Questions tagged [philosophy-of-science]
for applied philosophical questions about the study of science, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the scientific method
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3answers
50 views
Why nations of Earth have forbidden the cloning on humans?
Suppose, there’s WW3 and a country is out of soldiers, and the only thing a country can do to have more soldiers is by cloning a person.
I heard that it is illegal to clone humans, but only animals ...
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1answer
36 views
Why do we answer questions based off philosophers from the past (i.e. Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, etc.)?
I've noticed on the Philosophy Exchange that all questions are answered with references to secure a more logical and strengthened argument (which is sensible), but why do we assume that these ...
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8answers
178 views
Can we ask an infinite amount of questions or is there a limit to how many questions we can ask? [on hold]
I've been thinking about the nature of questions and answers to questions. Can I ask people opinions on whether they think it is possible to ask an infinite amount of questions or do we as human ...
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0answers
28 views
Is a physical state a token of 'the state is [psi>'?
Can I regard the physical state of a system to be a token of 'the state of the system is [psi>'?
2
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2answers
53 views
How, in layman's terms, does one argue against solipsism and/or the denial of Occam's razor?
Lately I've been listening to lots of discussions with conspiracy theorists and science-deniers, and I've noticed that, when their position is challenged with evidence, their responses generally fall ...
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4answers
103 views
Why do we think objects and beings are real? [closed]
How can we tell if we are real and not a simulation that we perceive to be real. Given we know not what the universe is except what we perceive it to be.
What if galaxies are just but other ...
1
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1answer
104 views
Why did Scientists still follow Newton's scientific framework, even though Kant debunked it?
Why did physicists still followed Newton's framework all the way until the early 20th century, Pre-Einstein
Kant wrote a book criticizing Newtonian mechanics (metaphysics) did many physicists simply ...
2
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2answers
46 views
What is the principle of underdetermination?
While studying I read about the principle of underdetermination of scientific theories. I made some researches online but I am more confused than before. I read about the Quine-Duhem holistic thesis, ...
3
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2answers
51 views
What is frequentism?
I am studying for an exam and I ran into frequentism. Honestly, I don't understand anything about that. Is frequentism related to probability only? Why are probabilities understood as frequencies? I ...
3
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1answer
45 views
Understanding McDowell's Mind and World
In "Mind and World" John McDowell takes a Sellarsian approach, claiming that the given is a myth. Yet, he says, if I understand him correctly, the space of reasons is not a mere "spinning in the void",...
5
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1answer
97 views
Is essentialism compatible with naturalism?
I am not an expert and I cannot understand why essentialism is incompatible with naturalism? Why scientific laws cannot describe essential properties of objects?
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3answers
140 views
Does an infinitesimal instant of time have zero duration? [closed]
Is there a philosophical argument supporting the hypothesis that an infinitesimal instant of time has zero duration?
The reference to infinitesimal includes the modern presentation of it in non-...
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1answer
49 views
What's the difference between logical modalities and physical modalities?
I am just wondering what's the difference between the two. I would say that there is something different, but honestly I can't define what it is exactly. What do you think?
2
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3answers
168 views
Can randomness be random?
In mathematics, a true random number generator it's impossible, because any formula defines a process that, however complex, is not random.
A random event must be unrelated to any cause or condition, ...
1
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1answer
60 views
Books on the logic of science
I was recently skimming through Nagels "The Structure of Science", and I wonder if there are other books that go through the philosophy of science through a logical point of view; That is, I am ...
3
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0answers
36 views
In which sense does Kuhn acknowledge the importance of metaphors in science?
Kuhn, in Metaphors and Through [1993], claims:
“Metaphors play an essential role in establishing links between
scientific language and the world. Those links are not, however, given
once and ...
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0answers
21 views
Were Nikolai Fyodorov's ideas unique? Did anyone influence him?
Nikolai Fyodorov seems to have been the first to espouse what became Russian Cosmism, a philosophical movement which inspired the Space Race and Transhumanism.
I would like to know if there is any ...
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1answer
86 views
Does Descartes identify stimulus, perception and interpretation?
Thomas Kuhn, in The Structure of Scientific Revolution, refuses the cartesian philosophical paradigm because he separates observational stiumulus from interpretation and from sensation/interpretation ...
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0answers
21 views
What is the Lange's viewpoint on laws of nature?
I am just wondering what is the Lange's philosophical perspective on laws of nature and what line of thought he follows in the contemporary debate.
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0answers
16 views
Lewis viewpoint on laws of nature and Humean supervenience
First of all I would like to have an idea on the works in which Lewis considered the themes of laws of nature and Humean supervenience. Moreover, I'd like to know more about these concepts. What is in ...
3
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3answers
88 views
Why does science assume there is no metaphysical cause?
I'm struggling to understand why defining a scientific hypothesis as a falsifiable theory (which is what I understand to be science) means that no metaphysical cause can be taken into account.
If ...
5
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1answer
96 views
What is Quine's perspective on probability?
I am curious about what Quine's perspective on probability may be and if we can say that the quinean viewpoint on modality can be considered similar to his viewpoint on probability.
Is probability ...
1
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0answers
27 views
Is there such thing as “random” when it comes to expressionism? [closed]
I am wondering if there is such a thing as "random" when it comes to expressionism.
Your brain decides things even before you've realized it. For example, if you pick something up, a fraction of a ...
2
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0answers
64 views
Why do the limits to the computation of the universe appear to us as fundamental physical constants? [closed]
According to the Estakhr's Principle of Physical Constants Physical Constants are Computational limits or vice versa.
Why do the limits to the computation of the universe appear to us as fundamental ...
4
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4answers
166 views
If nothing happens, does time still pass?
This question may have been asked before; actually, it's definitely been asked before, since it's on the topic of whether time is real or a man-made construct, but I don't believe it has yet been ...
1
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0answers
20 views
What hisorical time period does Kuhn's “pre-paradigm state” correspond?
In Thomas Kuhn's analysis of scientific development, in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the "pre-paradigm state" is a condition in which all members of the scientific community practice ...
4
votes
1answer
57 views
Is this a limit of naive atomism? [closed]
If I define every thing as a whole made of its parts, these parts should be things as well – but made of what?
If every part is composed by smaller ones, we fall in a regress that leads to ...
1
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2answers
99 views
Is it possible to make sense of reality that is independent 'our understanding'
Kant has a famous quote;
Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind
This suggests we can't understand anything without (independently of) the use of concepts, which ...
2
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5answers
88 views
Is science a religion? [duplicate]
There are two types of people: scientists and everyone else.
A scientist is somebody who studies theory and evidence to further their understanding of the world. The key word is evidence. The ...
0
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2answers
55 views
When do critical perspectives hinder the development of science?
So I was just wondering, we know that Popper said critical perspectives towards the scientific method is important and empirical falsification.
But I was just wondering, is there ever a real world ...
0
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2answers
83 views
Is it problematic to use indeterministic models for deterministic processes
The title basically says it all. My question is whether it is problematic that deterministic processes such as coin tosses are modelled as indeterministic random processes by Frequentist statisticians....
1
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1answer
93 views
Is the whole debate Kuhn-Popper contained in “Criticism and Growth of Knowledge”?
In the Preface of I.Lakatos and A.Musgrave's Criticism and Growth of Knowledge, I read that the book is the fourth volume of the Acts of the International Congress of Philosophy of Science (London, ...
3
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4answers
161 views
What makes epistemology unscientific?
Epistemology is called a branch of philosophy and not science. There are several epistemic theories some of which actually were mainstream sometimes. But it appears that, for example, some of them ...
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2answers
126 views
How can I use logical positivism in the philosophy of education?
Logical Positivism is a teacher centered philosophy that rejects intuition, matters of mind, essences, and inner causes. This philosophy relies on laws of matter and motion as valid, and bases truth ...
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4answers
194 views
Is potential real?
It might be an odd question to some, but to me it strikes quite obviously as something I should've asked a long time ago :-)
In physics, potential energy stands for the energy that could be realized ...
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0answers
65 views
How can I apply logical positivism in the philosophy of education?
How can I apply logical positivism in the philosophy of education?
How would I use logical positivism to explore why teachers teach (objectives), what should be taught (curriculum) and how should ...
2
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1answer
45 views
Peter Lipton's response to Stanford's problem of unconceived alternatives/ 'underconsideration'
In his book, "Inference to the Best Explanation", Peter Lipton lays out a response to Stanford's problem of unconceived alternatives (also referred to as the problem of underconsideration) by saying ...
2
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3answers
108 views
Can you prove a scientific theory is true?
I've heard many scientists claim that science is not based upon assumptions we believe are true, but upon factual truths found empirically via the scientific method.
For example, they claim the fact ...
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0answers
39 views
Philosophy of Science and the nature of observation: what counts as 'observable'?
In the realist-antirealist debate within philosophy of science, the distinction between the 'observable' and 'unobservable' is made very often though I have seen that this distinction is also ...
1
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1answer
39 views
Is Frankenstein's monster tantamount to positive proof in Science?
Specifically Biology presents some problems for me. For instance, now that we have Evolution we know what to look for. Thus we are bound to observe some adaptations, and over time even new species. ...
1
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3answers
98 views
Cosmology - What are the problems with the theory of Eternal Return?
I have been thinking of Niestzche's Eternal return theory and how it could be possible that everything we do and our entire history and the universe will be repeated exactly the same again, and again ...
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0answers
38 views
What the most 'respected' arguments/cases made for scientific realism?
According to this Philpaper's survey (when showing results for 'philosophers of physical science') shows that 70.5% of those who responded said they lean towards or accept the 'scientific realist' ...
3
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0answers
96 views
Is 't Hooft cellular automaton compatible with Floridi's Informational (Structural) Realism?
Informational (Structural) Realism (by Luciano Floridi) relates to digital physics ideas (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_physics)
As Floridi himself says in one of his articles (http://philsci-...
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4answers
127 views
Where does science end?
Being a physics student I have been behind many mysterious actions of nature, but when we remove one of these mysteries another pops up.
Does science end anywhere? Or are these mysteries just ...
2
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2answers
265 views
Is there a limit beyond which mathematics, if used correctly, cannot be applied to reality?
And if so, why, and which?
Take this case: If I've two apples and I believe that with two more I'll have four apples, then I implicitly believe that summation applies to reality. Yet there are ...
2
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1answer
66 views
Looking for Sources on Philosophical Discussion of Modern Atomic Theory
I'm currently planning a research project which tracks the development of atomic theory in the physical sciences (though mainly physics since that's my subject). In the last section I want to discuss ...
3
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1answer
81 views
The viability of holding a neo-Aristotelian metaphysics?
I want to ask a few questions and sort of vent my frustration as well as analyze an acknowledged ignorance of the subject matter on this post. I possess a minuscule but possibly still workable idea of ...
1
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3answers
80 views
If a false scientific theory is seemingly 'proven', and contributes to the progress of society, is proving it wrong detrimental?
If, some well known and extremely well respected scientist of the modern world makes a seemingly unmistakable correlation between x (eating 33 bananas a day for instance) and y (ease in anxiety). The ...
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2answers
47 views
Accuracy vs. Understanding In Science
Suppose I have a theory A that can predict all experimental outcomes, E, in a particular domain of interest almost exactly.
Now suppose later a second theory is developed B that cannot predict ...
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0answers
54 views
Does it matter possessing knowledge about the Universe if it is going to end?
To be specific, I'm referring to physical reality.
Moreover, this question might seem awkward at first glimpse. Well, it does not appear that there are any meaningful relations between the end of the ...
