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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physical approach to freewill
Here is what I think: Every action that takes place in this universe (Including me, writing this) is a consequence of motion and interaction of particles and energy transformation. All our thoughts ...
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Is there any use for non-predictive method?
"Scientific method", as controversial as this phrase is, almost always contains the need for predictions - a theory will be scientific if it's (among other things, but at the very least) able to ...
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Is there teleology in (modern) science?
Teleology (the research of a phenomenon according to its "finality", its end-goal) is a subject that's often controversial (at least to my knowledge), and I'm not sure I've seen it in science (more ...
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Is positing a multiverse to replace randomness a desperate attempt to hide agency?
This question applies to any type of multiverse or many worlds that translates or actualizes each of a set of potentials into a separate universe. These potentials may come from quantum randomness or ...
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Do materialists today consider physical forces as created from matter?
The distinction from materialism and physicalism is usually that materialists believe everything is matter, and physicalists believe that everything is physical, which lets them include modern science ...
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The Law of Identity and Emptiness
If all rational, logical, philosophical, scientific, and mathematical reasoning starts with the initial axiom that 'X=X' - that is a 0 information tautology - can it be said that all ensuing rational, ...
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Reductionism as explanation of facts
I was wondering why is so frequent to hear explanations in science relying on what -in philosophical terms- is called reductionism.
Do you have any idea why explain and reduce it to minimal part of ...
user29573
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What is the difference between science and mathematics?
After investigating dimensionless physical constants, I've been receiving lots of criticism from scientists, specifically physicists, that mathematics is not science. Is there a clear distinction ...
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Can you list other Collingwood's Absolute Presuppositions?
Robin G. Collingwood's posited the existence of absolute presuppositions (AS). As a reminder, presuppositions are for Collingwood assumptions and guiding precepts that are closed to further analysis ...
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Two questions on Quine's philosophy of science
These are fairly straight forward question to which I have found no answers. Years ago, when I was taking a seminar on Quine, the professor explained Quine's philosophy of science. According to Quine, ...
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Philosophers who wrote about limits of knowledge?
What if "the truth" about any concept (consciousness, reality, religion,physics, etc.), turns out to be a complex idea such that our brains can't simply process it in a single lifespan.
For example, ...
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What makes something indivisible?
In the early days, atoms existed according to Democritos. I think Democrites just hypothesized this to build up his world view.
Probably there would have been also philosophers who claimed that ...
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Having trouble with "Argument From Ignorance" fallacy?
I am having some difficulty understanding the "Argument From Ignorance" Fallacy. I will illustrate my difficulty using "The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection" (T.E.N.S.) as an example:
We ...
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Fallibilism and truth by science
I know that a fallibilist believes that our current beliefs may not be true but i'm trying to argue that one can be a fallibilist and also believe that science progresses towards the truth. Does it ...
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How can theory violate counterfactual definiteness and not violate local realism?
In wikipedia article
one can read that:
In current theory, post-1972, various interpretations (i.e. theories) of quantum mechanics violate different aspects of Local Realism. But some ...
user24483
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Imperfect tools for Laplace´s demon
(Note: this question is not about predictability.)
I consider Laplace´s idea of the demon: “ An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions ...
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How is Lakatos's hard core of theoretical assumptions different than Kuhn's paradigm?
Listening to a course on philosophy of science, Lakatos was presented as a middle way between Popper and the positivists strictly rational description of scientific theories and Kuhn's historical/...
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How should we measure the success of science and is scientific success a guide to truth?
How should we measure the success of science, and is scientific success a guide to truth?
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Speculative realism: Does changing law of nature collapse the ancestral argument? [closed]
Lets say, I am an astronomer, Bob Down jr. When I was twelve years old
I was a perfect naive realist. I did know nature as something bigger
and more powerful than me. Not that I had no power. No doubt,...
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Human belief systems and reason [closed]
Belief puts people into action, but often action is needed before belief to develop something in order to be able to believe in it in the first place, or at least so it seems.
It seems to me that ...
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Is a posteriori analytic philosophy just science?
Analytic philosophy primarily tries to solve problems a priori. Science can be considered to be synthetic a posteriori, based of some a priori theoretical framework. But would any conclusions that you ...
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What are the rules of postulating?
When a person wants to postulate something, what are the rules and best practices he can adhere too?
How should the idea one is trying to express be formulated?
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Can something exist without energy?
Einstein showed that energy is matter; for something to exist in a physical sense it must be incarnated as matter. So on the face of it - it seems that the answer should be no.
However what about ...
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How do the different fields of core scientific methods - like statistics - fit into a deductive vs inductive classification?
1) If a distinction is made between scientific inquiry that proceeds via induction and scientific inquiry that proceeds via deduction, what are the core activities and disciplines of each?
My attempt,...
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Is social constructionism a falsifiable theory of human nature?
According to Karl Popper, a theory must be falsifiable to be a scientific theory.
How would a social scientist falsify the theory of social constructionism? I understand that there are many individual ...
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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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Are random processes equivalent to unpredictable processes
I have seen random and unpredictable used interchangeably but sense there is a subtle difference that I have difficulty articulating.
My sense is that predictability is based on my own personal ...
user64314
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What are the arguments against modern technology, medicine and society? [closed]
In today's society, manual tasks have become automated. Digital communication devices have connected people across the globe. Medications and surgeries have lessened symptoms of illnesses, delayed ...
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About the absolute nature of the Answer to a particular question
Can every question regardless of the subject be answered? ( answer based on reality and not on "Phaneron" ) How is the reality taken to be true? ( Everything that is proven may not be true ...
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Circular logical universe versus Infinite Staircase universe
Suppose we keep asking the question of "why" to reality's laws, seeking deeper and deeper explanations of them. Examples : "why do coupling constants take these values"? "why ...
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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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Proper Philosophical Texts on the Philosophy of Science
I am a college freshman majoring in Philosophy and Physics. I am interested in the Philosophy of Physics, but before that, I would like to get an idea of general philosophical issues in the sciences. ...
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What is the philosophical idea concerning knowledge behind the project of Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a human project done collectively in a global scale. What is the philosophy or epistemology underlying this project? Has the idea been to establish sort of a "democratic" source ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Can space be distorted without things that occupy the space being distorted?
Can space be distorted without things that occupy the space being distorted? I mean it is whether in reality or imagination?
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Native English speakers! Please, help me to understand Wilfrid Sellars' complicated sentence in his "Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man"
I am a Korean student who majors in philosophy.
Recently, I read Wilfrid Sellars' famous article "Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man," but I'm faced with a lot of complicated ...
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Name for a logical fallacy: confusing measures in argumentation
I have encountered a line of reasoning in my research which seems to be fallacious.
An example is if you wanted to know something about the general health of an individual, you could measure many ...
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Top-down vs bottom-up approaches in science?
I am a student of a natural science but very interested in philosophy. During my studies, I have noted a perceived difference in how various disciplines approach the explanation of data they obtain. I ...
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Difference between theory revision and ad hoc proposals?
What is the difference between revising a theory and creating an ad hoc explanation to save your theory? Furthermore, at what point is one forced to give up their original theory because it conflicts ...
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How/Why is the explanation/prediction of physical phenomena not deductive?
Why is the explanation of the triboelectric effect or the electrostatic effect(indicative examples) not deductive?
How so we have a set of premises and from them follows the conclusion which is what ...
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Aristotle's explanation of change
I am a bit confused as to how Aristotle accounts for change (accidental and substantial). I seem to understand the idea of a substance being the compound of material and form to some degree, but how ...
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According to Aquinas, why doesn't God need a cause but everything else does? Why would God resolve the problem of infinite regress?
Do you think the explanation for the universe could be something physical or does it have to be metaphysical?
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How to reconcile that physicists and science educators use the word "theory" incompatibly?
When science denialists say "just a theory", they are roundly chastised. Science educators (teachers, reporters, essayists, etc) are united that the word theory has a strong requirement:
Berkeley: "a ...
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What kind of questions can science answer?
Please bear with me, as I am self-studying philosophy as a beginner.
My questions are about the limitations of empirical science.
During my reading of some books, I've come across statements of the ...
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Can any philosophy of mind be empirically verified?
(This is sort of a follow-up from this question)
Can dualism, materialism, or anything in between be empirically verified? There seems to be some disagreement here. This page presents both views ...
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Must an analysis of Being precede the positive sciences?
In the first few pages of Being and Time Heidegger writes:
such an inquiry [into foundations]... still needs a guideline... it
remains naive and opaque if... it leaves the meaning of being in
...
user38026
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Probability calculus and Quantum Mechanics [closed]
I am not an expert and probably this question highlights this. Anyway, is the probability calculus used in Quantum Mechanics? Does the concept of probability adopted in Quantum Mechanics satisfy the ...
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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 ...
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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.
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