Questions tagged [philosophy-of-science]
for applied philosophical questions about the study of science, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the scientific method
1,407
questions
0
votes
1answer
42 views
What Logic fallacy is Person 1 using in this?
Person 1: Vaccines can cause Autism
Person 2: If it can cause Autism, why does all the Studies not support that in any way?
Person 1: Actually I'm not saying it does but "Maybe" it can cause ...
0
votes
1answer
57 views
Which Philosophers talk about the Future. the technologies beyond AI and John Searle?
I like philosophy since long time ago I know a little about Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Hegel, Marx, Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Leibniz. I like his work but there is a topic that I am really ...
1
vote
0answers
42 views
Do abilities have position? [closed]
Do abilities have position?
For example, there is an object with elasticity, and the object is on the desk, then elasticity is on the desk?
-1
votes
1answer
53 views
What are theories which are not scientific called (such as theories in history)?
Related to this question/answer, if something is not considered a "scientific theory", but it is still a theory of how events and evolution might have unfolded, what kind of theory is it?
...
0
votes
2answers
94 views
Are zero meters equal to zero seconds? [closed]
Is ? This would seem somewhat logical given the mathematical properties of physical units, but also not necessary.
2
votes
2answers
447 views
Unobserved quantum state of the universe
I am not completely sure that this is the right place to ask this question, but it is clearly not a normal question about quantum mechanics.
I am considering the quantum state of the universe. I have ...
2
votes
2answers
80 views
What threat to the external validity of a study is not also a threat to its internal validity?
I understand the gist of all the definitions of internal and external validity I encountered to be the following:
Internal validity is the extent to which confounding factors can be ruled out to ...
3
votes
3answers
225 views
Feynman's name of the bird
Consider this quote by Richard Feynman (from "What Do You Care What Other People Think?": Further Adventures of a Curious Character, edited by Ralph Leighton, 1988, available at archive.org):...
0
votes
0answers
45 views
What does Carnap mean by the extensionality requirement in an observational language?
In his article Methodological Character of Theoretical Concepts (Section II), he lists the requirements proposed for any language L to be meaningful. However, I don't understand what he means exactly ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
Will this break the laws of physics? [closed]
Suppose, we somehow made a time machine and go back to the past or go in the future and we come back bringing a 10kg object from past or future. Now, in present the mass of universe is increased by ...
0
votes
0answers
61 views
Is there a philosophical definition for this theory?
I may be clutching at straws in my search for clarity on this topic, and being not a graduate philosopher but a layman, please forgive me if the following seems obtuse or inane.
But it seems to me, ...
0
votes
0answers
90 views
Did 3 laws of dialectics affirm themselves true from the current prospective of physics and social science?
There are 3 universal laws derived from Hegel's dialectics which are claimed to reveal the essential features of any developing phenomenon, no matter to what field of activity it may belong:
1.The law ...
0
votes
0answers
69 views
The usefulness of the useless (pure math and pure science)
In Italian philosopher Nuccio Ordine's The utility of the useless, he returns to a traditional and inexhaustible theme: the value of education and its relationship with culture. Ordine identifies that ...
-3
votes
1answer
218 views
Does a decrease in entropy require intent?
Physics tells us that universally entropy is always increasing. However, it is possible for entropy to decrease locally at the expense of a bigger increase elsewhere.
Can this happen spontaneously or ...
0
votes
3answers
382 views
What is left of physics if the mathematics is removed?
My question is in the title.
It seems to me that (theoretical) physics studies mathematical models of the physical world, and constantly revises them. But isn't studying mathematical models ...
2
votes
0answers
34 views
Are there any philosophers after Kant but before Peirce that developed the Kantian concept of schema further?
I was reading Peirce's writings on schemata and I was wondering if there was any other known philosopher before him who tried to use or extend schemata in his work.
Are there any philosophers after ...
1
vote
2answers
168 views
Is there a proof that we can't prove a physical theory?
I am thinking of physical theories (e.g. Newtonian Mechanics) as axiomatic systems. We have a list of axioms and from there we can derive theorems, make predictions etc. If the prediction don't agree ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Are Thomas Breuer's subjective decoherence and Scott Aaronson's freebits with Knightian freedom the same things in essence?
In his remarkable works (1,2 and their later development 3) Thomas Breuer proves by diagonalization the phenomenon that the observer cannot distinguish all phase space states of a system where he is ...
1
vote
0answers
59 views
What did John of Salisbury write about the concepts of "logical depth and breadth"?
In the Digital companion to Peirce site there is the following text about the logical depth and breadth:
…it was between six and seven centuries ago that John of Salisbury
spoke of it as “fere in ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
Questions about Reichenbach's Principle and causes
Is "statistical dependences need to be explained causally" an accurate depiction of Reichenbach's Principle? (Rob Spekkens https://youtu.be/n8NRSPCekmI?t=1575)
Does one need to accept this ...
-3
votes
2answers
91 views
Since spacetime can bend and form waves, does this mean it must be made of sub-units of matter? How can something bend if it does not have sub-units?
I posted this question in Physics StackExchange, but it was closed because it was considered "non-mainstream physics", not sure why. Here's the description I wrote for it:
My question is ...
3
votes
2answers
252 views
Quine's naturalism and the interpretations of Quantum Mechanics
I am wondering what does Quine's naturalism amount to. Specifically, Quine believes that our best scientific theories tell us what exist. This means that science determines our ontology.
In the case ...
2
votes
1answer
292 views
Explanatory model that accounts for universality
Hempel's DN (Deductive-Nomological) model is a kind of explanatory model, that accounts for explanation of certain type of questions. Basically If I look for explanation for the laws of motion of a ...
1
vote
1answer
165 views
Nature of mathematics within philosophy
Short version:
Considering that science is inevitably dependent on mathematics and metaphysics (Kant tried to raise metaphysics to the status of a science, which I find mandatory to improve the ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
Can Popper's methodology be applied to his own theory?
A meta question. About applying a theory to itself. Can Popper's theory (methodology) of falsification be applied to his own work?
Suppose we found evidence that science advances by adopting non-...
0
votes
3answers
147 views
Can philosophies of science be refuted by scientific practice?
There are various philosophers of science who all offer a different theory about how the sciences proceed.
The most naive one is the theory that we make observations, build a theory and then again ...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
What does Feyerabend mean by saying that state and science should be separated?
I wrote in a comment that I don't agree that scientists should be paid for doing things that are of no benefit whatsoever for the ones from whose pocket their salary is paid. As an example I gave ...
-1
votes
3answers
67 views
Can we see the sciences as an art?
I always feel some kind of fulfillment when I succed in giving Natural processes an explanation in the light of physics. It's kind of comforting to make invisible causes visible and understandable.
...
0
votes
0answers
40 views
what part of philosophy studies the ideas of (individual, attribute, proposition, argument, theory, and science)?
There is the idea of individual and attribute, after there is the idea of proposition, with that we can do arguments. After the idea of proposition is the idea of theory and after the idea of science, ...
0
votes
0answers
75 views
Is there a theory of evolution that spans naturalism and humanmade systems?
Darwin's big insight was that there are two phases that drive the evolution of species: variation and natural selection.
The term 'evolution' applies to humanmade systems, as well. E.g., the evolution ...
1
vote
3answers
244 views
Are there a finite number of ideas? [closed]
I never want to run out of new ideas to contemplate. Some people say that technological progress will eventually reach a natural stopping point but my logic is that new inventions will always exist ...
0
votes
1answer
128 views
The meaning of the word theory
The normal, day-to-day meaning of the word 'theory' denotes the uncertainty regarding factuality. For instance, when we say that "it is just another theory" what we imply is that there can ...
0
votes
1answer
52 views
Did any philosopher address the question of why it is easier to write about grammar than to write about how to write well?
Did any philosopher address the question of why it is easier to write about grammar than to write about how to write well? I am not sure if I am very dumb to ask this question, but I am wondering why, ...
1
vote
2answers
140 views
References for books/papers about emergentism and reductionism
I am trying to look for resources to deepen some topics presented in this workshop Moving Naturalism Forward. Especially the point on emergence (and secondarily on evolution and determinism, but here ...
0
votes
0answers
40 views
Is peripheral attention an example of the intentionality of consciousness?
Suppose I fix my gaze on an object, say a flower. Without moving my eyes, keeping them fixed on the flower, so with the same exact visual experience, I can "direct my attention" towards ...
0
votes
2answers
98 views
Why not accepting a theory that has obvious advantages, like the rishon model?
Already in 1981, Haim Harari invented the Rishon model of elementary particles. It provides a natural way to accommodate the known elementary particles and reduces the number of elementary ones to the ...
0
votes
2answers
98 views
What are possible naturalistic explanations to the question of existence?
Non-philosopher here, though I enjoy reading about it. Without getting into complex deductive arguments, suppose I say the following: Define the entities of the material world however one likes (maybe ...
11
votes
7answers
2k views
Is Occam's Razor a Prior?
In Bayesian statistics, the posterior probability of a hypothesis is composed of two parts:
the prior, reflecting our initial belief in a certain hypothesis, and
the likelihood, which represents how ...
1
vote
2answers
108 views
What makes a fallacy... a fallacy?
According to Wikipedia, a fallacy is "the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or 'wrong moves' in the construction of an argument". I'm curious, however, about how are some things ...
1
vote
3answers
184 views
What is the core problem of intentionality?
In the philosophy of mind, I have read that "intentionality" is a difficult thing to explain in a naturalistic fashion. But I don't necessarily see the heart of the problem in the same way ...
20
votes
14answers
3k views
What is information?
I am fascinated with information theory, as put together by Claude Shannon in the 1940s. It is amazing to me that this concept arose from analysing letters in the alphabet and then was later ...
1
vote
3answers
74 views
How does confirmation relate to induction?
My question deals with induction in the context of scientific enquiry and with the confirmation of scientfic hypothesis.
Discussions regarding induction rapidly turn into debates regarding ...
2
votes
1answer
40 views
What did Bernard Stiegler say about technology always progressing?
My uncle was reading Stiegler right before he died and he was saying something that Stiegler said technological advancement never ends. As a budding futurist; I find this very intriguing and would ...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
Are there models that seeks to explain and predict ethical phenomenons?
Are there models that seeks to explain and predict ethical phenomenons? By models, I mean something like a scientific model. Is there anything like that or did we choose to not use any mathematical ...
2
votes
3answers
93 views
Is a supernatural entity or existence constricted by the necessity of evidence?
It's a fact that natural existences are constricted by the necessity of evidence. Meaning evidence is necessary to prove an natural existence or natural occurrence, and if there's is no evidence the ...
2
votes
5answers
192 views
How does science treat supernatural claims?
The following claim X,
Something had a round trip from the Earth to the Mars within 1 second
might be treated by science as a supernatural claim because it violates the natural law (i.e. speed limit ...
0
votes
1answer
117 views
1
vote
2answers
149 views
Generating the simplest sort of Cosmological Argument
First, I am not a philosopher, but rather an applied mathematician. However, the Cosmological Argument has always intrigued me. At times I feel that all attempts are necessarily hopeless, at other ...
0
votes
0answers
62 views
Could a new method of understanding the universe be created?
Throughout history, we have used many methods of understanding the universe. Religion, Philosophy and Science (I know that the lines between these three are blurred but are significant enough to ...
-1
votes
1answer
41 views
Did alchemy originate from the ancient Greeks?
Did alchemy originate from the ancient Greeks? I heard alchemy is based on ancient Greek philosophy. Is this true?
