Philosophy of Science and Methodology
NOTES - BOTH BOOK & LECTURE & TIMELINE
WEEK 1
Lecture 1
Preface: The problem with facts today
● David Mchell: “Mainstream media is all lies” -> extreme worries
Flat earth society- people are easy to believe the Internet
● Is the earth flat?
○ Yes= myth, No= fact
● Why is it important to know the facts?
○ To make choices
○ To make decisions
○ To make policy
○ To distinguish between true and false
● Where do we usually look for facts?
○ The “crowning achievement of the human mind”
○ Sciences: natural and social sciences
● Natural and social scientific facts
○ The Law of Gravity
○ Being gay is natural
○ Heavy TV viewers are more afraid to become a crime victim
○ Opposites do NOT attract
● The marvels奇蹟 of science: Technological facts / applications
○ Mobile phones
○ MRI scans
○ Cloned animals
○ Robots
● The marvels of science: Vaccines
○ Covid-19 vaccine
○ HPV vaccine
Two philosophical and societal positions on science
● But not everyone is convinced of the marvels of science (or science in general)
● Creating doubts for example about vaccines
*Scientism科學主義: “Science is vastly superior to all other attempts at securing knowledge: its laws provide certainty”
● Our mind is perfect mirror of reality
Age of science is the age of certainty
Key words: Facts, certain knowledge, absolute truth, one scientific rationality
● Also associated with
Modernism = modern thinking: rational reasoning, think for yourself
● Main ideas
Science is the only method to obtain certain knowledge, science is about everything (no limits)
*Scepticism懷疑論: “Science does not give certainty, it is equal to other forms of knowledge, science is a faith”
● Our mind is a crooked mirror
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, → we are prone to making mistakes as our senses are far from perfect
Key words: knowledge and facts are social constructions, relativism (“all is relative”)
● Also associated with
Post modernism= post (after) modernism, pluralistic thinking
● Main ideas
No objectivity, uncertainty, knowledge= oppressive power, science is an ideology
● Icon (= symbol or representative) of scepticism:
“To those who looked at the rich material provided by history and who are not intend on impoverishing it in order
to please their lower instincts their craving for intellectual security icon the form of clarity, precision,
“objectivity”, “truth” it will become clear that there is only one principle that can be defended under all
circumstances and in all stages of human development is the principle anything goes.” (Feyerabend, 1975, pp.
27-28)
Scientism versus scepticism in philosophy
● Feyerabend: In science a carnival of approaches should be allowed
○ Became a family feud among philosophers
● Philosophical scepticism is critical thinking about science within the boundaries of philosophy
Philosophical scepticism connected to scepticism in society today
● A radical interpretation of philosophical scepticism has become like a raging fire in today’s society
● Sceptical philosophy unleashed the sceptical forces in society (Buggini, 2017)
● Slogans: “everything is relative” “science is just an opinion”, “there is no truth” “facts are social constructions,
we have alternative facts”, “the mainstream media are lying”, “anything goes”, “fake news”
CS: Misinformation/ disinformation
Personal level of scepticism:
● Tonya: ‘there is no such thing as truth, everyone has their own truth’ → Confuse with perception, perception is
not the truth
Societal level of scepticism:
● Nobody believes scientists who know that a comet is going to hit the earth
● Two basic positions about science in society (Scepticism in society)
● Denialism / conspiracy thinking
○ Deny scientific facts
○ Present their own “alternative facts”
○ To conspiracy thinking: We are all victims of a big conspiracy against the people
■ E.g., The flat earth society, Anti-Vaxxers
● Scientific scepticism
○ Defenders of science in the public debate
○ Treat all evidence with reasonable doubt
○ Examine arguments, methods and conclusions rigorously
■ E.g., March for science, Committee for Skeptical Inquiry the Magazine for Science and
Reason
Other debates about issues in society where science is met with societal scepticism (denialism / conspiracy theories):
● Clashing views on science, facts and truth
○ There is no truth anymore
○ Illuminati
○ Stop the repopulation
○ The great reset
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, ● Two mirrored debates about facts, truth and knowledge
○ In society: Denialism and conspiracy thinking versus scientific sceptism
○ In philosophy and science: Philosophical scientism versus philosophical scepticism
What is knowledge? A bird’s eye view of the course
Philosophy
- Philo = love
- Sofia = wisdom
→ Love of wisdom
Meta theory: theory about theory
Philosophy of science: Special branch of philosophy: analyzes the methods of inquiry used in the sciences
Socrates (470 - 399 BC)
● He tries to find an answer to the question: What is knowledge?
● However, nowadays we are still not able to find an exact answer to this question or related ones such as: “How
can we justify knowledge?”
Plato (428 BC – 348 BC)
● Wrote dialogues with Socrates as main character (= protagonist)
● First text in history about knowledge
● Socratic method: Q&A sessions to come to true knowledge through dialectical dialogue (= critical reasoning
with contradictions)
Plato’s answer: Rationalism
Plato in Theatetus (369 BC)
Answer 1: Knowledge is Perception
Answer 2: Knowledge is True Judgment
Answer 3: Knowledge is True Judgment With an Account
Standard philosophical definition today:
● Knowledge is justified true belief
Or: ‘true judgment with an account’
● True = corresponds to the facts
(= correspondence theory of truth)
● Justified = with a good reason
Conclusion
● Without an account / justification a belief does not count as knowledge
● And is has to be true: You should give good reasons for believing it
There are two very different perspectives of knowledge:
1. Empiricism
2. Rationalism
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, Rationalism Empiricism
● Rationalists believe that reasoning capacities are ● Empiricists believe that sense of experience (5
the best source of knowledge human senses) is the best and only source of
● Reasoning capacities推理: ratio, intellect, reason knowledge
● Our sense are misrepresent and are inconsistent ● Human senses are the most reliable indicators of
● Sensory capacity or empirical evidence alone what real life is as they provide an immediate
are not enough to discover true knowledge contact with the world
● Intuition = allows us to recognise what is true and ● Tabula rasa= there is no such thing as prior
what is not true knowledge
○ Our experiences over the years create the
● Deduction: Reaching true knowledge based on foundation for our knowledge
logical premises ● Induction:
○ From general law to particular case ○ From particular case to a general law
○ E.g. All human beings are mortal, ○ E.g. The first 5 eggs in the box were good.
Socrates is a human being. Hence All the eggs have the best-before date
Socrates is a mortal stamped on them. Thus the sixth egg will
be good too.
● Nativism: Prior knowledge, we don’t need
experiences to know this type of knowledge
Plato (428 BC – 348 BC): 1st rationalist philosopher Aristotle (384 BC – 324 BC)
● Pupil of Socrates ● Dante named Aristotle ‘Il maestro di color che
- Problem: Is Plato reporting Socrates’ philosophy sanno’ (= 'the master of those who know')
or is he using him to explain his own philosophy? ● Empirical research of Aristotle: History of
● Method of Q&A: Intellectual midwifery Animals
- CONSISTS ON assisting others in the process of - A compilation of observations about animals
shaping their philosophical views, asking - He came up with theories based on the
questions and creating ideas phenomenon he observed
- Thinking, using our intellect is key - Concluded that there is only one world, which is
- Thinking to recollect (remember) and learn true the natural world we inhabit
knowledge (anamnesis= learning by ● Agrees with the idea of tabula rasa
recollection) - When we born we don’t have any knowledge
- Rationalism ‘maintains that true knowledge about - We acquire knowledge in our lives through the
reality derives from the proper use of our senses
reasoning capacities (intellect, reason or ratio)’ ● Basic structure of a syllogism三段論
● ‘Not knowing’ is Plato’s only certainty - If statements a and b are true, then c is also true =
● Nativism absolute certainty knowledge
- Learn = remembering - Empirical procedure= from concrete to abstract
- There is not such things as new knowledge - Causality = demonstrations of an object lead to
● Allegory of the cave knowledge
- Allegory= a way of expressing a thought through - 4 types of causes:
an image 1. Formal cause → Its shape
- One of the most notable thought experiments of 2. Material cause → Its material
all time 3. Efficient cause → Its status
- Used to explain the fact that human beings 4. Final cause → Its goal
mistake the appearance of reality because they are
mislead from their senses
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