and rests on a common understanding of the laws of the universe.
A farmer observes that his crops grow better whenever he uses a certain type of fertilizer. After several seasons of noticing this pattern, he concludes that this fertilizer must be the best for his crops.
Inductivism
Facts are _____, theories should be derived from the facts by _____.
OBSERVABLE, OBSERVATION
What is hypothetico-deductivism?
- It rejects the context of discovery.
- It rejects the notion that facts are neutral and objective.
It asserts that facts are not always observable.
Hypothetico-deductivism
A scientist has a theory that a specific type of bacteria causes a certain disease. Instead of waiting for observable facts, the scientist creates a hypothesis based on this theory and then designs an experiment to test it. The experiment involves introducing the bacteria into healthy subjects to see if they develop the disease. The results support the theory, but the theory isn’t proven—it’s just more likely based on this evidence.
Hypothetico-deductivism
What is falsificationism?
- It also rejects the context of discovery.
- It rests on the premise that scientific theorist are tentative.
How does hypothetico-deductivism differ from falsificationism?
- Confirmation vs Refutation
A scientist has a theory that a specific drug cures a certain disease. To test this, she conducts experiments. In one experiment, the drug doesn’t work on some patients, showing the theory might be wrong. Instead of proving the theory, she’s focused on finding evidence that could falsify it.
Falsificationism
Who coined the term paradigm?
Thomas Kuhn
What is a conjecture?
It is an educated guess or hypothesis based on limited evidence.
Define refutation.
It is the act of disproving or rejecting an argument, statement, or claim.
The notion of scientific progress for the falsificationist rests on the premise that ___________________________.
scientific theories are tentative
What are the two types of data?
- Quantitative Data
- Qualitative Data
Define qualitative data.
It is simply about descriptions and meanings.
Define quantitative data.
It is simply about numbers and measurements.
Define reliability.
It refers to how consistently a method measures something.
Define validity.
It refers to how accurately a method measures what is intended to measure.
What is CRAAP?
- Current
- Relevance
- Author
- Accuracy
- Purpose
What is PRAAC?
- Purpose
- Relevance
- Author
- Accuracy
- Current
