Philosophy of Science and Cosmology – Practice Flashcards

A set of 111 English question-and-answer flashcards drawn from the lecture notes to aid exam preparation.

According to Aristotle, what is the size of the universe?

It is finite and bounded.

In Aristotle’s cosmology, what occupies the centre of the cosmos?

The Earth.

What geometric structure contains the celestial bodies in Aristotle’s model?

Nested, perfectly concentric spheres.

How does Aristotle describe the sublunar region?

It is mutable and subject to change and decay.

How does Aristotle describe the supralunar region?

It is immutable and perfect.

What observational phenomenon did Aristotle’s model fail to explain?

The retrograde motion of the planets.

Which astronomer introduced epicicycles to solve the problem of retrograde motion?

Claudius Ptolemy.

What is an epicicycle?

A small circular orbit whose centre moves along a larger circular deferent.

What is the fundamental claim of Copernicus’ heliocentric model?

The Sun is at the centre and the Earth revolves around it.

Which two motions does Copernicus attribute to Earth?

Annual revolution around the Sun and daily rotation on its axis.

Name four discoveries Galileo made with his telescope.

Mountains on the Moon, sunspots, the four largest moons of Jupiter, and the phases of Venus.

Why were the phases of Venus important for the heliocentric theory?

They could only be explained if Venus orbited the Sun, supporting heliocentrism.

What shape did Kepler assign to planetary orbits?

Ellipses.

State Kepler’s second law in simple terms.

Planets sweep out equal areas in equal times and move faster when nearer the Sun.

What relationship is expressed in Kepler’s third law?

The square of a planet’s orbital period is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the Sun.

What two major ideas did Newton contribute to cosmology?

The universal law of gravitation and the concept of an infinite, vacuum-filled universe.

How did Newton’s universe differ from Aristotle’s with respect to finitude and vacuum?

Newton’s universe is infinite and contains empty space; Aristotle’s was finite with no void.

What principle allowed Newton to unify terrestrial and celestial mechanics?

His universal law of gravitation.

How is “ancient science” characterised with respect to method?

It relied on deductive reasoning from self-evident principles with little or no experimentation.

How is “modern science” characterised with respect to method?

It follows the hypothetico-deductive method, emphasising observation, experiment, and refutation.

In logic, what is a proposition?

A statement that can be assigned a truth value of true or false.

What truth-functional meaning has the connective “∧”?

Conjunction ("and"); true only when both component propositions are true.

When is the disjunction “∨” false?

Only when both component propositions are false.

Under what condition is the conditional “→” false?

When the antecedent is true and the consequent is false.

What does the symbol “¬” or “~” denote?

Negation; it inverts the truth value of a proposition.

What is the logical value of a double negation “~~A”?

It is equivalent to A; the statement is affirmed.

What is inductive reasoning?

Inferring general laws from particular cases.

Why is inductive inference not truth-guaranteeing?

Because future instances may contradict the generalisation; it is ampliative, not deductively valid.

What is deductive reasoning?

Deriving specific conclusions necessarily entailed by general premises.

Distinguish between truth and validity.

Truth applies to individual propositions; validity applies to the logical form of an argument.

State the rule of inference called Modus Ponens.

If A → B and A is true, then B must be true.

State the rule of inference called Modus Tollens.

If A → B and B is false, then A is false.

What is the fallacy of affirming the consequent?

Inferring A from A → B and B; an invalid argument form.

List two motives for the rise of science.

The need to control nature and human curiosity.

Mention three capacities that science provides.

Explanation, prediction, and modification of reality.

What is meant by the “context of discovery”?

The creative process by which hypotheses originate.

What is meant by the “context of justification”?

The logical testing of hypotheses against data.

What is meant by the “context of application”?

The practical use of scientific knowledge.

What is a singular statement?

A claim about one identifiable case, e.g., "This stone is red."

What is a universal statement?

A claim about every member of a class, e.g., "All metals expand when heated."

What does the inductive method attempt to do?

Generalise laws from repeated observations.

Does induction yield certainty? Why or why not?

No; observations can never cover all possible cases.

List the three classical steps of the inductive method.

1) Repeated observations, 2) Search for regularities, 3) Formulation of a general hypothesis.

Outline the basic cycle of the hypothetico-deductive method.

Start with a hypothesis, deduce testable consequences, and compare them with observations.

What happens if the observational consequence derived from a hypothesis is observed to be true?

The hypothesis is corroborated (but not proven).

What happens if the observational consequence is observed to be false?

The hypothesis is refuted unless a justified auxiliary assumption is introduced.

Give an example of an empirical term.

"Red" (directly observable).

Give an example of a theoretical term.

"Electron" (not directly observable).

What is meant by the theory-ladenness of observation?

All observations are influenced by prior theories, concepts, and expectations.

Name three factors that contribute to theory-ladenness.

1) Background hypotheses/culture, 2) Measuring instruments, 3) Researcher training.

How does theory-ladenness challenge inductivism?

It denies the existence of pure, theory-free observation on which inductivism relies.

What is a level-I statement?

A singular empirical observation, e.g., "This sample is 5 cm long."

What is a level-II statement?

An empirical generalisation or law, e.g., "All copper conducts electricity."

What is a level-III statement?

A purely theoretical claim involving non-observable concepts.

What is an auxiliary hypothesis?

An additional assumption describing initial conditions or experimental setup.

What is an ad hoc hypothesis?

A special assumption invented solely to shield a theory from refutation.

What is a bridge principle?

A statement linking theoretical terms to empirical terms.

What is an internal principle?

A statement formulated only with theoretical terms.

In the hypothetico-deductive scheme, what is an “observational consequence”?

A prediction of what should be seen if the theory is correct.

What is a data statement?

What is actually observed or measured in an experiment.

Summarise the core idea of inductivism.

Knowledge grows by verifying generalisations through repeated confirming instances.

How are theories justified under inductivism?

By successful verification of their predictions.

What is the “degree of confirmation”?

A measure of how strongly observations support a hypothesis.

State the principle of accumulation.

The more true observational consequences a theory has, the more credible it appears.

Why does the infinite number of possible predictions pose a problem for verificationism?

Because no finite set of confirmations can exhaust all possible cases.

Can a universal theory ever be conclusively verified by particular instances?

No; universal verification from finite observations is impossible.

What is Popper’s falsificationism?

The view that science advances by conjectures that must be open to refutation, not verification.

Which logical form underlies falsificationism?

Modus Tollens.

Define falsifiability.

The property of a theory that allows it to be disproved by some conceivable observation.

According to falsificationism, what should occur when a prediction fails?

The theory is rejected or replaced by a more falsifiable one.

How does Popper conceive scientific progress?

As a series of bold conjectures and severe refutations.

How does Popper regard ad hoc hypotheses?

Negatively; they hinder progress by rescuing theories from falsification without new testable content.

What is a Scientific Research Programme (Lakatos)?

A sequence of related theories sharing a core set of assumptions.

What is the “hard core” of a research programme?

The fundamental hypotheses that are not to be questioned within the programme.

What is the “protective belt” in Lakatos’ terminology?

Adjustable auxiliary hypotheses that shield the hard core from anomalies.

When is a research programme called progressive?

When it predicts novel facts and leads to scientific advances.

When is a research programme called degenerative?

When it only makes ad hoc adjustments and fails to produce new knowledge.

What is the negative heuristic?

The methodological rule forbidding changes to the hard core.

What is the positive heuristic?

Guidelines suggesting fruitful ways to modify the protective belt and develop the programme.

Under what conditions is a research programme abandoned?

When it becomes degenerative and a more progressive alternative exists.

How are research programmes replaced?

By comparative evaluation of their relative explanatory and predictive successes.

According to Kuhn, what is a paradigm?

A shared set of theories, methods, and values guiding a scientific community.

What central function does a paradigm perform?

It defines legitimate problems and acceptable solutions.

What is Kuhn’s stage of prescience?

A period lacking a common paradigm, with competing schools.

What characterises “normal science” for Kuhn?

Puzzle-solving within the accepted paradigm.

What precipitates a crisis in Kuhn’s model?

The accumulation of persistent anomalies the paradigm cannot resolve.

What is a scientific revolution according to Kuhn?

A non-cumulative shift to an incompatible new paradigm.

What does Kuhn mean by “incommensurability”?

The inability to fully translate concepts and standards between paradigms.

How does Kuhn view scientific progress?

Not as linear truth-approach but as gaining better problem-solving tools.

Do all paradigms see the world in the same way?

No; each paradigm frames reality differently.

What do the social sciences primarily study?

Symbolic, linguistic, and historical human phenomena.

Why is the social researcher never fully “external” to the object of study?

Because they are part of the society they investigate.

What is methodological naturalism in the social sciences?

The claim that social sciences should use the same methods as natural sciences.

What kind of explanations does naturalism seek?

Causal explanations governed by universal laws.

What is the compréhensive (interpretive) approach?

An approach that understands social action by grasping the meaning actors attach to it.

Which method is central to compréhensive sociology?

Empathic interpretation (Verstehen).

What claim does hermeneutics make about knowledge?

All knowledge involves interpretation rooted in prior tradition.

Why is “understanding from scratch” impossible in hermeneutics?

Because we are always situated within language, history, and pre-judgements.

What is meant by an “unfinished dialogue”?

Interpretation is never final and remains open to revision.

What role does language play in hermeneutics?

It is the very medium and material of social reality, not merely a tool.