Pflichtliteratur FOLO

Introduction to Scientific Theory

• Scientific theories are under pressure to explain phenomena thoroughly and justify their methodology
• Theories necessitate metatheoretical justification (a theory explaining the first theory)

Action, Knowledge, and Action

• Knowledge is substantiated understanding.
• Humans need knowledge to address challenges arising from interacting with the world.
• The world is governed by rules, not random chance.

Inanimate Reality

• Inanimate objects are governed by set rules.
• Their behavior is predictable, and controllable given certain conditions.
• Events are predetermined and lack freedom.

Agents with Agency

• The existence of potential possibilities (combinations of free will and predetermiend events) and goals of agents.
• Goal-oriented actions must be aligned with the material world.
• Cognitive abilities are essential for adapting to the world.
• Evolution of cognitive skills gradually increases.
• Early stages of life forms, in the early stages of evolution, primarily relied on innate preprogrammed responses to environmental stimuli.
• Later stages involved the development of more flexible adaptive skills, allowing organisms to adjust their behaviors in response to variable conditions.

Cognition

• Evolution has transformed fixed behavioral programs into active individual and social cognition.
• The capacity for individual decision making replaced rigid genetic constraints.
• The development of reflection is necessary for self-directed actions.
• An active interaction with the surroundings requires new learning and adaptation.
• A new social environment emerges that enables the acquisition of skills.
• Individuals are shaped by their evolving social environment, as new, flexible forms of interaction emerge, replacing rigid, instinct-based behavioral patterns.

Language

• Non-linguistic forms of communication exist, utilizing methods like chemical signals, or other non-verbal cues.
• Language transcends limitations of non-linguistic modes by encompassing wider ideas and contexts.
• Language creates a new dynamism in how individuals develop identity and societal structure.
• Language fosters dynamic evolution of individual and collective identities.
• Language preserves both useful and irrelevant information from experience.

Typology of Knowledge and its Use

• Human capacity is both a gift and a burden; free from the constraints of a specific environment, allowing broader adaptability and variability.
• The human state is one of instability and susceptibility and thus, the human world remains largely uncharted.
• There will always be situations where insights and interpretations are not sufficient to precisely understand the world.

Two Types of Consciousness

• Everyday consciousness: The focus is on immediate situations, using habitual routines to manage daily life.
• Reflection: A shift from everyday life to the realm of deeper thinking and analysis is initiated by unexpected problems prompting intentional reflection.

Institutionalization of Knowledge

• Institutionalized reflection elevates knowledge production to a qualitatively new level.
• It moves beyond situational or individual limitations, creating lasting theories.
• Theories systematically organized interpretation, validated by strict methodology.
• Shift in knowledge production, from reactive problem-solving to systematic investigation, contributing to the growth of broader theoretical frameworks to advance knowledge.

Objective Knowledge, Theory, and Science

• Theory is a claim towards objective knowledge requiring justification.
• Theories demand self-supporting justification through metatheories.

Causality

• Theories always presuppose a reality with discoverable structure and rules (causality).
• The most basic structure is causality (cause and effect).
• Understanding and scientific knowledge are always grounded in some form of causal logic.

Relationships for Understanding

• Five interconnected dimensions are addressed.
• Understanding the constitution of knowledge, the agents and circumstances surrounding it, and its effects on the world.
• How knowledge relates to reality and the actors in the process.

Positivism

• Positivism focuses on scientifically verifiable observations and knowledge.

Empiricism

• Empirical-based, verifiable knowledge
• Experience is the source of all knowledge
• The human mind is not inherently endowed with innate ideas.
• Observation is the key method to gain knowledge.

Critical Rationalism

• Emphasis is on falsification, rather than verification, as the driving force of scientific progress
• Theories are seen as tentative hypotheses and should be subjected to rigorous testing and potentially refutable evidence.

Pragmatism

• Pragmatism emphasizes practical application and context.
• Truth is defined by its usefulness and consequences in solving problems in society.

Kuhnian Paradigms

• Scientific development occurs in phases.
• A scientific paradigm dominates a particular period, determining concepts, methods, and goals.
• Paradigms are challenged by anomalies, leading to a crisis and eventually a paradigm shift.

Lakatosian Research Programs

• Scientific progress occurs through the development and refinement of research programs.
• Research programs have a 'hard core' of fundamental assumptions and a protective 'belt' of auxiliary hypotheses to shield the core from refutation.
• The program's evolution is measured by its ability to explain anomalies and advance knowledge.

Feyerabendian Anarchism

• Science progresses best through the absence of constraints on inquiry.
• No method or principle should be considered universally valid, and scientists should be free to adopt any approach that seems promising.

Critical Theory

• Aims to uncover and critically examine the social structures and power relationships that shape society.
• Critical theory recognizes and values the role of ideology in shaping knowledge and influencing social issues.
• It often emphasizes the role of socioeconomic factors in shaping thought patterns and power dynamics.

Marx and the Influence on the Historical Materialism

• Marx saw society as operating in certain structures of power relationships through a constant conflict among social classes.
• Marx believed that historical and societal forces determine and motivate consciousness.

Constructivism

• Reality is socially constructed.
• Focus is on how individuals and societies create meaning from experiences, and how those realities then affect actions.
• Acknowledges the influence of social and historical contexts.

Summary

• The notes cover various approaches to understanding scientific knowledge and knowledge production.
• These involve epistemological, theoretical and methodological elements.
• It includes approaches dealing with knowledge, systems, and theories with different emphases and purposes regarding how society works.

Dieser Quiz testet Ihr Verständnis der zentralen Konzepte des dialektischen Materialismus und der Erkenntnistheorie. Fragen umfassen die Beziehung zwischen Erkenntnis und Wissen, die Rolle von Normen und Zielvorstellungen sowie den Einfluss von Freuds Theorien. Perfekt für Studierende der Sozialwissenschaften oder der Philosophie.