Philosophy of Science PDF

Philosophy of Science Department of Biological Sciences STS-Unit 01 02 03 04 Familiarize in Understand the Evaluate and Develop skills in different role of scientific analyze types of creating questions, philosophies of...

Philosophy of Science Department of Biological Sciences STS-Unit 01 02 03 04 Familiarize in Understand the Evaluate and Develop skills in different role of scientific analyze types of creating questions, philosophies of method in information. hypothesis, science. determining good experiments, and instruments in data drawing conclusions collection and based on the validity of data. interpreted results. Intended learning outcomes The Meaning of Philosophy Philosophy means "love of wisdom." It is made up of two Greek words, philo, meaning love, and sophos, meaning wisdom Why We Need Philosophy? Philosophy helps teachers to reflect on key issues and concepts in education. usually through such questions as: – What is being educated? – What is the good life? – What is knowledge? – What is the nature of learning? – And what is teaching? PHILOSOPHERS - Philosophers think about the meaning of things and interpretation of that meaning.  Ethical the study of values in human behavior or the study of moral problems: e.g., (1) the rightness and wrongness of actions, (2) the kinds of things which are good or desirable, and (3) whether actions are blameworthy or praiseworthy. Epistemological Science is the study of knowledge. In particular, epistemology focuses on how we come to acquire knowledge and what Philosophical types of limits there are to our knowledge. In other words, how do we know what is true? It is sense experience vs. problems reason. Metaphysical the study of what is really real. Metaphysics deals with the so-called first principles of the natural order and "the ultimate generalizations available to the human intellect.”; laws, causation, explanation THREE BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY METAPHYSICS What is the nature of REALITY? EPISTEMOLOGY What is the nature of KNOWLEDGE? AXIOLOGY/ETHICS What is the nature of VALUES? METAPHYSICS One of the key concepts Subdivided into two of understanding categories philosophy Ontology: What is the nature of Concerned with reality and existence existence Cosmology: Origin and Asks: What is the nature of organization of the universe reality? EPISTEMOLOGY Raises questions about Two kinds of logic the nature of knowledge Logic is a key dimension to Deductive-general to specific epistemology Inductive-specific facts to generalization AXIOLOGY Explores the nature of 2 Categories values Ethics: study of human conduct and examines moral values Aesthetics: values beauty, nature, and aesthetic experience (often associated with music, art, literature, dance theater and other fine arts) The Sciences MATHEMATICS – PHYSICS - BIOLOGY – PSYCHOLOGY SOCIAL SCIENCE THEOREMS & MEASUREMENT STRUCTURE & AXIOMS FUNCTION Key concept: Science is based on Facts. Inductivism Inductivism proposes and rests on a common understanding of the laws of the universe; there are laws of nature, uniformities that govern these laws. Facts are observable, and that theories should be derived from these facts by observation. Observation using the senses. Seeing is believing. Observable facts are objective. Hypothetico-deductivism Rejects the context of discovery. Hypothetico-deductivism asserts that “facts” are not always observable. Facts have come to scientists not by observation but rather by accident, through dreams, visions and preexisting theories. Rejects the notion that facts are neutral and objective. Theories are confirmed, not proven, yet every instance that lends support corroborates the theory. Hypothetico-deductivism Example: The Research of Charles Lyell Darwinism vs Creationism If….organisms changed overtime (evolution theory), and…a record of organisms living in the past is examined in the fossil record (planned test), then…the younger, higher rock layers should should contain more fossils of present day species than the older, lower rock layers (expected result).  Rock layer Fossil species Alive today % of fossil species still alive today Youngest 226 216 96 Next Youngest 569 238 42 Next oldest 1,021 176 17 Oldest 1,238 42 3 Percentage of fossil species still alive today from four sedimentary rock layers that vary in age (Lyell, 1854) Hypothetico-deductivism Hypothetico-deductivism If…. organisms were created by an act of God and have not changed since creation (special creation theory), then… the younger, higher rock layers should contain the same number of present-day species as the older, lower rock layers (expected result). And… as can be seen in the previous table, there is an increasing trend as stated by the evolution theory. Therefore… Lyell’s correlational evidence (i.e. an inverse correlation between the age of the ON THE OTHER HAND: sediments and the percentages of present –day species) provides support for evolution theory (conclusion). Falsificationism Also rejects the context of discovery. Confirmation of hypothesis is not enough. No specific number of confirmations will make any hypothesis true. A body of science must be falsifiable. The notion of scientific progress for the falsificationist rests on the premise that scientific theories are tentative. Conjecture and Refutation Science must continue to progress through an open quest to put existing theories to the test, allowing preconceived notions of “facts,” whatever they may be, up to scientific criticism and refutation. Thomas Kuhn famously published The Structures of Scientific Revolutions in 1962, a publication that brought previous theories in the history and philosophy of science into a whole new context. Coined the term “paradigm.”  “Normal Science” versus “Revolutionary Science” It is in this period of revolutionary science that theories are checked, previously held formulations are re-analyzed and possible refutations are generated, for a new paradigm, or paradigm shift to occur. Solving problems is scientific progress.  Scientific Method ASK A QUESTION DEFINE PROBLEM CONSTRUCT THE TEST THE COLLECT THE REPORT THE STATEMENT HYPOTHESIS HYPOTHESIS DATA RESULT problem research hypothesize experiment interpret analyze Types of Data QUANTITATIVE DATA QUALITATIVE DATA Numeric variables Categorical variables How many What type How much From where How often Qualities  Types of Data Collection Diary accounts, in-depth interviews, documents, focus groups, case study research, and ethnography, open-ended surveys provide a deep understandings of how people perceive their social realities, and in consequence, how they act within the social world QUALITATIVE DATA Laboratory and field experimentations, rating scales, closed survey questions such as “Yes” or “No” which can have numerical categories Statistics help turn quantitative data into useful information that are crucial for decision making QUANTITATIVE Scientifically objective and rational DATA  Types of Data Collection Example Survey question “Why do you prefer to use cloth masks vs surgical masks?” QUALITATIVE DATA “Why do you prefer to use cloth masks vs surgical masks? Choose only 1.” a. Environmentally friendly b. Cost-effective c. Fashionable QUANTITATIVE d. Reusable DATA e. It’s the only mask available near me. Reliability Test-Retest Reliability (across time) Reliability refers to how The consistency of a measure across time. consistently a method measures Do you get the same results when your repeat the something. If the same result can experiment? be consistently achieved by using Internal Consistency (across items) the same methods under the same The consistency of the measurement itself. circumstances, the measurement is Do you get the same results from different parts of an considered reliable. experiment that are designed to measure the same thing? Interrater Reliability (across researchers) The consistency of a measure across raters or observers. Do you get the same results when different people conduct the same experiment? Validity Face Validity the extent to which a measurement method appears “on its Validity refers to how accurately a method face” to measure the construct of interest. E.g. IQ test measures what it is intended to measure. If Construct Validity research has high validity, that means it used to ensure that the measure is actual measure what it is produces results that correspond to real intended to measure (i.e. the construct), and not other properties, characteristics, and variations variables. E.g. self-esteem questionnaire in the physical or social world. Content Validity The extent to which the measurement covers all aspects of Note: High reliability is one indicator that a the concepts being measured. E.g. Comprehension test measurement is valid. If a method is not Criterion Validity reliable, it probably isn’t valid. The extent to which the result of a measure corresponds to other valid measures of the same concept. E.g. survey Discriminant Validity the extent to which scores on a measure are not correlated with measures of variables that are conceptually distinct. E.g. Self-esteem  Reliability vs. Validity Reliability Validity Definition The extent to which the results can be The extent to which the results really reproduced when the research is measure what they are supposed to repeated under the same conditions. measure. Assessment By checking the consistency of results By checking how well the results across time, across different observers, correspond to established theories and and across parts of the test itself. other measures of the same concept. Relation A reliable measurement is not always A valid measurement is generally valid: the results might be reproducible, reliable: if a test produces accurate but they’re not necessarily correct. results, they should be reproducible.  RAPPLER, JULY 15 MANILA BULLETIN, JULY 17 Differences in the reported news creates the confusion. Which one should the public believe in? Are we really flattening the curve? or Are we still undergoing a surge in the pandemic? CNN Philippines, UST Official Site, JULY 17 JULY 15 How do we prevent the spread of misinformation?  Always remember CRAAP!!! Currency Relevance Authority Accuracy Purpose Is the information Is the information Who is the Is the information What is the purpose current? important? author/publisher/sp supported by of this news? onsor of the news? evidence? Does the author cite credible sources? Is the information verifiable in other places?