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What We Learned Throughout the Course Philosophy of Science

image credit: ET

Let me start from the beginning by raking over some coals. When I first started studying Philosophy of Science, I have to admit that I had no single idea about the first thing of philosophy. I thought it was just another boring subject that I have to study hard whether I liked it or not. I was really mad even more after getting to know that I have to submit web posts, a reflection article, a blog, a Perusall reading, complete 1000 seeds on the CN,  and even a quiz EVERY WEEK. But, when the time passed by, and new topics were introduced every week, I eventually fell in love with the course because now I have a great window of opportunity to learn new things, practice new methods, and also teach my fellow course-mates and learn from them as well. Today, I am going to list the different aspects of philosophy of science each week.

WEEK 01

INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY
Philosophy is a way of thinking about ethics, thought, existence, time, meaning, and value, among other topics. Responsiveness, reflection, reason, and re-evaluation are all part of this "style of thinking." The goal is to improve understanding. The objective is that through studying philosophy, we will increase our ability to think critically and act intelligently, so improving the quality of all of our lives.

Branches of Philosophy:

  • Epistemology: The study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge from a philosophical perspective.
  • Logic: A branch of philosophy that deals with issues such as reference, predication, truth, quantification, existence, implication, modality, and necessity. 
  • Ethics: The study of what is morally good and bad, as well as what is morally right and wrong.
  • Aesthetics: The philosophical study of beauty and taste.
  • Metaphysics:  The first causes of things and the nature of being were the main topics of ancient and medieval philosophy.

WEEK 02

ARGUMENTS
A connected series of statements, including at least one predicate, intended to prove the truth of another statement (the conclusion) through the use of the premises. A conclusion can be reached through inference, the process of reasoning to reach a conclusion. Two types of arguments;
  • Deductive: A deductively valid argument is one where the arguer intends the conclusion to be true if the premises are true. 
eg: It's sunny in Kegalle. If it's sunny in Kegalle, an umbrella won't be necessary. Therefore, won't be carrying an umbrella.
  • Inductive: Arguments based on inductive reasoning are intended to be so strong that, if the premises are true, it is unlikely that the conclusion is false.
eg: This dog has never tried to bite me when I've walked by it. If I walk by that dog again, it won't try to bite me.


WEEK 03

PERCEPTION
Process of sensory stimulation leading to organized experience. Experience, or perception, is a product of both stimulus and process. We obtain knowledge about the features and aspects of the environment that are crucial to our existence through the perceptual process.

ILLUSION AND HALLUCINATION
An illusion is a sensory distortion that reveals how the human brain regularly organizes and interprets sensory input. Hallucination on the other hand, is a sensory illusion that appears to be real but is actually generated by your mind. It has the ability to impact all five of your senses. You might, for example, hear a voice that no one else in the room can hear or see a fictitious image.


WEEK 04 

TESTIMONY
The deliberate transfer of a belief from one person to another is defined as testimony. The transfer can be made verbally, in writing, or by some other means. The epistemology of testimony has become a hot topic in contemporary philosophy, with the argument spreading beyond epistemology to include topics like philosophy of mind, action theory, and philosophy of language.

TESTIMONIAL BELIEFS
Much of what one believes is based on testimony, accepting written and oral reports; wholly or partially, directly or indirectly. Many of these views are based on sound epistemology and are objectively justified.


WEEK 05

ETHICS
The term "ethics" refers to a set of moral ideals. They have an impact on how people make choices and live their lives. Ethics, often known as moral philosophy, is concerned with what is beneficial for individuals and society. The word ethos comes from the Greek word meaning "custom, habit, character, or temperament."

 The following dilemmas are covered by ethics:

  • What it takes to live a happy life

  • Our responsibility and rights

  • Moral decisions

  • Rights and wrongs



WEEK 06

RACE AND ETHNNICITY
A category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits is how race is defined. Large groupings of individuals classified according to common racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background, according to a more comprehensive definition of ethnicities.

CULTURE
Culture refers to a collection of people's qualities and knowledge, which includes language, religion, food, social habits, music, and the arts.

 

WEEK 07

SEXUAL ORIENTATION
An enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to people of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, both sexes, or more than one gender is known as sexual orientation.

GENDER EQUALITY
When persons of all genders have equal rights, duties, and opportunities, this is referred to as gender equality. Gender inequality has an impact on everyone, including women, men, trans and gender diverse persons, children, and families. It affects people of all ages and from all walks of life. We urgently require gender equality. Gender equality protects women and girls from abuse. It is necessary for economic growth. Women and men are valued equally in societies that are safer and healthier. Equality between men and women is a fundamental human right. Gender equality benefits everyone.


WEEK 08 + 09

SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION
Science is the observation and experimentation-based study of the natural world. An observation and measurement are used in a scientific explanation to describe something we see in the natural world. Scientific explanations should be rational and match the facts, or at least as much of the evidence as possible.

DEDUCTIVE NOMO LOGICAL MODEL
The Deductive Nomo logical Model (D-N model) is a phenomenon that can be scientifically explained if some natural laws can be rationally deduced from it. The conclusion is the explanandum in the D-N model, whereas the premises are the explanans.


WEEK 10

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Scientific inquiry encompasses the various methods through which scientists investigate the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence gathered.

AUXILIARY HYPOTHESIS
Assumptions that must be true for the conditional to be true, which are usually unstated. Independent testing can be used to verify our auxiliary hypotheses. Many more tests back up the claims that uranium-238 has a half-life of 4.5 billion years and that its decay rate is constant.

AD HOC HYPOTHESIS
An ad hoc hypothesis is a hypothesis introduced to a theory to prevent it from being falsified in science and philosophy. Ad hoc hypothesizing is frequently used to adjust for anomalies that the theory in its unaltered form does not predict.


WEEK 11

SCIENTIFIC THEORY
A set of hypotheses that have been consistently validated via experiment or observation to explain a set of facts or events in the natural world. For example, the Atomic theory explains that all matter is made up of tiny indivisible particles, according to this idea (atoms). According to contemporary interpretations of the idea, each element's atoms are practically similar, but differ from those of other elements, and combine in fixed proportions to form compounds. There are two kinds of principles in scientific theory.

  1. Internal Principle:     Describes the underlying entities and processes.
  2. Bridge Principle: Connects the underlying entities and processes defined by the internal principle to actual phenomena that we are already familiar with.

     
Finally, This course was immensely resourceful for me to continue studying my other courses as well because Philosophy of Science taught me to see things in a whole new perspective.









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