Philosophy of science in business studies Flashcards
What is ontology?
Ontology, according to Tsoukas & Chia, refers to the study of the nature of reality, emphasizing that it is socially constructed and continuously shaped through human interaction and interpretation.
What is epistemology?
epistemology is the study of knowledge and how we come to know and understand reality, recognizing that knowledge is not merely a reflection of an objective reality but is shaped by the social, cultural, and interpretive contexts in which it is produced
What is the difference between epistemology and ontology?
ontology is about what exists, and epistemology is about how we know or understand what exists
What is praxeology?
Tsoukas & Chia use praxeology to highlight the importance of understanding human action in organizational theory. They argue that organizations are not just systems or structures; they are shaped by the actions and decisions of individuals. Praxeology is relevant because it helps explore how people in organizations make purposeful choices, how their actions are influenced by social and contextual factors, and how these actions, in turn, shape organizational reality. In their view, understanding these individual actions is key to understanding how organizations evolve and function.
What is descriptive inference?
Descriptive inference is the process of drawing conclusions about the characteristics or patterns of a dataset based on observed facts, without making causal claims. It focuses on summarizing or describing what is happening, rather than explaining why it is happening.
What is casual inference?
Causal inference is the process of determining cause-and-effect relationships between events or factors, going beyond correlation to understand how one event leads to another.
What is metaphysics?
Fundamental nature of reality “being-as-such”, outside the realm of objective study, things that are eternal and do not change
What is realism?
abstract universals, e.g. Platonic forms
What is nominalism?
only particulars/instances, e.g. Aristotelian critique
What is deduction?
Deduction is the process of drawing specific conclusions from general principles or facts. If the general statements are true, the conclusion must also be true.
What is induction?
Induction is the process of making generalizations based on specific observations or evidence. It moves from specific instances to broader conclusions, which may not always be guaranteed to be true.
What is the difference between deduction and induction?
deduction is about certainty, while induction is about likelihood
What is nomothetic methods?
Nomothetic methods aim to find general laws or patterns that apply to large groups by comparing many cases, often using large samples. It focuses on understanding general trends or occurrences of a phenomenon.
What are ideographic methods?
Ideographic methods aim to understand specific cases deeply, focusing on particular contexts to gain broader insights. It typically involves studying fewer cases to keep the depth of the analysis, and can sometimes involve comparisons.
What is variance theory?
based on things like environment, technology, decision process, resources
