POS part 1

Positivism

________: apply the method of natural science to social problems (sociology) by establishing principles of positive thinking.

Metaphysical microscope

________: to understand an idea, it must be broken down (meaningless if not possible)

Verification

________ is gathered via the senses (neutral experiences; good foundation for science)

Constructivism

________: there may be more than one scientific theory which is also empirically adequate.

Popper

________- there is a problem, postulate a conjecture, attempt to falsify.

Kuhn

________ argues that growth may only occur within paradigm.

Confirmability

________: accepts too much as science.

Scientific statements

________ are always hypothetical, conjectural, and conditional.

Induction

________: knowledge when able to provide causal explanation.

Theological

________ (fictional): mind supposes all phenomenon can be produced by immediate action of supernatural beings (animism, polytheism, monotheism)

methodological epistemological anarchism

Anything goes: ________ (difference between science and pseudoscience is artificial)

Heuristics

________: methodological ways to find answers to problems (when observations contradict theory)

Protocol sentences

________ (describe reality directly) are observable and all connected through logic (way to foolproof theory)

Hermeneutic circle

________: understanding others by moving back and forth between the individual, their expression, and cohort theyre part of.

Incommensurability

________ thesis: paradigms arent rationally comparable (will never know whether paradigm shift takes us closer to the truth as there are no facts that can be used to decide which one is better)

Theory of knowledge

real knowledge 1) justified and 2) consists of a true belief

Epistème

true reflection of how things are

Doxa

opinions of how things are

Intuitive induction

induction only 1st step, as a 2nd step we can establish abstractions are necessarily true; tell with our mind that universal notions must be true and therefore knowledge

Radical doubt

anything that can be doubted is uncertain, malin genie

Clear and distinct insight

must be true (god is good and physical world exists)

Empiricist principle

all our ideas and mental representations stem from perception and reflection, together constituting experience

Ideas

what knowledge consists of

Simple

uniform appearance

Complex

composed of several simple ones

Mode

cant subsist by themselves; always depend on other ideas

Relation

comparing one idea with another

Substance

problematic as this cant be experienced (can exist on its own)

Qualities

properties we attribute to objects

Primary

exist on their own (absolute water temp)

Secondary

dependent on observer (subjective measure water temp)

Idealism

reality is essentially mental

Copy principle

world leaves impressions on us, resulting in ideas in our minds (copies)

Metaphysical microscope

to understand an idea, it must be broken down (meaningless if not possible)

Analysis of causality

we can only have knowledge about matters of fact when we can have knowledge of causality

Noumenal world

reality as it is (lack sensory evidence)

Phenomenal world

constructed out of sensations in our consciousness (all of our knowledge refers to this)

Forms of sensation (time and space)

not enough

Categories of reason (categorization)

sensations are collections of experiences, need to be adequately ordered to be interpreted

Copernican turn

we impose structure on the world via perception and categorization, making knowledge a priori (world has to appear to us in forms of sensation and categories of reason)

Positivism

apply the method of natural science to social problems (sociology) by establishing principles of positive thinking

Theological (fictional)

mind supposes all phenomenon can be produced by immediate action of supernatural beings (animism, polytheism, monotheism)

Metaphysical (abstract)

attribution of forces, essences, and powers to explain phenomena

Positivist (real/scientific)

reasoning and observation means of knowledge; used to find mechanical explanations

Dualistic methodology

sciences are essentially distinct

Erklären

in terms of cause and effect (how does X happen)

Verstehen

in terms of reasons (why does X happen)

Hermeneutic circle

understanding others by moving back and forth between the individual, their expression, and cohort theyre part of

Contemporary hermeneutics

Verstehen cant be an objective method (we interpret others from our own POV)

Neo-positivists

no statements can be made about inner lives of others with absolute certainty ( behaviorism only legit method)

Hempel

one can only understand psychological issues one has experienced themselves (otherwise no good scientist)

Truth

claims or beliefs must correspond to reality

Meaning

one should be able to establish the truth/falsehood of the claim

Logic

instrument to assess the soundness of a theory, not a method to gain knowledge with (analytic a priori)

Unification of science

all scientists work together on one scientific theory to explain the world

Verifiability

accepts too little as science

Confirmability

accepts too much as science

Deductive-nomological model requires a nomological (general) statement to start with

found through induction (not justifiable according to Hume)

Falsificationism

the truth cant be DC (even though pseudo-science and real science are vastly different)

Critical rationalism

inborn expectations make us dogmatic thinkers and industry machines (hyperactive pattern detection, confirmation bias)

Language game

words used and have meaning relative to certain social context in which theyre being used (factual claims only true/false relative to language game)

Rules should be publicly accessible

if not, one could become unintelligible

Prescientific (0)

unorganized, no structure or scientific activity

Normal science (1)

paradigm by which science is organized is accepted, predicated on assumption that scientific community knows what the world is like (describing what happens)