4. history

Science and Epistemology

Epistemology and Science

• Epistemology does not define the potential scope of science or viable subject matter.
• This provides empiricism with guidelines for demarcating investigations from hypothetical thought experiments.

Science Realism

• Science Realism posits that knowing reflects reality.
• Emphasizes known things as scientifically representative of actual entities.
• Being representation-tied, it faces nihilistic implications regarding objective knowledge due to the inability to prove the authenticity of correlation between semiotics and reality.

Idealism

• Idealism suggests knowledge is a construction of the mind, not objective reality.
• Moves towards relativism, implying truth is perspective-dependent.
• Proponents like Berkeley and Kant defended truth's contingent nature, emphasizing inherent internal consistency in knowledge systems.

Pragmatism

• Pragmatism offers a moderate view: knowledge emerges from the combination of the knower and known realities.
• Views knowledge as utilitarian, constructed/changed by action rather than contemplation.
• Theoretical terms gain validity through empirical success and practical application as the truth criterion in scientific theories.

Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge

Systematicity

• Science aims to establish universally applicable laws superior to common practices.
• Knowledge is systematically and uniformly organized.
• Frameworks are presented in a well-ordered and hierarchical manner.
• Application domains are predefined, avoiding ambiguity in theory application.

Defined Methods

Reductionism

• Describes the world in terms of basic constituents.
• Explains phenomena based on these constituents.
• Conceptualizes and summarizes concrete occurrences through fundamental properties.
• Aims to explain diverse phenomena by consolidating them into single key principles or laws, e.g., water, steam, and ice as different states of the same chemical substance.

Objectivity

• Removes personal opinions influenced by emotions.
• Ensures replicable observations, fostering faith in scientific results.

Clarity

• Scientific statements must be unambiguous and publicly accessible.
• Aids in removing ambiguity and promotes communication among scientists and the community.

Revisability

• Acknowledges the tentative nature of theories and hypotheses.
• Theories are constantly assessed and potentially modified based on new evidence or theoretical development.

Deductive Arguments

• Premises justify a conclusion in a specific way.
• The final step is reached from antecedent propositions through analytical or synthetic processes.
• Referred to as terminal or final arguments/conclusions or inferences.
• If premises are true, the conclusion must be true due to logical flow.
• Categorical arguments offer the highest level of certainty, often in syllogisms.
• Validity depends on the argument's perfectness and the trueness of premises.

Inductive Arguments

• Reasoning through observation of samples and generalizing on what is likely to result.
• The conclusion is probationary and based upon the probabilities derived from premises.
• Inductive support increases with more evidence.
• Useful in science but not definite, unlike deductive reasoning.
• Induction lacks logical justification like deduction, causing the problem of induction.

Observation and Theory

• Early empiricists like Francis Bacon advocated for gathering pure observations to derive scientific laws naturally.
• Science requires imagination and preconceptions to guide observation, not purely deductive.
• Observation alone isn't enough; scientists explore unobservables to understand phenomena.
• The problem of induction questions the empirical evidence's justification and foundation.

Raven Paradox

• Example arguing the problem of induction:
• (x) (R → B): For every x, if it is a raven, it must be black, requiring finding all ravens to confirm.
• Implies: (x) (-B → -R): If it is not black, then it is not a raven.
• Induction doesn't guarantee absolute certainty, often involving probabilistic conclusions.

Abduction

• Formulating hypotheses from information to explain facts.
• Suggests a hypothesis to account for a seen thing.
• It doesn't make things definite but produces a potentially true hypothesis.
• Hypotheses developed from abduction must be constantly immersed and tested.

Justification vs. Discovery

• Some philosophers focus on justifying scientific theories, while others discuss how they were discovered.

Laws, Theories, Models, and Causes

• Tension exists between observation/theory and the empirical/unobservable.
• Strict empiricists avoid speculation about unobservables. However, conjectures are integral to scientific progress now.
• Observations are influenced by theoretical assumptions.
• Theory-ladenness: observations depend on one's theoretical framework.

Theories

• Organize, predict, and explain observations.
• Consist of logically interrelated statements for deriving testable hypotheses.
• Provide a framework for understanding phenomena and predicting.
• Predictions require additional assumptions and translation into empirical terms.

Laws

• Empirical generalizations express necessary relationships between observable phenomena.
• Distinguishing real laws from accidental generalizations is challenging; genuine laws must be universally and counterfactually supportive.
• Laws are interconnected within theoretical networks, enhancing credibility.

Models

• Serve as mini-theories or visual representations, facilitating understanding and prediction.
• Common in psychology, where complete theories are rare.
• Range from computer simulations to flow diagrams, providing insights into cognitive processes.
• Value is debated, but considered valuable tools alongside empirical investigation.

The Empirical Cycle (De Groot)

• Iterative process: observation, induction, deduction, testing, and evaluation.
• Observation: collecting and organizing empirical data, leading to implicit hypotheses.
• Induction: formulating explicit hypotheses generating testable predictions.
• Deduction: deriving predictions from hypotheses for empirical testing.
• Testing: confronting predictions with new data, comparing against observed phenomena.
• Evaluation: using test results to refine or expand the underlying theory.
• Iterative process continues indefinitely, with new hypotheses emerging from evaluated theories.
• Induction and deduction are indispensable, ensuring subjective decisions are formulated testably for scientific discovery and justification.

Francis Bacon and Inductive System

• Francis Bacon proposed an inductive system of scientific inquiry.
• Rejected deductive reasoning based on assumptions.
• Advocated for empirical observation and theoretical testing.
• Entailed regular data collection and observation arrangement into tabular forms to notice uniformity.

Science and Psychology

• Early science involved discriminative observation toward rational generalizations (e.g., Aristarchus).
• During the Dark Age, the church dominated science.
• By the 13th century, Roger Bacon emphasized empirical demonstration over debate, recognizing experience and mathematics' importance.
• Leonardo da Vinci emphasized experimentation, replicability, and hypothesis testing.

Early Science: Kepler, Galileo, Francis Bacon, and Newton

• Newton was active during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, which had a gradual implementation of mathematics in the society.

• Measurement became increasingly important, e.g., mechanical clocks and monetary economy.

• Transition from sexagesimals to the Arabic decimal system.

• Kaye referred to this as an arithmetic mentality and the emergence of the science of calculation.

• Kepler introduced mathematical relations as the foundation of reality.

• Galileo pointed to the relevance of mathematics in studying the natural world.

• Distinguished between primary qualities (inseparable from matter) and secondary qualities (perceived by the human senses).

• Galileo's methods combined visualization, intuition, demonstration, and experimentation, shaping modern scientific instruments and mathematical principles.

Bacon and Newton on Hypotheses

• Bacon banned hypotheses to ensure objective data research but used something like hypotheses in his work.
• Newton relied on observation and induction methods.
• He denied the naivety of hypotheses in not complementing hypotheses that have been come up with.
• Newton emphasized observation, experimentation, and mathematical reasoning.
• Challenged deterministic world-views, advocating a nuanced understanding of natural phenomena.

Scientific Principles of the 19th Century

• Inference is based on recognizing that something true of one thing must be true of its equivalent.
• Identity underlies achievements made through scientific methods.
• Simple inference is based on representative sampling.
• Experimentation influences what is observed, unlike observation.
• Sophisticated experiments remove conditions influencing the observation, controlling others.

Controlling Variables in Experiments

1. If two conditions are varied together, one cannot tell which factor caused the result.
2. If nothing happens, one cannot tell which factor was indifferent, or whether they neutralized each other.

John Stuart Mill's Methods of Induction

• John Stuart Mill proposed methods of induction and experimental enquiry for discovering causes.
• The joint method combines agreement and difference.
• Agreement: If multiple instances of a phenomenon share a single antecedent condition, the single condition is judged the cause.
• Difference: Compare instances similar except for the presence/absence of the phenomenon of interest.

Quantitative Experiments

• Determine the relation between varied values of a quantity (variable) and the caused, varying quantity (variant).

Folk Psychology vs. Scientific Psychology

• Folk psychology reflects cultural representations and standard conceptions.
• Sensible concepts are not exclusive to scientific expertise.
• Kelly and Heider recognized that, although people think in an irrational manner, their thinking is natural and astute
• Ordinary folk know how to infer other people’s behaviour.
• People use intuition and emotions to interpret behaviors.
• Science needs to substantiate such views scientifically.
• Systematic research strives for more accurate observations.
• Dowey stressed abstraction, defined as an isolated mental expectation.

The Problem of Induction

• Associated with induction by simple enumeration.
• Examines instances to seek characteristics.
• There is no assurance that such generalizations will always hold in the future.
• Induction estimates probabilities of events within the margin of error.

Probability Theory

• Probability theory traced back to Pascal and Fermat.
• Laplace viewed the curve as the 'Law of Error.'
• Quetelet viewed average human characteristics as consonant with nature, centrally represented by mean values.
• Fluctuations from the average contain 'error’; variability represents 'error.'
• Galton developed the concept of correlation.
• Spearman endeavored on correlation and factor analysis.

Differences Between Scientific and Folk Psychology

• Some assumptions of scientific psychology oppose folk/common-sense psychology.
• Fryer and Henry emphasized skepticism and the scientific method against simple observation.

Envy of Physics

• Psychologists have been bound to a claim of respectability based on the appearance of scientific rigor bolstered by a restricted view of what constitutes science..
• Mill noted the need to adopt physical sciences' aspects to enhance psychology's growth.
• Pioneers sought to follow professionalism trends by embracing scientific methodologies.
• Science mechanistically approached things after physical sciences advanced.
• Windelband's conception of individual psychology grounded on this construction.
• Otherwise known as 'physics envy’
• Positivism focused on objectivity and public observation.
• Subjectivity/personal experiences were excluded, possibly moving psychology away from vital behavioral features.

Is Psychology a Science?

• Quantitative research was initially like investigations in natural science with particular problems, so there is no real accumulation of knowledge.
• Proponents argue psychology is a science, but evaluating aspects of psychological research in the light of conventional scientific notions can be difficult.
• Contemporary psychology is fragmented, challenging the reconciliation of scientific ambition with inherent difficulties in studying the human mind and subjectivity.
• Koch proposed restyling psychology as 'psychological investigation.'
• Vygotsky introduced the general genetic law, expounding the diversity of psychological functions.

Human Kinds and Natural Kinds

• Putnam and Kripke introduced the concept of ‘natural kinds’ into philosophical literature.
• Terms like gold and tiger are natural kinds
• Natural kinds exist independent of human interests/understanding and have necessary and sufficient core properties.
• Natural kinds are studied by natural sciences (e.g., atoms, chemicals, rocks).
• Human kinds are aware and can alter themselves based on how they're categorized.
• When people are judged by another to possess some quality, they have the power to alter themselves or to challenge how they have been characterized.
• E.g., the designation of homosexuality as a psychological disorder in the 1960s had a different impact than today.

Concern with Ethics

• Events like the Nuremberg Trials led to principles guiding experiments with human subjects.
• Principles emphasized societal benefit and informed consent.
• Ethics codes were developed by psychological associations worldwide.
• Research raised concerns regarding deception and harm, such as Milgram's obedience study.
• Psychologists must consider ethics/morality in research and practice.

Scientific Norms/Counternorms (Turner & McCreery)

• C.U.D.Os:
  • Communism
  • Universalism
  • Disinterestedness
  • Organized Skepticism

Merton’s Norm of Science (C.U.D.Os)

Communism

• Scientific findings are products of social collaboration and belong to the community.
• Individual contributions are acknowledged within a collaborative framework, and results are for the public.

Universalism

• Emphasizes the impersonal nature of science supporting inclusivity, meritocracy, and impartiality.
• Advocates objective and unbiased evaluation.
• Scientists must withhold judgment and examine beliefs using empirical and logical criteria.
• This can cause friction with other establishments such as religion when challenging prior beliefs.

Disinterestedness

• Scientists are expected to act for the public benefit and scientific goals.
• Strict enforcement and the testable nature of scientific work uphold norm.

Organized Skepticism

• Scientists must withhold judgment and examine beliefs using empirical and logical criteria.
• Merton’s norms were formulated as a result of political crises
• This was especially for scientific independence brought by Nazi ideology.
• Influenced by Max Weber’s “Science as a Vocation”.
• Barber added emotional neutrality.
• Mitroff introduced counternorms. For example, the counternorm to organized scepticism is organized dogmatism, where scientists defend their own ideas while critically evaluating others’ ideas.
• Mulkay argued norms justify scientific community interests, evolving with science's organization/commercialization.