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Science and Society > Philosophy of Science > Flashcards

Philosophy of Science Flashcards

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1
Q

Methodology:

A

the set of principles, procedures and rules for conducting a practice

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2
Q

Two crucial aspects to science:

A
  1. the generation of scientific theories
  2. the testing of those theories
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3
Q

3 founding figures of science

A
  1. Francis bacon
  2. Galileo Galilei
  3. Rene Descartes
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4
Q

What type of method did Bacon believe?

A

an inductive one

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5
Q

What type of method did Aristotle believe?

A

a deductive one

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6
Q

What is inference?

A

a type of logic or reasoning; it is a way of moving from one thought to another

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7
Q

Deduction:

A

if the premises are true, the conclusion is necessarily true

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8
Q

Induction:

A

if the premises are true, the conclusion is probably, but not necessarily, true

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9
Q

What are the 4 idols?

A
  1. Idols of the tribe
  2. Idols of the cave
  3. Idols of the market place
  4. Idols of the theatre
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10
Q

Idols of the Tribe:

A

errors generated by human nature

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11
Q

Idols of the cave:

A

individual errors generated from our own personal education, preferences and desires

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12
Q

Idols of the market place:

A

errors derived from our community, especially errors deriving from language

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13
Q

Idols of the theatre:

A

errors that derive from received philosophical systems

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14
Q

Scientific knowledge is empirical:

A

scientific knowledge must be gained through experience

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15
Q

What did Bacon put at the heart of science?

A

observation an experimentation

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16
Q

Bacons experimental(inductive) method:

A
  1. It should be conducted by someone in the correct, objective, frame of mind
  2. All measurements should (where possible) be made by instruments: objective, rather than subjective measurement
  3. It should limit the variables being tested, so that the causes of any observed effects can be unambiguously inferred
  4. Any effect should be repeatable under the same circumstances
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17
Q

Primary qualities:

A

those that can be measured and mathematically modelled e.g. mass, length and movement

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18
Q

Secondary Qualities:

A

qualities such as colour, taste, heat(not measured in numbers)

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19
Q

Did Hume like induction?

A

nope

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20
Q

Hume’s claim against induction:

A

Hume claims that we never actually witness the cause linking a cause with its effect, what we see are two separate events that are regularly conjoined (the connection is created by the mind, expectation)

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21
Q

Realism(naive):

A

the inductive method reveals how things really are, in ever greater detail as science progresses

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22
Q

Instrumentalism(anti-realism):

A

inductive knowledge is useful as it allows us to make more accurate/simple predictions

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23
Q

Idealism(anti-realism:

A

the inductive method reveals how our minds process their thoughts

24
Q

What did the theory of relativity and quantum theory prove wrong?

A

the solid foundations of Newtonian physics

25
Q

Are there secure theories in science?

A

No

26
Q

Verificationism:

A

the idea that using a non-psychological language of logic for reporting scientific knowledge could be confirmed as certain through a finite number of steps

27
Q

What methodology did Karl Popper develop?

A

falsificationism

28
Q

Poppers problem with induction

A

sufficiency - a theory can never be proved by a finite number of confirming instances. We cannot infer from a finite number of observations that something is definitely the case

29
Q

Is falsification inductive or deductive?

A

deductive

30
Q

What is falsificatonism?

A

the theory that we should try to falsify something rather than verify it

31
Q

Model of falsification:

A
  1. Conjecture(creation of a theory
  2. Formulate a test to falsify theory
  3. Refutation: falsifying result, discard theory
    OR
  4. Non falsifying result: formulate new theory to falsify theory
32
Q

Problem of demarcation:

A
  1. A theory is scientific only if we can formulate a test that could falsify the theory
  2. If a theory is falsified then it must be abandoned, not altered in an ad-hoc manner to accommodate the results
33
Q

What is Pseudo-science

A

anything that pretends to be science but is not

34
Q

Example of Pseudo-science

A

Creationism - claim that the world is only 6000 years old as derived from the bible

35
Q

Thomas Kuhn popular phrase:

A

“paradigm shifts”

36
Q

What is a paradigm?

A

A paradigm is the institutions, background theory, techniques and methods available in a given situation and which support a dominant theory. It is more than just the theory itself

37
Q

Disciplinary Matrix:

A

Presuppositions, implicitly held by the scientific community:

The specialist scientific education a scientist receives

Shared (cultural) values between scientists, such as the general preference for mechanistic explanations, over purposive ones

Implicit background assumptions

Technical research training: use and manufacture of instruments

38
Q

Exemplars:

A

the successful experiments that training scientists repeat as part of their education

39
Q

What do exemplars suggest?

A

These exemplars suggest ways in which the paradigm can expand; what would count as new knowledge for the existing paradigm

40
Q

Normal Science:

A

Routine everyday science

41
Q

Kuhns thoughts on falsificationism:

A

Kuhn thinks we should abandon falsificationism

42
Q

What provokes a scientific revolution, and paradigm shift:

A

1) The number of anomalies must become excessive and increasingly hard to ignore, and the paradigm becomes unproductive

2) There must be another viable paradigm

3) There must be a group of people keen to work in the new paradigm

43
Q

Conventionalism:

A

a scientific theory/model gives us nothing more than an expression of the culture, or society, in which it was formed.

44
Q

Feyerabends problem with falsificationism:

A

it is often difficult to isolate what part of the theory is false when an experiment does not give the results predicted

45
Q

Critical rationalism:

A

scientific method has a rational structure, based on being open to criticism

46
Q

Does Feyerabend believe science in rational?

A

no

47
Q

Feyerabends own view of science:

A

while anarchism may be a bad political philosophy, it is a good philosophy of science

48
Q

Polemicist:

A

likes to shock readers

49
Q

Was Feyerabend a polemicist:

A

yes

50
Q

The positivist or inductivist view of Galileo:

A

He took the observable facts seriously, and he designed his theories to fit them

51
Q

Did Feyerabend argue that science is a threat to democracy?

A

yes

52
Q

Difference between narrative knowledge and scientific knowledge:

A

narrative knowledge - myths, legends, stories
scientific knowledge - statements that have truth value

53
Q

metanarratives:

A

a ‘big story’ that explains the meaning of human life and history,and legitimates all activities

54
Q

enlightenment metanarrative:

A

the improvement of humankind through the progress of knowledge, with a ‘utopian’ goal

55
Q

Modernity:

A

the historical period defined by metanarrative legitimation

56
Q

Lyotard defines the postmodern as:

A

‘incredulity toward metanarratives’

57
Q

Paralogy:

A

beyond or against existing ways of thinking

Science and Society (1 decks)

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