Week 3

Question 1

What is the purpose of science according to Popper?

Answer 1

The purpose of science is not to search for confirmation of general claims, but try to falsify claims and theories. Thus: scientists should focus on falsification, rather than confirmation.

–> critical rationalism

Question 2

Tautologies

Answer 2

Claims that can never be untrue

Question 2

Popper’s view on induction

Answer 2

The problem of induction is not merely due to a limited number of observations. When observing a specific case (X), one cannot make claims about unobserved cases (Y) unless the entire set is known

Question 3

What should science be based on according to positivism?

Answer 3

Science should only be based on observations and experiences

Question 4

What approach did Karl Popper follow?

Answer 4

Critical rationalism

Question 5

According to Popper, why is scientific knowledge mostly unreliable?

Answer 5

If a theory passes all attempts to falsify it, then it can gain the attribute of trustworthiness. However, since the probability of finding falsifying proof can never be excluded, scientific knowledge is mostly unreliable.

Question 6

According to Popper, which criterion distinguishes scientific knowledge from non-scientific knowledge?

Answer 6

Falsifiability

Question 7

Certainty vs Content in claims

Answer 7

The higher the certainty in a claim, the lower the empirical content.
The pursuit of high certainty tends to minimise the content of claims to avoid errors, making the claim more common but less informative

Question 8

Scientific knowledge vs non-scientific knowledge in terms of testing and falsifiability.

Answer 8

Scientific knowledge: can be tested, reviewed and potentially falsified
Non-scientific knowledge: involves claims that are either tautological or lack empirical content –> untestable

Question 9

Problem with Empiricism

Answer 9

The reliance on empirical observations is questioned, suggesting that scientific progress involves more than empirical evidence