Philosophy of Science - Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on philosophy of science.

Philosophy

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

Metaphysics

The branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of reality and existence beyond the physical.

Ontology

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

Cosmology

The study of the universe as a whole, including its origin and future.

Epistemology

The theory of knowledge; how knowledge is acquired and what counts as knowledge.

Inductive Reasoning

Reasoning from specific observations to general conclusions.

Deductive Reasoning

Reasoning from general principles to specific conclusions; logically true when premises are true.

Axiology

The study of values, worth, and value judgments in society.

Ethics

The study of the rightness or wrongness of human actions; what it means to be good.

Aesthetics

The study of beauty, art, and the nature of aesthetic value.

Theory

A tested explanation; a set of hypotheses that have withstood testing.

Hypothesis

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

Law (scientific)

A statement based on repeated observations, often with mathematics.

Conjecture and Refutation

Conjecture: a conclusion from incomplete information; Refutation: proving a statement or theory wrong.

Hypothetico-Deductivism

Science proceeds by formulating hypotheses and testing them; facts are not always observable; context of discovery is disputed.

Falsificationism

Scientific theories are tentative and progress comes by attempts to falsify them.

Inductivism

Knowledge arises from observable facts; theories are derived from systematic observations.

Paradigm

A set of practices and beliefs guiding normal science; a framework that can be shifted in a paradigm shift.

Normal Science

Periods within a paradigm focused on solving puzzles and extending the existing framework.

Revolutionary Science

Periods of paradigm change where old theories are re-evaluated and replaced.

Scientific Method

Process: ask a question, define the problem, form a hypothesis, test it, collect data, and report results.

Question/Problem Statement

The issue or question that guides the investigation.

Quantitative Data

Numeric data; measures: How many, how much.

Qualitative Data

Non-numeric data; categorical variables and descriptions: What type, qualities, how often.

Reliability

Consistency of a measurement; same results under the same conditions.

Test-Retest Reliability

Consistency of results across time when the measurement is repeated.

Internal Consistency

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

Interrater Reliability

Consistency of measurements across different raters or researchers.

Validity

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

Face Validity

The apparent validity of a measure on its face.

Construct Validity

Whether a measure actually assesses the intended construct.

Content Validity

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

Criterion Validity

How well a measure correlates with an established valid measure of the same concept.

Discriminant Validity

Lack of correlation with measures of distinct variables.

CRAAP

Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose; criteria to assess information quality.