Research Methodology
Lecture 2
The Philosophy of Science
·
Research
is a science based discipline, that structure is needed for Knowledge to sort
through what is relevant and what is irrelevant.
·
Scientific
Knowledge: The ideas of value free Knowledge. The platonic idea of the
scientist (Plato argued that maths was the bones of the universe) He also said
that only through thought and contemplation could you see how the world is, to
tell what is real.
·
Aristotle
was considered the father of Science, i.e. biology, physics, politics and
ethics etc. and his thought carries great weight right up till the renaissance.
From Galileo onwards knowledge becomes based on observation, this
represents the triumph of certainty over radical doubt --- that you can know
things for sure, that the world is in fact knowable. Two philosophers to note
here are Descartes and Hobbes. This new thought replaces a cautious humanism.
The search for certainty was born out of a chaotic and unstable world where war
and strife were prevalent.
·
The
17th to 19th centuries saw the idea of a harmonious
universe, where natural law was the dominant ideology. There was a division of
social and natural phenomenon.
·
The
1920’s saw the rise of logical positivism, which began in
Vienna and became the dominant Paradigm. The theory is that only
that which can be recognised by observation is known. They divide
science and metaphysics here; interesting things that would have been
considered science now fall into metaphysics, like Human Rights, astrology,
cosmology and ufo-ology. The Logical positivists are only interested in what is
not what might be.
·
Scientific
Model
Hunch
→ Hypothesis → Test → yes → Law (scientific law that
is)
→ No →
re-evaluate your hypothesis.
·
What
is Science? Poppers falsifiability and the criticism of non-testable. Popper
criticised Fascism and Marxism. He said that Scientific Law is true but we can
never know for sure. Truths are open to be falsified at a later date.
An example of this is the statement: all swans are white. You see a lot of
white swans so the hypothesis is correct, however if you see one black swan it
disproves your whole hypothesis.
·
The
Basis
of your truth claim colours your hypothesis. The Spanish inquisition
based their truth on Aristotle and told Galileo he was incorrect as he was
basing his truth claim on his sense evidence obtained from looking in a
telescope.
·
Logical
Positivism has been compared to mental illness, as if you take everything you
can see as real that varies from person to person. Everyone has a slightly
different perception of reality
·
We
are all dependant on other peoples knowledge and theory; this is called epistemic
dependence. Science relies on other people’s knowledge and evidence.
Take language it is not based on absolute truth; it is open to interpretation.
Science relies on common concepts.
·
Wittgenstein said that there is no absolute truth claim can be made.
The example of this is that you cannot say for certain that there is not a
rhinoceros in this room.
·
Feyerabend and the call for a scientific anarchism. It is a
criticism of the culture of science taught in schools, its science as myth.
Feyerabend said that we cannot criticise Aristotle because we do not understand
it, as we are outside it. Feyerabend was not against the teaching of
creationism, as he believed in non-judgement. He also said that science
was a form of totalitarianism because science cannot be the only source
of Knowledge. He claimed that like in past times there was an unholy
bond between church and state, that now the bond is between state
and science. He also claimed that the search for truth was a form of
tyranny, and that science had the potential to stamp out diversity.