LS222 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: John Stuart Mill, Ice Cream, Spurious Relationship
Document Summary
According hoffman, theories should be judged on their: Distinction between these are not always clear or that important. When evaluating a theory keep this structure in mind, when determining the validity of a theory: coherence. Are the statements linking the concepts and are they reasonable. (theory must be falsifiable, not an opinion: verifiability. Ensure every case is supported , to fit the theory to determine it supported. To say that a caused b, must demonstrate four things: The association is not due to third variables a. b. Spurious relationship (two relationships caused by something else, ie. relationship between ice cream and murder, caused by the same third variable, heat ) Always remember that correlation does not necessarily mean causation (understand what underlies the relationship) Deterministic - ie. relationship between alacaholic beverages and g. p. a. for every alcaholic drink you have per week your semester g. p. a. will decrease by 2% per week.