Review Exam Flashcards
What is inductive method?
Drawing conclusions from the specific to the general
Criteria of what can and cannot count science
What is a scientific statement for popper?
All theories must be tested and possibly proven false (Flasification) → working to disprove his/her theories
Observation alone cannot be the basis of science
Science would best progress using deductive reasoning → (making an argument for a certain idea) general statement to specific conclusions
Why is inductive method wrong for popper?
He believed that induction cannot be logically justified because it relies an assumptions that are found to be true most of the time and are combined to draw a conclusion and formulate theories.
He instead believed in falsification which holds that a theory can never be proven but can be falsified therefore it can and needs to be tested by experiments.
What is flasifictionism? (Give an example)
A way of separating science from the non-science. It suggests that for a theory to be scientific it must be tested and possibly proven false.
For example the hypothesis that all swans are white can be falsified by observing a black swan.
Explain the context of discovery versus context of justification
The aim of the context of discovery is to discover the context (background)of scientific laws and theories.
The aim of the context of justification is justifying (explaining) how the background of theories and laws came to be.
Why are psychoanalysis and Marxism not sciences for Popper?
- He claims that psychoanalysis cannot be falsified therefore it is not a science. He believes that it is irrefutable, the evidence offered in support of the theory is not enough and analysts have never attempted to falsify the psychoanalytic theory.
- His critique of Marxism is that it consisted of unfalsifiable claims because no precise or short term predictions of history are possible.
Why is Popper not a logical positivist?
Because Popper believes that a scientific theory can never be absolutely true. He said that it can never be formal,logical or have a system and methods.
He said that we must distinguish between truth that is objective (unbiased), absolute (complete), and subjective (personal)
What is Empiricism?
The view that knowledge comes from experience through our five senses.
All rational and acceptable beliefs are knowable only through experience.
What is rationalism?
The view that knowledge comes from logical reasoning.
The origin of truth is based on our reason (Descartes), or our senses (Bacon). Explain
Descartes = knowledge arises from reason according to him there are certain rational principles in logic and mathematics that are so fundamental you can’t deny them. ( For example 2+2 =4)
Bacon = No Knowledge arises through reason alone but through observation or experience
The ways in which technical and social norms are transmitted operate differently: technical norms = taught explicitly(clearly) and social norms are taught socially. Why does Merton make this distinction?
The instational goal of science is to spread knowledge. So technical norms are empirical and logical meaning they are reliable and make valid predictions. (Ideas that we follow a method)
Social norms on the other socially constructed on what is believed to be right and good.
For Popper and Merton, science is a model of democracy. Why?
Because people are critical about the hypothesis(assumptions)that they are working with. For Popper science is a model because society should copy what’s happening in science with the real world.
For Merton science is democratic because you don’t have someone who tells you what to do or polices you because it’s a system where everybody watches you to make sure nothing goes wrong.
Find an example that puts into question the Mertonian norms.
Universalism(requires science to be impersonal) → priority disputes like Newton and Leibniz on the intervention of differential calculus.
Communism (requires that scientific knowledge is not private but accessible to the public) → there can secrecy and results and the methods used to get them for example the annual Ballon d’Or awards for the best player of the year.
Disinterestedness (research in search of truth not one’s own interests) → people can fabricate data for example John Long who was accused for having cultivated the cells of Hodgkin’s disease.
Organized skepticism ( requires the suspense of judgment until all the facts are at hand) →it is rare to verify published results for example UNHCR reports on the conditions the refugees are living and surviving under.
What is my understanding of how science works?
Science is based on theories that have been tested and verified through different experiments. And building on previous knowledge that has been tested.
What is a scientist? Is he/she more rational than other human beings? Do they obey specific norms? Do they have biases?
Merton believed that scientists are human beings when they are outside the lab but when they enter the lab they are expected to be rational, unbiased and follow specific norms like universalism, communism, distinterestedness and organized skepticism.
