HU3700: Study Questions for Exam 1

Define, Explain, Describe, Identify ad hoc modification fact parallax argument fallible perceptions Aristotle’s universe falsifiability, degrees of Popper, Karl auxiliary assumption falsifiable prediction bold conjecture falsificationism principle of induction causation falsificationist criterion problem of induction cautious conjecture of science pseudoscience confirmation Galileo relevant fact conjecture geocentric (Ptolemaic) revisable Copernican revolution model scientific progress Copernicus heliocentric senses deductive (Copernican) model singular statement dogmatism hypothesis sophisticated Duhem/Quine thesis inductivism falsificationism empiricism initial condition sound epicycle Kepler sub-lunar region ether law super-lunar region experiment logic theory experimental outcome natural place theory-dependent experimental setup Newton Tower argument explanation objective universal statement extraneous observation statement valid verification

Discussion

1. What are the 3 elements of the “common view of science” that Chalmers discusses? According to Chalmers, what are the main objections against that view? 2. What are the main problems with the view that facts are directly given to us by way of the senses? 3. What are the main problems with the view that facts are prior to and independent of theory? 4. In what ways are scientific observations fallible? Illustrate with an example. 5. Why are experiments particularly useful in science as a means of obtaining facts? How can the acceptability of experimental results sometimes depend on theory? Illustrate with an example. 6. How is deductive reasoning used in science? Illustrate with an example. How is inductive reasoning involved in science? Illustrate with an example. 7. What is the principle of induction? What are the main problems of applying the principle in actual scientific practice? Illustrate each problem with an example. 8. What is the problem of induction? What important attempts have been made to solve the problem? What are the main criticisms of those attempts? 9. What is inductivism? What are the main problems with that view? 10. What is the difference between explanation and prediction in science? In the inductivist account of science, what do the models of explanation and prediction have in common? 11. What are the main differences between falsificationism (the original Popperian version) and inductivism? What improvements over inductivism do the falsificationists claim for their view? 12. How do the falsificationists propose to distinguish between science and pseudoscience? Could a true theory be falsifiable? If so, how? 13. Explain the falsificationist notion of “degrees of falsifiability”? What role does that notion play in their philosophy of science? 14. How do falsificationists attempt to solve the problem of induction? Explain in detail. 15. What are the main differences between sophisticated falsificationism and the original (Popperian) version of falsificationism? What problems with the original version were the modifications intended to correct? 16. What are the main objections to sophisticated falsificationism? What is the Duhem/Quine thesis? What objection to sophisticated falsificationism is based on that thesis? 17. Some critics of sophisticated falsificationism allege that it is inconsistent with the history of science. What are some of the events in the history of science that they point to in making their criticism? Explain where the inconsistencies are claimed to occur. 18. What was the Copernican revolution? When did it occur? What world view did it overturn? What aspects of that view were replaced, and what were they replaced with? 19. Why did it take approximately 150 years for the Copernican revolution to be completed? What were some of the developments in science that eventually led to the Copernican model’s being accepted? Explain how critics of falsificationism use the Copernican revolution to make their case?