Summary of the Philosophy of Science course for year 1 of the bachelor Communication science at the UvA. The summary covers all chapters of the textbook and a brief summary of additional readings. Content from week 1-7 for Philosophy of Science partial exam 1 and 2.
Two philosophical positions about science
Scientism Skepticism
‘Science is vastly superior to all other ‘Science does not give certainty, it is equal to
attempts at securing knowledge: its laws other forms of knowledge, science is a faith’
provide certainty’
Science is the truth Critical thinking about science, its methods
and its boundaries. Pluralistic conception of
rationality and knowledge; more than one
truth.
It is associated with modernism, It is associated with postmodernism
rational-secular values, and the use of reason
only
Knowledge and truth about nature and Knowledge and truth are social constructions
humans are only found by and in science that need ‘deconstruction’
The scientific method is the best/ only A carnival of approaches should be allowed,
method to gain knowledge “Anything goes”
Our mind is a perfect mirror of reality Our mind is a ‘crooked mirror’
Science is objective Science is subjective
Metatheory = theory about theory
Two basic exploration styles
Humans spend time puzzling about the world around them and wondering why and how
things happen. This curiosity and thought really defines what we call human consciousness.
We are uncomfortable with unexplained phenomena, and we have a very basic drive to explain
things.
, Naive Inquiry Scientific Inquiry
Non formalized, non systematic and non ‘Highly formalized, systematic and controlled
controlled form of collecting and inquiry’ ‘observations and reasoning are error
summarizing information into naive theories prone’
Process of systematically re-viewing the
work of others, and of considering alternative
concepts
● Common sense ● The scientific method
● Pre-modern thinking (religious ● Modern thinking
thinking) ● Analytical-empirical approach
● Non-sophisticated ways of knowing
Method of tenacity (something is true simply
Scientific method
because it is commonly known to be true) 1. The use and selection of
concepts/constructs (variables)
Method of authority (truth is established 2. Linking concepts/constructs
when someone or something for which I have (variables) to propositions
high regards state the truth) (hypotheses)
3. Testing theories with observable
Method of reasonable men (the product of a evidence
social process involving many authorities 4. The definition of concepts (variables)
who present arguments) 5. The publication of definitions and
procedures
6. Control of alternative explanation
7. Unbiased selection of evidence
8. Reconciliation of theory and
observation
9. Limitation of scientific method
Rationalism and Empiricism in Antiquity
How can humans get true knowledge? What is knowledge?
Metaphysics: the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of existence, being and the
world; the study of the first causes of things, that what we cannot observe.
➔ Epistemology i s concerned with the nature of knowledge and different methods of
gaining knowledge (theory of knowledge) (how do we know what we know?)
➔ Ontology i s concerned with what is true or real (the nature of reality) ( why is there
something rather than nothing)
,A central issue was the difference between b
eing and b
ecoming.
Heraclites Parmenides
Change is real, being is not. Being is real, change is not.
Nothing is; everything becomes. Everything is, nothing becomes.
Senses mislead humans into thinking that
things are changing but there is in fact an
unchanging reality.
The debate between Heraclites and Permenides is a metaphysical debate about what is real
and what is merely apparent? Is what we perceive true knowledge or not?
2.1 Plato’s answer: Rationalism
Rationalism maintains that true knowledge about reality derives from proper use of our
reasoning capacities.
Plato believes that:
● True knowledge lies behind the world of sensible appearances.
● Sensory experiences lead to beliefs or opinions (doxa), and reasoning leads to
knowledge (episteme) about the unchanging eternal reality.
● There are two worlds (1) the W
orld of Forms (reality) and (2) t he Natural World w
e
live in (the appearances).
● We all have innate (inborn) ideas we possess all knowledge when we are born =
nativism
● This knowledge was all lost at birth, but we are able to remember it all if we reason well
Socratic method: Questions and answer sessions to come to true knowledge through classical
dialectical dialogue
1. Anamnesis: learning by recollecting from the World of Forms
2. Hermeneutics: interpretation of your recollections
3. Intellectual midwifery: a ssist others in their philosophizing by asking questions in order
to give birth to true ideas
Plato’s allegory of the cave
, We all want to crawl out of the cave of darkness and ignorance and walk in the light of truth.
Replace illusion with reality.
Cave & shadows: The Natural World
Outside the cave: World of Forms
2.2 Aristotle’s answer: Empiricism
Empiricism claims that not reason, but sensory experience is the ultimate source of
knowledge. The senses are reliable indicators of what reality is like.
● Peripatetic Axiom: ‘ Nothing is in the intellect which was not first in the senses’
Aristotle believed that:
● There is only one world: The Natural world
● The mind is like a tabula rasa (the mind as an empty wax tablet), a blank slate, before it
receives impressions from reality
● Perception is information
Science is the discovery of the causes of objects: ‘we only have knowledge of a thing when we
know its cause.’ We have knowledge when we are able to provide a causal explanation.
The four type of causes
1. The f ormal cause (the form)
2. The m aterial cause ( matter from which it is made, the ‘means’)
3. The e fficient cause ( source of change)
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