Questions tagged [philosophy-of-science]
for applied philosophical questions about the study of science, the pursuit of scientific knowledge, and the scientific method
1,851
questions
1
vote
2
answers
17
views
If morality is real and has causal power, could science detect the moment the "moral ontology" causes a measurable effect on the physical world?
If morality is real in an objective manner, then it must exist ontologically "somewhere" and "somehow." Moreover, this "moral ontology" must also have causal power, ...
- 3,074
9
votes
17
answers
3k
views
Can All Truths Be Scientifically Verified?
My question arises from the growing concern that many people seem to overlook the vast amount still left to discover in science, leading to an overestimation of its achievements. Increasingly, there ...
- 14.5k
4
votes
2
answers
88
views
The naive, formal, and critical phases of a scientific theory
A long time ago, I read something about three stages in the development of a scientific or mathematical theory, namely the naive, the formal, and the critical phase. This appeared very natural to me, ...
- 11
4
votes
10
answers
2k
views
Would a scientific theory of everything be falsifiable?
Would you have to redefine "scientific theory" if we had theory of everything?
What would that definition become?
On a side note to include another question to reduce the number of questions ...
- 3,273
-1
votes
2
answers
81
views
What is valid or invalid, or sound or unsound, about this argument that an unfalsifiable theory is a true theory?
Statement. An unfalsifiable theory is automatically a true theory.
Proof. Forward direction. Let this theory be unfalsifiable. Then an intelligent man can adopt it and use it indefinitely. Therefore ...
1
vote
0
answers
35
views
Reconciling Evolution and Whitehead's Process Philosophy: Is Randomness the Key to Creativity in Nature?
I am somewhat interested in Whitehead's process philosophy and reality.
The following points puzzled me:
How can the survival of the fittest (evolution) be explained through process philosophy?
...
2
votes
3
answers
377
views
A quantum mechanical response to van Inwagen's rejection of the PSR
Peter van Inwagen famously rejected the PSR due to his argument that it implied necessitarianism: Take the conjunct C of all contingent facts. Being contingent itself, the PSR demands an explanation F....
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
2
answers
80
views
history of philosophy side-by-side with science and art
Do you know any books which study the history of western philosophy
side-by-side with:
history of mathematics,
or history of physics,
or history of art?
- 2,561
-4
votes
0
answers
79
views
Are a lot of people aware that there is nowadays a lot of anti-intellectualism? [closed]
About one more part of a philosophy
Nowadays there are a lot of problems
because people use much their bodies
and not much their minds.
People do not use rmuch their minds
because of the anti-...
-1
votes
0
answers
43
views
Is using more the mind and less the body the solution of the problem of climate change? [closed]
Summary of another part of a philosophyThe solution of the problem of climate change is to get rid of the drunkenness of consuming by more self control and also to use less means for producing.A ...
- 37.1k
3
votes
3
answers
411
views
Relationism, Substantivalism, and Simultaneity?
I've been breaking my head open lately over special relativity and its conception of spacetime's dynamical as well as kinematical features. One thing that has stuck in my head is that of whether the ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
5
answers
173
views
Reductionism from a philosophical viewpoint
Reductionism is the idea that knowledge at a higher level can be deduced from the entities and their interaction at a lower level. E.g. the claim that the properties of molecules can be deduced from ...
- 5,141
-1
votes
0
answers
21
views
Fate of the universe [duplicate]
Since initial conditions of a system governs its time evolution , is the fate of the universe already determined since it had certain initial conditions while it formed ?
- 140
4
votes
5
answers
448
views
How important is philosophy?
All I know is that it can arguably have political implications.
Have any philosophers delimited the value of philosophy?
- 2,921
5
votes
5
answers
676
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 ...
- 11
2
votes
3
answers
128
views
Are there any sources linking Schopenhauerian metaphysics (will as thing-in-itself) with our contemporary understanding of physics?
I'm especially interested if there are any attempts at reconciling Schopenhauer's metaphysical will with the seeming indeterministic nature of quantum physics. Thank you.
- 1,822
5
votes
14
answers
4k
views
Opinion vs Fact
How do I know if a piece of infromation is a fact or an opinion?
I read that facts can be proven while opinions can't, but for example if I say: "It is hot!":
It can be proven whether I'm ...
- 2,921
66
votes
19
answers
69k
views
Does quantum mechanics disprove determinism?
I've heard this pop up in a discussion with my physicist/engineer roommates, but didn't care to ask at the time. Now I'm mighty curious about it. Wikipedia doesn't really seem to say much on this ...
- 3,225
8
votes
5
answers
362
views
Social theory of science?
A lot of philosophers of science try to explain what science is through a normative approach. That it, they try to show what are norms and standards the satisfaction of which make a theory or practice ...
- 418
19
votes
8
answers
3k
views
What is the philosophy behind the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics?
Perhaps it is a stereotype, but I assumed that most physicists are empirical realists (external reality affects our senses, and science infers a representation of it from sensory data). At the same ...
5
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What is the difference between determinism and superdeterminism?
I know I need to add some body to the question, so I'll give you some links: determinism and superdeterminism (both on Wikipedia).
I have seen some comments that superdeterminism is nothing but ...
- 418
9
votes
8
answers
2k
views
Can science inform philosophy?
Philosophy can sometimes inform science. After all, science was once called natural philosophy, and the scientific method is a creation of philosophy. However, does the arrow of influence go both ways?...
- 101
8
votes
11
answers
3k
views
What are the philosophical solutions to "ship of Theseus" problem of identity?
Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment in which every piece of a ship kept in a harbor is replaced one at a time. The questions are: would the end result be the same ship or a new ship? If it is not ...
- 13
9
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Does Quantum Entanglement Disprove the Principle of Locality?
Regarding the debate between quantum mechanics and determinism I have encountered a problem I can't find the answer to. It is my impression that in order to solve Bell's inequality you would have to ...
- 2,921
2
votes
1
answer
95
views
Does Hume propose that causes might actually just be explained by coincidence?
Does Hume propose that what people interpret as casual connections could instead be explained by coincidence?
I want to know if this is an accurate understanding.
Hume says something to the effect of:
...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
2
answers
85
views
What is the importance of philosophy in the development of scientific and abstract thinking?
Is there evidence for this? In which books or articles could I find more information?
I've been researching, and it seems that logic and epistemology are relevant for developing scientific thinking, ...
- 37.1k
2
votes
7
answers
196
views
Chicken or Egg. Does everything begin or is the idea of start/first/origin related to the use of language?
The existence of beginning: origin/start/initiate. Do not all beginnings require something before? Are all just arbitrary measurements of traits we find of interest? The globally persuasive ideas of ...
- 3,370
3
votes
1
answer
49
views
The Nature of Free Will [duplicate]
How does the concept of free will reconcile with the deterministic view of the universe, and what implications does this have for moral responsibility and personal agency?
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Does a simple and intuitive theory have better chances of being true?
A lot of times we try to predict specific things by models that describe empirical results of other things. For example how could Einstein predict that gravity is linked to relativity just by knowing ...
CommunityBot
- 1
-2
votes
1
answer
71
views
Can the earths rotation around the sun create perpetual motion on earth? [closed]
As the earth rotates around the sun there are natural cycles of freezing and thawing of water in situe on earth because of the seasons this rotation causes.
When this in situe water freezes it expands ...
- 9,117
-3
votes
2
answers
85
views
Is the the standard model of physics related to the fibonacci sequence?
I know this is a physics question, however I am unable to ask questions, on that site because of confused questions I ask, when I am unwell and the moderators will not let me ask anything further.
So ...
- 109
16
votes
3
answers
596
views
What is the telos of a proposition?
Whitehead contends in Process and Reality that propositions are “hybrid entities” which act as “lures for feeling.” The famous co-author of Principia Mathematica scolds the traditional conventions of ...
- 2,201
1
vote
3
answers
140
views
causality and locality in universe
In continuation to Mechanistic view of the universe my second question is does locality implies causality and vice versa ? We have seen in previous question where causality sometimes locality doesn't ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
75
views
Are all the “needs and wants” of the universe already thought of?
Technology is always progressing and science appears to be bottomless. But is there a limit to the needs and wants of a living being?
Our ancient ancestors weren’t that much different than us. I’m ...
- 427
3
votes
1
answer
78
views
Relations without Relata?
Ladyman’s ontic structural realism posits to the world is comprised of relations without relata. Can somebody please explain what this means conceptually? What are the reasons someone would have for ...
- 11
4
votes
4
answers
481
views
What is something that math cannot be applied to and doesn't involve math?
I have been asked this question, yet I am unable to answer it.
The issue with this question is that I have given all that I know, therefore I too am at a loss.
What I do know is it has no concept of ...
12
votes
22
answers
17k
views
Any argument against determinism?
I'm a very logical person. I like mathematics, software engineering, physics... everything in that area. Also I'm an anti-theist.
My understanding of the universe:
If you would take every atom (as in ...
- 2,910
5
votes
7
answers
2k
views
What principle protects the objective nature of the prior and the conclusion in Bayes’s theorem?
The Bayesian analysis begins with the "prior": some assumption about the world and the probability that the assumption is true.
But the prior seems to be based on nothing. The hypothesis and ...
- 35.9k
2
votes
4
answers
358
views
Are the concepts of reductionism and first principles the same?
Are reductionism and foundationalism(first principle)the same thing, or at least highly similar even if different? The first-principles approach is the same as deducing all knowledge claims from ...
- 1,864
3
votes
6
answers
1k
views
Where do we go if we gain knowledge of the absolute truth? [closed]
One of the fundamental questions that humans since the dawn of time have asked themselves is why are we here?, or how are we here?, how did all this happen to be?
Philosophers try to answer these ...
4
votes
8
answers
1k
views
What is the difference between a Belief and Truth
I was interested in the definition of truth, i followed this post
What is the difference between Fact and Truth?
what I understood is that truth is anything I believe in or appears to be accurate ...
- 30
2
votes
8
answers
450
views
Is Philosophy decaying into an antiquated subject? [closed]
Is Philosophy decaying into an antiquated Subject in 21st Century whereas lots of questions could be answered within modern Science?
Yes or No? Explain Why for your answer.
I have longed for asking ...
- 4,526
2
votes
2
answers
204
views
Are information, matter and energy improper concepts?
In Proper and Improper concepts (1927) Carnap argued for the distinction between proper concepts (the ones that are explicitly defined)
”It is essential to a proper concept that for any object it is ...
- 910
3
votes
1
answer
250
views
Can natural decreasing temperatures in the world create energy to power it? [closed]
When the compound water experiences a drop in ambient temperature it freezes and becomes a solid.
When water freezes it expands.
Can you harness the energy in this expansion to produce energy such as ...
- 5,141
6
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Any philosophical works that explicitly address the heat death of the Universe and its philosophical implications?
I have been trying to grasp my brain over the last couple years with this topic and it appears that while I now have a quite decent grasp on it from a physics perspective, meaning on how it works and ...
- 15.4k
2
votes
3
answers
551
views
What is more important: simplicity or induction?
An argument by analogy is an inductive argument for the existence of other minds. An argument by analogy is enough to justify the belief in the existence of other minds.
But Occam's Razor offers a ...
- 4,526
2
votes
0
answers
73
views
Women who have recently contributed to the realism debate?
I'm struggling to find women who have contributed to the debate on scientific realism over, say, the last ten years - do you have any suggestions?
Edit
So we have 1 suggestion so far, and I'll add ...
- 338
3
votes
2
answers
117
views
Revival of Logical Positivism?
Have there been any recent attempts to revive logical positivism? I've heard discussions that a modified version of the approach is gaining popularity, but I haven't seen any literature to that effect....
- 15.4k
0
votes
1
answer
149
views
If there is no more gap, is the existence of God the logical conclusion?
The god of the gaps is used to fill the last gap in front of a fundamental explanation of the physical world.
Fundamental physical constants, like the masses of the elementary particle families (or ...
- 504
5
votes
3
answers
1k
views
What is evidence?
I know I should know what evidence is, but I have been unable to find an in-depth definition of it.
I originally thought that it was a when an argument against a theory or hypotheses was proven ...
- 8,160