SCIENCE GROWTH - Karl Popper Flashcards
Who is Karl Popper?
Karl Popper was the most prominent philosopher of science in the 20th Century.
What does Karl Popper believe?
Popper notes that many systems of thought have claimed to have TRUE knowledge about the world, such as religions, political ideologies and tradition, intuition, and common sense.
He addresses how science is similar to this too.
What questions does Karl Popper seek to answer?
- What distinguishes scientific knowledge from other forms of knowledge?
- Why has scientific knowledge and the movement behind it flourished in the past few centuries?
FALLACY OF INDUCTION
How does Popper differentiate from the Positivists?
He differs from the positivists because he rejects the view that the distinctive feature of science lies in verificationism.
Rather, he believes the main reason we should reject verificationism is because of the fallacy of induction
FALLACY OF INDUCTION
What does this mean?
This is the process of moving from observation to arriving at a general statement.
FALLACY OF INDUCTION
The Swan example and its significance
If you observe a lot of swans, you can come to the generalisation
that they’re all white.
We could even verify this.
But we cannot ever PROVE that all swans are white because finding a black swan would disprove this.
We can never prove a theory true… we can never verify a theory.
FALSIFICATIONISM
What is this opposing?
VERIFICATIONISM
Popper believes a scientific statements is one that can be proved wrong by evidence.
FALSIFICATIONISM
What are the two solid features that Popper believes a good theory has?
1.
The first, being that it CAN be falsible, but when tested, it does not get disproved.
FALSIFICATIONISM
What are the two solid features that Popper believes a good theory has?
2.
Secondly, that it is bold. It claims to explain a large amount… it makes generalisations that predict a large number of cases.
It is at a greater risk of being falsified.
CRITICISM + OPEN SOCIETY
Explain why a good theory must be open to criticism?
For a theory to be good, it must falsifiable.
For a theory to be falsified, it must be open to criticism.
Science is a public activity.
Everything can be subject to criticism.
This is why knowledge grows so rapidly.
CRITICISM + OPEN SOCIETY
What is Popper’s explanation for why science thrives in liberal societies?
Popper believes that science thrives in liberal societies, where there is a belief in free expression.
In closed societies, the dominant belief that claims to have absolute truth often stifles the growth of science.
IMPLICATIONS
Does Popper believe that sociology is unscientific?
Popper believes that most of sociology is unscientific because it consists of theories that cannot be put to the test because they may be falsified.
IMPLICATIONS
Example of Marxism
Marxism is a good theory. If there is a revolution, then it is correct! If there isn’t a revolution, Marxism is STILL correct!
Popper rejects Marxism as unscientific because it is untestable, though this does not mean that it is a worthless cause or idea.
IMPLICATIONS
CAN sociology be scientific in Popper’s view?
Popper also believes that sociology can be scientific because it can produce hypotheses that can be falsified.
