PHIL2420 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Hermann Rorschach, Confirmation Bias, Thomas Kuhn
1 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
PHIL 2420
Critical Thinking
March 29, 2018
RECAP: Underdetermination of Theory by Data
• Falsification – portrays experiment as an independent test of a particular theory
• Every experiment will require a large number of auxiliary assumptions, each
supported more or less by:
o Other results
o Other theories
o Standard procedures
o Experimenter judgment, educated guesses, common sense
• Scientists are not forced by logic to reject any theory based on a crucial
experiment
o Results are justified in the same way the experiment is carried out
o You need to accept the assumptions also
o Same way you’re testing the theory in questions
o Many beliefs needed to be accepted for the experiment to be a theory
o People critique other results/procedures, making experiment not crucial
o Scientist does not only challenge result but also the other assumptions
• Falsification may be useful as an ideal
o Crucial experiments can happen
o Data plays crucial role in whether result is accepted or not
o You can learn something by going through process of whether statements
can be falsified
• There are no crucial experiments
o Never been an experiment that proves that theory is wrong/right
• What makes a good experiment in particular context is always open for debate
o Empirical experiments and critique test the result
• You can, and scientists do, critique results on basis of factors listed in previous
slide
• Debate improves a method
WEEK 5
Theories, Definitions, Observation, Bias
Knowledge and Reason
• How do you know?
• What is the basis for knowledge?
ANSWER: Naïve Empiricism
• Knowledge is gained through observation
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
If we know the senses deceive, then we cannot base knowledge only on the information gained though the senses: you can always be mistaken about what you"re observing. Is this a good foundation for knowledge: we want certainty, want to know for sure that science is right. Data: data is meaningless except to those who know what it is, examples, cloud chamber photograph, chromatograph, dna sequence, ekg, eeg, hermann rorschach. Gestalt shift: each theory has implications about how you want see the data, each theory will have its own way of seeing data, gestalt way of seeing the world. Confirmation bias tendency to search for / interpret information in a way that confirms one"s perceptions. Expert opinion: biases are based on heuristics we use. We use educated guesses: maybe these biases are not a bad thing, being pessimistic no risk don"t win much.
