Module 2 Flashcards
Epistemology
Theory of knowledge and Justification
2 Sources of Knowledge
Experience and reasoning
Empiricism
Idea that all knowledge comes from experience
Reasoning/rationalism
Developing an understanding by thinking, through analysis and logic
Deductive reasoning
Drawing a conclusion when the underlying assumptions are true.
Used to determine conclusion using premises
Inductive reasoning
Drawing conclusions based on past experiences.
What happened in the past may not happen again.
Hypotheses
Educated guesses
Theories
Explanations.
Used to explain phenomenon, make sense of it, make predictions about it.
Exploratory Scientific Method
Bottom up to achieve theory generation.
Inductive method.
Particular to general.
Confirmatory Scientific Method
Top down theory generation.
Deductive method.
Moves from general to particular.
Rule of Parsimony
When a theory is simple, concise, and succinct.
When two theories explain and predict a phenomenon equally well, the more parsimonious is preferred.
Criterion of Falsifiability
If unsupportive outcomes of a theory have been found repeatedly, these would be used to reject or falsify the theory.
