PHIL 008 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Verstehen, Natural Science
10 Jun 2020
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Reproduction: experiment y repeats experiment x; x and y have the same design; and the results of y confirm x"s results. Counteract fraud and chance results (1/20 norm) Replication: experiment y repeats experiment x; x and y have a different design; and the results of y confirms x"s results. Counteract biased results due to measuring instruments used and/or design of the experiment. Realism: one actual and reasonable aim of science is to give us accurate descriptions (and other representations) of what reality is like. Includes giving us accurate representations of aspects of reality that are unobservable. Constructive empiricism: science aims to give us theories which are empirically adequate. Accurate descriptions of the observable parts of the world. (wide) pragmatism. Nobody should be beguiled by the idea that the aim of inquiry is merely to discover truth, for, as numerous philosophers have recognized, there are vast numbers of true statements it would be utterly pointless to ascertain.
