Philosophy of Science — Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the Philosophy of Science lecture notes.

Philosophy

The love of wisdom; the study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language.

Metaphysics

Branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of reality, existence, and being; questions beyond the physical.

Ontology

The study of being; what exists; the nature of existence.

Cosmology

The study of the origin, structure, and evolution of the universe.

Epistemology

The theory of knowledge; investigates its sources, limits, and justification.

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning from specific observations to general conclusions; bottom-up; conclusions may be tentative.

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning from general principles to specific conclusions; top-down; conclusions follow logically if premises are true.

Axiology

The study of values, including the origin, meaning, and justification of value judgments.

Ethics

The study of morality; the rightness or wrongness of human actions and what is considered good.

Aesthetics

The study of beauty, art, and taste; the nature of beauty and artistic value.

Fact

An observation about the world that can be verified by evidence or repeatable observation.

Observation

Gaining information about the world through senses; basis for facts.

Hypothesis

An educated guess or proposed explanation used as a starting point for investigation.

Theory

A well-substantiated explanation that integrates a range of facts and allows predictions.

Law (scientific law)

A statement describing a consistently observed natural phenomenon, often expressed mathematically.

Conjecture

A conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information; an educated guess.

Refutation

The act of proving a statement or theory false.

Hypothetico-deductivism

Philosophy that hypotheses are tested by deducing predictions and testing them; discovery context is downplayed.

Falsificationism

The view that scientific progress comes through attempts to falsify hypotheses; theories are tentative.

Paradigm

A framework of theories, methods, and standards in a science; Kuhn's concept; paradigm shifts occur when old frameworks are replaced.

Normal Science

Period within a paradigm focused on solving puzzles and extending knowledge.

Revolutionary Science

Period when existing paradigms are challenged, leading to paradigm shifts.

Scientific Method

Systematic process: ask a question, define the problem, formulate a hypothesis, test it, collect data, and report results.

Data

Information collected in research; can be qualitative or quantitative.

Quantitative Data

Numeric data; measures quantities (how many, how much).

Qualitative Data

Non-numeric data; categorical; describes qualities or types.

Reliability

Consistency of a measurement under the same conditions; includes test-retest, internal consistency, and interrater reliability.

Test-Retest Reliability

Stability of results across time when measured again.

Internal Consistency

Consistency of results across parts of a test designed to measure the same construct.

Interrater Reliability

Consistency of results across different researchers or observers.

Validity

Accuracy of a measurement; how well it measures what it is intended to measure.

Face Validity

The extent a measure appears to assess the intended construct on its face.

Construct Validity

The degree to which a test actually measures the intended construct.

Content Validity

The extent a measure covers all aspects of the concept being measured.

Criterion Validity

The extent a measure correlates with other valid measures of the same concept.

Discriminant Validity

The degree a measure does not correlate with measures of distinct constructs.

Data Collection

Methods used to gather data for research (e.g., surveys, experiments).

CRAAP

A checklist for information quality: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose.

Currency

How current the information is.

Relevance

How pertinent or important the information is to the topic.

Authority

Who produced or published the information.

Accuracy

Whether the information is supported by evidence and credible sources.

Purpose

The reason the information exists; its aim or potential bias.