OUTLINE

by Paul Nervy
Copyright (c) 2006 by Paul Nervy

Visit www.paulnervy.com.

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

SCIENCE IN GENERAL

Contents
Terms in the philosophy of science
History of philosophy of science

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

wwwwwwwwww

Science

What is science?

Science defined as
A group endeavor
An cumulative endeavor
An endeavor through time
An open, public endeavor.
A methodology
Empirical verification.
Repeatable results.

Boundaries of science from other activities.

Limits of science. Is there a limit to what science can do?

Goals of science
truth
simplicity
predictive sucess
heuristic fertility

Science as inquiry.

Science as an area of epistemology, which is an area of philosophy.

Hard sciences. Natural sciences.
Physics
Biology
Soft sciences. Human sciences.
Psychology
Sociology

wwwwwwwwww

Philosophy of science.

What is the philosophy of science?

Epistemology of science

Metaphysics of science

Ethics of science.
Experimental subjects.
Tuskeegee studies.
Animal experimentation.

wwwwwwwwww

Induction

Science relies on induction.

Deduction

wwwwwwwwww

Empiricism

Reliability of senses.

Science is empirical.

Rationalisim

wwwwwwwwww

Truth

Generalizations

Principle

Hypothesis
Hypothesis as a question.

Theory
Theories as sets of hypotheses. Theories as a possible answer.

Law
Laws as generalizations. Physical laws as accepted truths. Physical laws as regularities with no exceptions.

Fact. What counts as a fact?

Proof. Scientific proof vs. mathematical proofs and logical proofs.

Bayesian probability. Statistics. Statistical proof.

wwwwwwwwww

Experiment

Control and variable. Single variable experiments.

Double blind.

Placebo.

wwwwwwwwww

Measurement
The aim is to quantify data.
Mathamatization of science.
Qualitative reports de-emphasized.

wwwwwwwwww

Evidence.

Argument

wwwwwwwwww

Context of discovery

Context of justification

wwwwwwwwww

Observation

Conclusions

Induction. Inductive inference.

wwwwwwwwww

Description

Prediction

Explanation

wwwwwwwwww

explanation

covering law model (Hempel)

inductive statistical explanation

wwwwwwwwww

Rules and exceptions.

wwwwwwwwww

Reliablism.

Confirmation.

Verification.

Faliblism.

Disprove-able.

Defeasability

Refutation

Karl Popper

wwwwwwwwww

Validation of scientific data vs.

justification of arguments

Confirmation of hypothesis

wwwwwwwwww

Duhem-Quine thesis - holistic view that science is contextual and social.

Hypothetico-deductive model of science (HD)

wwwwwwwwww

Induction

The problem of induction

The classical examples

Hempel's raven paradox

Goodmans examples

The grue problem

wwwwwwwwww

Historicist approaches to scientific change.

Kuhn
Paradigm
Paradigm shift
Normal science vs. scientific revolution.

Lakatos

wwwwwwwwww

Challenge to philosophy of science by Paul Feyerabend

Arguments against Feyerabend

wwwwwwwwww

Anti-realism and realism

Anti-realism
Anti-realism in philosophy of science
instrumentalism
conventionalism
logical positivism
logical empiricism
constructive empiricism

Realism.
Scientific realism.
Metaphysical.
Epistemological.
Methodological.

wwwwwwwwww

Evidence.

Contextualist analysis of evidence

wwwwwwwwww

Explanation

covering law model of explanation

deductive - nomological (DN) explanation

deductive - nomological model of probabilistic explanation (dnp)

epistemic conception of explanation

Inductive-statistical explanation (IS)

Statistical explanation.

Ontic conception of explanation.

wwwwwwwwww

Hypothesis

wwwwwwwwww

Theory

Theory laden - when you have a lot of theory and little evidence.

Underdetermination thesis.
Undetermination of theory by evidence

wwwwwwwwww

Laws

functional laws
laws of nature
Universal theory of laws.

epistemic regularity theory of laws.
neccesitarian theory of laws
Regularity theory of laws.

wwwwwwwwww

Probability

Bayesianism

Bayes theorem

Statistical explanation

Bayesian confirmation theory (objective and subjective versions)

Likelihood of x.

wwwwwwwwww

Conventionalism.

Instrumentalism

Operationalism.

Verificationism.

Phenomenalism.

Positivism.

Relativism.

Materialism

Naturalism.

Physicalism.

Relativism.

Holism.

Logical empiricism.

Logical positivism

Logicism

wwwwwwwwww

Simplicity.

Ockham's Razor

wwwwwwwwww

Analogy in science.
Metaphor in science.

Models in science.

wwwwwwwwww

Ethics and science.
Values in science.

Some believe science can be separate from ethics and value free.
Others think not.

wwwwwwwwww

Pragmatism and science.
Pragmatic theory of truth. Its true if it works.
Pragmatic research programs. Research areas with useful benefits.

Feminism and science

wwwwwwwwww

Determinism.
Scientific view of nature leads one to hold determinism.

wwwwwwwwww

Chaos theory.
Butterfly's effect on the weather.

wwwwwwwwww

Complexity theory.
Simple systems and complex systems. When is a system complex?

Stephen Wolfram
Complex behavior can emerge from simple systems.

wwwwwwwwww

Unity of science.
Consilience.
EO Wilson.

Reductionism
The view that sociology can be reduced to psychology can be reduced to biology can be reduced to chemistry can be reduced to physics..

Emergentism.
Emergent systems.
Physics is about reductionism.
Biology and sociology are about emergent properties.

wwwwwwwwww

Adaptive systems

wwwwwwwwww

Automata
Feedback, positive and negative. Ex. Thermostat. Ex. Gyroscopic guidance.

wwwwwwwwww

Systems theory.
Bertalfny. Open and closed systems.

wwwwwwwwww

Constructive empiricism

Crucial experiment. Definitive proof. Smoking gun.

Demarcation criterion - to distinguish science from pseudoscience.

Inference to best explanation

Irrelevance problem

Natural ontological attitude (NOA)

Satisfaction criterion of confirmation.

Necessary conditions and sufficient conditions.

Validity.

Verifiability criteria of meaning.

Causation.

Regularity theory of causation.

Cognitive approaches to science.

Confirmation paradoxes.

Convention, role of.

Incommesurability.

Supervenience.

Induction

Problem of induction. Induction is logically invalid.

Popper's falsification

Bayesian confirmation theory

wwwwwwwwww

Confirmation

Falsification

wwwwwwwwww

Underdertermination of theory by data
Duhem Quine thesis

wwwwwwwwww

Low level science
Data and facts are selected and interpreted.
Theory laden. Observation as theory laden. There is no theory-free realm of science.

High level science.

wwwwwwwwww

Pessimistic metainduction. Past failtures of science. However there is a convergence on truth.

wwwwwwwwww

Hypothetico-deductive method.

wwwwwwwwww

Philosophy of science for specific sciences

Biology.

Evolutionary theory. Teleological explanation as a causal explanation.

Physics.

Relativity. Quantum physics. Uncertainty principle. Bell's theorem. Quantum physics undermines determinism.

Psychology

Sociology

wwwwwwwwww

Probability

Objective theories of randomness and probability
Frequency theory
Propensity theory

Subjective theories of randomness and probability

wwwwwwwwww