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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A question about the Ludwing Boltzmann idea of a scientific theory expressed in the book "On the significance of theories(1890)"
I don't understand a passage in which the great physicist Ludwig Boltzmann , talking about his epistemological point of view, says
I am of the opinion that the task of a theory consists in
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Are we too quick to assume that the most recent evidence is inevitably the strongest?
In what contexts is this true and in what contexts can this be considered true and vice versa? Personally, I think it has a lot to do with confirmation bias, especially in natural sciences where for ...
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Order/disorder and complexity
What is the relation between order/disorder and complexity ? Sometimes I found the terms confusing and ambiguous.
And higher entropy implies low complexity, does not implies low entropy implies higher ...
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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 ...
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Does Multi-World Interpretation really eliminate randomness in quantum mechanics?
As I understood it, the Multi World Interpretation (MWI) was meant to avoid the problem of resorting to randomness, by replacing the random wavefunction collapse in Copenhagen Interpretation with ...
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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 ...
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Is science possible in a world where a god acts?
Consider a world equipped with a god; and this god from time to time at his convenience and no other, acts in the world; and then too, that those beings who live in the world see these acts as ...
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Are the mass ,diameter and age of the Universe absolute quantities?
Mass of the observable Universe is known to be 1.50×10^53 kg. Age is approximately known to be 13.7 billion years. Universe is a sphere with diameter 8.8X 10^26 m.
Mass,Length intervals and Time ...
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Is there an alternative to the scientific method?
Intro
The scientific method is a key process of how we acquire knowledge and may shape our understanding of the world. If I am not mistaken, this method has been defined several times during our ...
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What is the relation between idealism and science?
My understanding of idealism is that it rests on the primacy of the mind and conscience over matter. The Encyclopædia Britannica provides the following "basic" forms of idealism:
The two ...
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Are atomic particles abstract objects?
By "atomic particle", I mean everything from molecules to quarks---objects that are outside the realm of normal experience but used in physics and chemistry to explain macroscopic events.
By ...
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In what way can theism and science co-exist?
Probably the most cliche question ever, but I never got a good answer so I'll ask it anyway:
How can science and theism co-exist? Even if we forget that the two have entirely different ideas about how ...
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What does Hume think about Occam's razor?
Let's define Occam's razor as this:
That it is not rational to believe something unnecessary or extra about reality without a specific reason to believe it. In other words, the facts that are ...
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Is there a reason for why the wave function for a particle is the way it is?
I have read that in quantum mechanics, predicting the position of an electron, say in the double slit experiment is impossible. It is thus then implied that there is no reason for the electron to end ...
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Way to find a middle ground between functionalism and "panpsychism"?
Scientifically, given that we are just pieces of universe (earth), then parts of the universe can experience phenomenal consciousness.
"Panpsychism" says that therefore phenomenality must be ...
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Is science based on David Hume's "A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence"?
"A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence. … no
testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony
be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more ...
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Is it theoretically possible to create Universe in the lab? [closed]
If the universe took birth without the help of consciousness then is it theoretically possible to create a Universe in the lab ? If yes , how is this created Universe will be different from multiverse ...
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Why are empirical and theoretical knowledge connected?
There is a web of issues pertaining to the theoretical underpinnings of science that I would like to read more about, and so if anyone could take a look at the following claims and questions and ...
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Do decolonialists have to attack science and modernity?
I’m a professional scientist (mathematician, actually). I’m not a philosopher.
I’ve got a lot of friends well-versed in philosophy, and they all seem to point toward modernity as a byproduct of ...
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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 ...
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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:
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Is there any proof on whether technological development never ends?
I’ve grappled with this question for many years. There is no way humans can possibly know if technological progression ever hits an endpoint. Some say yes, others say no. Even truly brilliant ...
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Hume says we can't determine a causal connections between objects. Why separate the system into objects at all?
A summary of Hume's perspective is as follows:
When we reason about matters of fact to reach new conclusions, we use cause and effect: when a dropped ball hits the ground (observation), it bounces (...
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Does the unobserved past exist in a super position
Does the unobserved past exist in a super position in the sense of quantum mechanics? Has anyone seen this question asked before? If the question is meaningful, what answer seems most likely. If the ...
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Can panpsychism be scientifically tested?
Panpsychism, in the general sense of everything in nature has some sort of consciousness (and I know, this is highly dependent on the way we define consciousness, but I want to talk about panpsychism ...
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Why is there something instead of nothing?
A simple but fundamental question.
The "something" means the whole Universe (known and unknown), it could be represented as the reality version of the set of all sets, which is itself debated. It ...
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Does knowledge of the scientific context aid consideration of philosophical questions?
Some fundamental philosophical questions are posed in the context of quantum physics. Does knowledge of the science aid consideration of these questions? Should the scientific background be explained ...
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Why do philosophical questions arise?
I've been reading questions and answers in this site for a while, and I've come to the idea that philosophical questions arise mainly in a response to a psychological need, like having a cognitive ...
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Does the possibility of incommensurable degrees of explanatory complexity hypothetically undermine appeals to Occam's razor?
There is an SEP article on the proposed incommensurability of at least some conflicting pairs of scientific theories, which goes over Kuhnian and Feyerabendian proposals regarding this ...
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Could the universe or any event within it have occurred otherwise, even if determinism was false?
Could any event have happened differently? Even if the universe was “inherently stochastic”, does this imply that events could have occurred differently? It seems to me that even inherent randomness ...
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Falsifiability of Assumptions
Karl Popper maintained that empirical sciences should be based on the principle of falsifiability rather than verifiability for no amount of observations can guarantee veracity but a single ...
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Are we lost in the details?
A hypothesis.
https://theworld.org/stories/2021-05-20/imagining-gaia-earth-one-great-living-organism
Simply put, the Gaia hypothesis says that Earth is a living system and uses similar mechanisms that ...
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Is necessary existence a property?
If existence is not a property then doesn't it follow that necessary existence is also not a property? If it is then why?
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The Copenhagen Interpretation: From Quantum Mechanics to Ethics?
I've been pondering an intriguing comparison lately, drawing parallels between the Copenhagen Interpretation in quantum mechanics and a hypothetical "Copenhagen Interpretation of Ethics". As ...
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History of the "well-substantiated" criterion for scientific theories
Wikipedia defines a scientific theory as
an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that has been repeatedly tested and corroborated in accordance with the scientific method
I'm ...
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Can science claim to explain all experience?
If so, how strong a claim?
To expand the question: if there is a god that can be experienced, does that experience escape science?
And a third question: can humans define something, or work with ...
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What is Meant by a Pre-Theoretic Notion?
I don't quite understand the explanation given on Wikipedia for Pre-theoretic belief.
It is often assumed, rightly or wrongly, that language depends on mental concepts, and that certain concepts are ...
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Must physics obey logic?
Must all physical theories conform to the laws of logic, such as being self-consistent? I am asking this because I once had an argument with a friend regarding the physics of time travel. I argued ...
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Does falsifiability require reproducibility according to Popper?
I can see how the idea of falsifiability (rather than some form of verificationism) could support a demarcation between science and pseudoscience. Here is the Wikipedia definition of falsifiability:
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Does anything have an objective purpose?
Does anything have an objective purpose? For example, maybe the purpose of eyes is to see. Or, is all purpose subjective? My guess is that nothing has an objective purpose, because the concept of ...
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If we did have a proven 'Theory of Everything' from physics, would it help to know why there is a universe?
From a 2022 review by a philosopher, of a 2021 book I haven't read by a physicist, quoting from a 1998 book I haven't read by a physicist:
What’s Eating the Universe is undoubtedly a very interesting ...
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Does the existence of a probability distribution in quantum mechanics imply that each measurement has a reason?
The evolution of the wave function which is determined by Schrödinger’s equation, is said to evolve deterministically.
The wave function represents the probability distribution of potential ...
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How to understand the notion of majority when comparing infinite sets?
Suppose I make the argument:
It is very unlikely that in a naturalistic universe, the constants have life sustaining values, since the majority of metaphysically possible universes do not have such ...
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On the claim that science is an offspring of Christian thought?
The claim that science is an offspring of Christian thought is often made in Christian-atheist debates. Theists argue that Christianity provided the necessary foundation for science to develop, such ...
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Question about Boltzmann Brain?
If all the memories contained within a Boltzmann brain were hypothetical, so would be the physical laws that enable its very existence; therefore, a Boltzmann brain wouldn't be able to explain itself?
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What's the difference between teleology and teleonomy?
So, Teleology is
According to the Cambridge Dictionary:
the belief that everything has a special purpose or use
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
a doctrine (as in vitalism) that ends ...
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Hypothesis generation & the structure of scientific theories: how (exactly) do theories constrain hypothesis generation?
How (exactly) do theories constrain the generation of various, potential hypotheses to explain something? In particular, what are the different implications of different accounts of the structure of ...
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Do we agree that true knowledge comes from thinking? [closed]
Reality doesn’t seem to be same as it appears to be. For example - Quantum mechanics says that matter is governed by some kind of wave with the wavelength given by de Broglie’s equation.
Do ...
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Is there a struggle in consciousness for evolution? [closed]
Evolution of species from monkey to human is due to gene modifications.
Is there any iota of hint that evolution is guided by the struggle in the consciousness?
For example - There can be a struggle ...
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The Likelyhood Principle and Baysean Statistics
I am reading Kotzen's paper Selection Bias in Likelihood Arguments.
The author takes the following principle as a starting point:
I'm confused as to how to formalize this notion in terms of Bayesian ...
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