Philosophy of Science
Department of Biological Sciences
STS-Unit
The Meaning of
Philosophy
• Philosophy means "love of wisdom."
• It is made up of two Greek words, philo,
meaning love, and sophos, meaning
wisdom.
• Wisdom-the quality of having experience,
knowledge, and good judgment; the
quality of being wise.
Why We Need Philosophy?
• Philosophy helps us to reflect on key issues and concepts in
education.
• usually through such questions as:
• – What is being educated?
• – What is a good life?
• – What is knowledge?
• – What is the nature of learning?
• PHILOSOPHERS - Philosophers think about the meaning of things
and interpretation of that meaning.
Why do we need Philosophy?
• It teaches critical thinking and logical analysis; it uses these to
understand the language we use to describe the world, and our place
within it.
• Different areas of philosophy are distinguished by the questions they
ask.
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?
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
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 reality? organization of the universe
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)
What is the Importance of Ethics/Axiology?
• Ethics serve as a guide to moral daily living and helps us judge
whether our behavior can be justified.
• Ethics refers to society's sense of the right way of living our daily lives.
• It does this by establishing rules, principles, and values on which we
can base our conduct.
What is the Importance of Metaphysics?
• Metaphysics is one of the most ancient and important branch of
philosophy, it is the study of the concepts that are beyond the sensible
experience, empirical justifications and physics, it aims to study the
fundamental nature as thing in itself.
• Metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy.
• Without an explanation or an interpretation of the world around us, we
would be helpless to deal with reality.
What is the Importance of Epistemology?
• Epistemology is the explanation of how we think.
• It is required in order to be able to determine the true from the false, by
determining a proper method of evaluation.
• It is needed in order to use and obtain knowledge of the world around
us.
• Three Central Questions: What is knowledge? (What's the difference
between knowledge and opinion?) Can we have knowledge? (Are
humans capable of knowing anything?) How do we get knowledge?
(What's the process by which knowledge is obtained?)
Mathematics – Physics - Biology – structure Psychology Social science
theorems & axioms measurement & function
The Sciences
What are the 2 Big Branches of Science?
• Natural science can be divided into two main branches: physical
science and life science (or biological science).
• Social sciences: the scientific study of human behavior in its social
and cultural aspects.
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 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.
Why is Falsifiability important in Science?
• Scientists are rethinking the fundamental principle that scientific
theories must make testable predictions.
• If a theory doesn't make a testable prediction, it isn't science.
• It's a basic axiom of the scientific method, dubbed “falsifiability” by
the 20th century philosopher of science Karl Popper.
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”
Revolutionary science or Paradigm shift is used to describe a change in
basic ideas within the ruling theory of science.
Normal science is the term refers to the regular work of scientists
experimenting within a settled paradigm or explanatory framework.
Solving problems is scientific
progress.
Scientific Method
ASK A QUESTION DEFINE PROBLEM CONSTRUCT THE TEST THE COLLECT THE DATA REPORT THE
STATEMENT HYPOTHESIS HYPOTHESIS RESULT
problem research hypothesize experiment analyze interpret
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 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 reliable:
valid: the results might be reproducible, if a test produces accurate results, they
but they’re not necessarily correct. 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?
