Questions tagged [philosophy-of-science]
for applied philosophical questions about the study of science, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the scientific method
1,067 questions
8
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3answers
1k views
What does this Jacques Hadamard quote mean?
What does this Jacques Hadamard quote mean?
The shortest path between two truths in the real domain passes through the complex domain.
Is this a philosophical statement?
what is its mathematical ...
0
votes
1answer
62 views
Which philosophers have justified consciousnesses is a thing that can be measured? [on hold]
Which philosophers has justified consciousnesses is a thing that can be measured? Many philosophers have tried to describe the mind, but are there any specific scholars who describe justified methods ...
2
votes
2answers
87 views
Is skepticism a contentious issue? [on hold]
I haven’t thought much about the application of the idea ‘skepticism’ since the first year of my philosophy program, because it had already been sorted out to my satisfaction and the satisfaction of ...
0
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0answers
46 views
How is justification related to truth?
We all learned to believe in true belief; some of us don’t anymore. I’ve found that better ideas are available to us if we don’t. Some ideas are better (better justified by evidence and logic) than ...
3
votes
1answer
49 views
Ontology of space/time
Are space and/or time considered abstract objects or concrete objects? They seem causally inert yet more real than the typical abstract objects we think of.
2
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1answer
44 views
Does natural science assume indirect realism?
The wiki on Direct and Indirect Realism seems to claim that indirect realism is part of natural science. The wiki defines indirect realism as follows:
indirect or representative realism [is] the ...
0
votes
1answer
128 views
Why Quantum Mechanics states that nature is probabilistic? [duplicate]
I am new here and I am studying the philosophical implications of Quantum Mechanics. I read somewhere that QM and determinism are mutually exclusive and that QM involve a number of philosophers to ...
3
votes
4answers
119 views
What's the role of certainty in discussions about philosophical positions?
Karl Popper was one of the twentieth century’s preeminent philosophers of science. He was an avowed realist who was dedicated to the correspondence theory of truth. In his seventh decade of life, ...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
Is fallibilism a better option than absolute certainty?
Fallibilism is the epistemological thesis that no belief (theory, view, thesis, and so on) can ever be rationally supported or justified in a conclusive way. Always, there remains a possible doubt as ...
20
votes
6answers
6k views
Falsification in Math vs Science
In the beginning it was thought that the statement 1+1=0 is false, and necessarily so.
However, with the birth of modular arithmetic, it was found that indeed, 1+1 does indeed equal to 0 (in the mod 2 ...
0
votes
1answer
115 views
How should “knowledgeability” be defined? Is it merely w.r.t. to best scientific knowledge? [closed]
How should "knowledgeability" be defined?
Is it merely w.r.t. to best scientific knowledge? What about things that science cannot measure?
Or are there other "reasonable" forms of knowledge? Why ...
3
votes
2answers
133 views
The tree of knowledge
A group of scientists come into a hostel and start studying people's behaviour. They create subgroups sorting by countries, jobs, habits, and so on; build models to predict whether someone is up to ...
2
votes
4answers
147 views
Does evolution always entail progress?
It was Darwin who first introduced the concept of Evolution in his Evolution Theory. However, whenever he and in general people speak about Evolution, I always have the feeling that they connote it ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views
Does linguistic idealism imply scientific anti-realism, and are any existentialists committed to anti-realism for that reason?
Does linguistic idealism imply scientific anti-realism?
By scientific anti-realism I mean the opinion that the unobservable world we study with science is not real, not mind independent. By ...
3
votes
1answer
98 views
Is there a world behind you when you do not look behind your back? [closed]
There is a very famous philosophical question that almost all of us have heard before:
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
My question is a little ...
1
vote
0answers
48 views
What were Hegel's criticisms of Newton?
I recently read this thread THREAD describing the relationship between Hegel and Newton. Apparently, Hegel misread Newton's principia, and criticized a specific point of science on Newton. This is ...
1
vote
0answers
124 views
Which kinds of academic revolutions has philosophy of science indentified so far and when?
Recently, I had an interdisciplinary discussion with some friends about Industry 4.0, internet of things,...which brought up the question, which kind of academic revolutions apart from industrial ...
0
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0answers
52 views
Why do there exist “logical fallacies” that are not really consistent logical fallacies?
Why do there exist "logical fallacies" that are not really consistent logical fallacies?
By logical fallacy, consider e.g. ad hominem.
By consistent logical fallacy I refer to a type of logical ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
Could generalization of scientific theories be possible by just adding an ad hoc hypothesis?
In a seventeenth century world the Newtonian model did mostly very well to describe how gravity works in the universe and did well with most empirical evidence of that time. Of course now we know that ...
1
vote
2answers
63 views
Is “Societal Science” impossible?
Is "Societal Science" impossible?
Social science one can understand as dealing with more concrete groups, but to suggest that someone can study and predict societies sounds absurd. Also, it seems ...
3
votes
2answers
66 views
Is the idea of potential energy (from physics) influenced by the idea of potentiality found in Aristotelian metaphysics?
Aside from the common usage of the term 'potential,' was the development of the idea of potential energy influenced by the Aristotelian idea of potentiality and actuality, at least historically?
...
0
votes
3answers
163 views
Are we seeing useless physics today [closed]
Are we seeing useless physics today?
By useless physics I refer to for example the study of multiverse(s): it is useless because there is no use for it to mankind - except that there are physicists ...
5
votes
1answer
296 views
What is the relevance of applicability to the natural sciences in pure mathematics?
I think I am coming to a good, new understanding of the relationship of pure mathematics to the natural sciences. A major concern of mine is just how reliable is rigorous (characteristically "pure") ...
1
vote
6answers
133 views
Can a theory that is now wrong be right in the future?
For example we take as granted that energy is conserved (Energy conservation Principle). Imagine someone “build” a theory where the energy conservation doesnt apply. Scientific community should reject ...
1
vote
4answers
130 views
Would philosophy still exist if there was no life? [closed]
Would philosophy still exist without life? For example, for us humans, philosophy answers big questions and sort of governs society. But is philosophy something that would exist without life? On this ...
0
votes
1answer
180 views
Can our universe be a pocket in a bigger unseen eternal universe?
Taking time as a fourth dimension is due to Einstein because of the speed of light being fixed. But why should such a finding have so important consequence on our philosophical contemplation of ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Are paradigms still the driving force of scientific revolution?
I read long time ago about Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Kuhn's demonstrate that scientific paradigms are the driving force that makes science go on, but more for social reasons than ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Is there a philosophical position for and against the idea that every causal entity contributes to every effect?
Is there a philosophical position for and against the idea that every causal entity can in principle contribute to every effect?
So do some e.g. physical explanations claim that entities of type X ...
-3
votes
3answers
94 views
If the universe is flat, how can the Earth be round? [closed]
Just another silly question that may deserve a wise answer.
6
votes
2answers
250 views
Are the “laws” of deductive logic empirically verifiable?
"Is Logic Empirical?" strongly suggests a question that I would like very much to get a handle on.
That phrase is a title of an article by Hilary Putnam, and, according to synopses/reviews, the ...
4
votes
6answers
248 views
What are examples of causes that do not require energy to produce an effect?
As a comment to an answer Conifold mentioned that "Causes may not require any energy to produce the effect".
After thinking about that, I couldn't come up with any such causes outside of metaphysical ...
3
votes
0answers
191 views
Philosophy of Physics/Mathematics PhD with Mathematics/Physics undergrad (no philosophy undergrad)
I've found that I'm really interested in some research in the philosophy of mathematics and physics that's currently happening at various institutions. However, I don't have much experience in ...
1
vote
4answers
260 views
Where is the line between Quantum Mechanics and Relativity?
I've asked the question below on Physics SE but it seems an answer may not be straight forward...
Question: Is there any answers from Epistemology or philosophy-of-science?
Its often said QM is ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Null Hypothesis Appearing in Everyday Life [closed]
What are examples of a Null Hypothesis we use in everyday life but do not recognize?
-1
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2answers
40 views
What are the two common sense ideas that seem to conflict and thus give rise to the free will problem? [closed]
What is free will? How does that relate to human?
-2
votes
1answer
57 views
Why or How? Which one do we prefer more in philosophy? [closed]
Why or How?
Which one of them do we use in Philosophy to understand and describe the world around us? More simply, which one do we prefer more and why? In physics, more likely, we use HOW to know how ...
2
votes
2answers
142 views
How is philosophy of science essential? [closed]
How is philosophy of science still one of the most essential fields after it broke from classical philosophy and established its own discipline?
1
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0answers
43 views
About the advantages of the propensity perspective on probability
I am wandering what are the advantages of the propensity perspective on probability. Why would it be better to explain probability in physics? Except for the fact that it solves various problems of ...
5
votes
3answers
138 views
underdetermination in the engineering world
Newbie here- please go easy on me.
Now that I am retired from the world of physics and engineering, I am struggling to come to terms with my career failings. The most spectacular of these occurred ...
5
votes
3answers
302 views
According to Popper, what is logical positivism's role in scientific ethics?
What are the arguments for and against this? Any resources that are easy to read would help
1
vote
0answers
60 views
What approach, choosing from Barnes and Bloor from SSK, or Kitcher from ESK, best described current practices in economics
Can someone help me with this question, because I can't get the answer myself, would like to start a discussion as well.
SSK is the sociology of scientific knowledge and ESK is the economics of ...
5
votes
1answer
200 views
Why was the quest for an objective universal demarcation criteria deemed untenable after Kuhn?
I know that Kuhn had developed his own demarcation criteria to determine whether something is science or not. But according to my lecturer the quest for an objective, universal demarcation criteria ...
0
votes
2answers
173 views
Defending the value of Moral Philosophy against Scientism
What are the best arguments against someone who believes 'Moral philosophy is useless, what we call morality is simply evolutionary instincts to do what we were designed to do as a species'. This ...
3
votes
5answers
142 views
Can an exception ever “prove” a rule?
It is a common thing to say that, when an "exception" is found, this proves (as in it provides evidence) there is a rule (or succinctly stated as "the exception proves the rule").
Is there a logical/...
2
votes
1answer
173 views
Finding desirabilities and probabilities in Jeffrey's Logic of Decision
I'm trying to solve problem 16 (Ch. 5) of Jeffrey's Logic of Decision.
The problem says:
Suppose that A and B are pairwise incompatible propositions, and
suppose that the preference ranking is as ...
3
votes
0answers
44 views
Name of Principle Giving Precedence to a More General Hypothesis
As far as I know, there is a principle that gives precedence to a theory that is more general than a more specific one, i.e the more general one is more acceptable.
What is the name of that principle?
0
votes
1answer
34 views
What does ‘Disinterestedness’ mean in the context of Mertonian norms?
With ref to the CUDOS Mertonian norms...I used to think disinterestedness mean’t striving to be objective but I now think the intended meaning was for it to be taken literally.
2
votes
1answer
48 views
Mach and Norton thought experiments in science
Both Mach and Norton hold empiricist views on the notions of the role of thought experiments.
Could someone please explain the difference? Have done some reading but it’s not totally clear.
2
votes
1answer
44 views
Popper and Platonism
Regarding thought experiments in science, James Robert Brown believes that thought experiments can provide knowledge of the laws of nature or the real world based on intuitive thinking (and not ...
1
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0answers
43 views
What difference is there between scientifically testable premises and personal biases that are tested? [closed]
What difference is there between scientifically testable premises and personal biases that are tested?
That's, when is it possible to do scientific probing that is not somehow subjectively-oriented?
...
