Week 2 Flashcards
What should positive social science be like according to Comte?
Positive social science should replace a religious or theological view of reality, known as metaphysics in which the Church plays a central role in education
According to Francis Bacon, only with which two human capabilities can knowledge be attained?
- Rational thinking
- Learning from observation and experience
Kant’s critical rationalism
Some knowledge can only be gained through critical reflection, which included reflection about the possibilities and limits of thinking itself
A priori knowledge
knowledge prior to experience and observation
Example of analytic a priori knowledge
“All squares are polygons”
(knowledge solely based on the prior knowledge of what a square and what a polygon is)
Synthetic a priori knowledge
-goes beyond a strict analysis of concepts and definitions
-based on pure thinking
Example of synthetic a priori knowledge
The phenomena of causality and gravity
–> only the effects can be observed, but not the phenomena themselves
What kind of characters do Newtonian mechanisms and geometry have?
Priori and synthetical character, since they tell us something about the surrounding reality
Positivism
Extreme form of empiricism
–> “science should only be based on observations and experiences. Anything that cannot be observed does not exist and is not a source of knowledge.”
What does the manifesto composed by the positivists of the Vienna Circle state?
There are only synthetic claims a posteriori (claims based on empirical observations)
Logical positivism
Only knowledge that can be traced back to observational data can be qualified as scientific knowledge
Why is the claim ‘water is H2O’ synthetic and a posteriori?
Synthetic: it tells more than the everyday definition of water (e.g. ‘water is transparent’)
A posteriori: it is based on the discovery of the molecular structure of water
Problem of induction
The problem of undermining any form of empiricism or positivism as a result of the idea that only empirical data counts for good reasons
(= in essence, the statement is pointing out a weakness in thinking that only what we can directly observe/measure is sufficient for good reasons, and it raises the question of whether there are other valuable ways of gaining knowledge)
Syllogism
The diagram of reasoning that is used with deduction
Deduction
When someone deduces a specific conclusion of general claims or laws
(the opposite of Induction)
The deductive-nomological model of science
From a law, a conclusion is derived
Induction
Deriving general claims from specific observations
The correspondence model of truth
A claim is true when it corresponds with reality. The truthfulness of the claims has to be tested and measured (i.e. verified empirically). BUT: not every concept can be measured
Observable concepts
Concepts that can be observed and measured
Theoretical concepts
a network of complex phenomena (e.g. economic recession and selfishness) and cannot be measured easily
–> problem with correspondence model of truth: determining if a claim corresponds to reality is difficult
Problem with correspondence theory
-no clear connection between the phenomena being studied and the phenomena being observed
Three conditions a theoretical concept must meet to be a good concept
- Robustness (the concept should fit into more than one context)
- Fit (the claims that are made by the concept must fit into a more general theory)
- Predictability (credible predictions about the occurrence of the phenomenon must be made
The coherence model of truth
Argues that there is a multitude of reason-giving considerations that contribute to the assurance of the truth of a particular claim.
These are: observations, theoretical explanations and predictions
–> there is no significant difference between analytic and synthetic claims
Coherence
A function of cohesion and mutual support
The standard model of science
Integrates both induction and deduction in an empirical cycle. It involves phases such as induction (generalising from observations), deduction (testing theories and hypotheses), and refining theories based on empirical findings
Empirical Regularities and Theoretical Insights
The standard model: starts with induction, detecting empirical regularities and laws through ongoing generalisation
Theoretical Insights: formulated to explain these regularities, and the theory is then scrutinised through testing and observation
Coherence Model vs Correspondence Model
Coherence model challenges the correspondence model, suggesting that claims are supported not only by correspondence with reality but also internal cohesion and mutual support
The coherence model emphasises that scientific claims are strengthened by multiple reasons and considerations
What does empiricism involve?
Empiricism involves the epistemology that all knowledge comes from experience
