Module 1 Flashcards
(10 cards)
Define Ontology, and the 3 stands that can be taken within it
Ontology is the study of being or existence and its basice categories and relationships
3 Positions:
- Realism
- Constructivism
- Instrumentalism
Define Epistemology, state its key questions and positions
Epistemology is the study of the nature, sources, and limits of knowledge
Key Questions
- What is knowledge? (justifies true beliefs)
- How do we acquire Knowledge?
- What distinguishes knowledge from beliefs and opinions? (scientific method and justification)
Positions
- Empiricism VS Rationalism (knowledge based on experience or reason)
- Induction VS Deduction (can science justify general laws from limited observations?)
Define Methodology and state and describe its positions
Methodology is the systematic study of methods, spanning the principles and assumptions that guide how we gather scientific knowledge
Positions:
- Positivist Methodology (assumes reality is objective and can be studies using empirical observation and experimentation)
- Interpretivist Methodology (assumes reality is a socially constructed and must be understood through meaning and context)
- Critical Methodology (examines how power structures influence knowledge and production)
State the ways in which Methodology shapes science
- Determines what counts as valid knowledge
- Determines what we observe and ignore
- Reflects historical and cultural contexts
What are the types of statements that make up knowledge?
LOGICAL NONSENSE
statements that fail to conform to the basic rules of logic and meaning making them meaningless
LOGICAL TRUTH (synthetic a priori statements)
these statements are true by virtue of their logical form and definitions, independent of any empirical observation
METAPHYSICS
statements that go beyond empirical verification and logical necessity, dealing with fundamental questions about reality, esistence and causality
EMPIRICAL TRUTH (Synthetic a posteriori statements)
statements based on empirical observation and experience. They are contingent on the state of the world and require verification through sensory data or experimentation
Define Rationalism and its key aspects
states that reasn, rather than sensory experience, is the primary source of knowledge.
!! Fundamental Truths about reality can be discovered through “a priori” reasoning, independent of empirical observations !!
KEY ASPECTS
- MATHEMATIZATION OF NATURE: the universe is structured according to logical and mathematical principles, and such principles can be understood through reason
- INNATE IDEAS: some concepts such as logic or causality, are not arrived from experience, but are pre-existing structures of the mind
- DEDUCTIVE REASONING: knowledge should be built using axioms and logical deduction, rather than relying solely on observation
- SKEPTICISM ABOUT THE SENSES: empirical observations can be deceptive, as things are not always as they seem, therefore there should be distrust towards sensory experiences as the source of scientific knowledge.
Define Empiricism and its key aspects
states that all knowledge come from sensory experience rather than innate ideas or pure reason.
!!knowledge must be grounded in experimentation and observation resulting in INDUCTIVE reasoning (a posteriori) rather than rational deductions (a priori)!!
KEY ASPECTS
- TABULA RASA: the mind starts as a blank slate, and all that we know comes from experience
- SENSORY OBSERVATION AS THE BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE: science must be based on what we can observe and test
- INDUCTIVE REASONING: rather than deducing truth from axioms, knowledge is built by generalizing from experiences
- SKEPTICISM ABOUT METAPHYSICS: abstract concepts like “innate ideas” are questioned by empiricists, because they cannot be grounded in direct experience
what are the 3 skeptical arguments in Hume’s Skepticism?
- PROBLEM OF CAUSALITY
- causality is a habit of thought
- causal laws are supposed to hold universally but there is no rational justification for believing they will hold in the future - PROBLEM OF INDUCTION
- inductive reasoning = the future will resemble the past
- since such assumption is derived from past experience meaning the justification for induction relies on itself, making it circular reasoning - PROBLEM OF THE SELF
- when we introspect, we never observe an unchanging self, only a bundle of perceptions that are constantly changing. making the “permanent self” merely a mental construct
What is the main concepts summarizing Hume’s skepticism?
causal laws and induction are not logically necessary, ultimate reality is a mental construct, and moreal responsibility cannot be borne when there is no self
Describe Kantian Trascendental Idealism
Framework for understanding knowledge:
- The mind actively structures experience
rather than being a “tabula rasa”, the mind imposes structure on raw sensory data.
-There is another type of knowledge: Synthetic a priori
Statements that are necessarily true, and universally valid, yet not derived purely from logical analysis
- Phenomena VS Nounema
we do not perceive things as they are in themselves (nounema) but as they appear to us (phenomena)
!! if the world is shaped by our cognitive faculties, meaning that science relates to the phenomenal world, not ultimate reality !!
