Philosophy Of Science Very Short Introduction

mind-and-cognition

• The goal of science is not solely to refute theories, but to determine which theories are true—and that requires inductive reasoning Popper could not avoid.

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• Hempel: scientific explanations have the logical structure of an argument—premises telling us why the conclusion, 'sugar dissolves in water', must be true.

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faith-and-doubt

• If paradigm shifts work the way Kuhn says, scientists base belief on faith and peer pressure, not evidence—hardly a rational way to behave.

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• Copernicus' heliocentric model stripped Earth of unique status; the Catholic Church banned books advocating Earth's motion—yet within 100 years it became orthodoxy.

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obedience-and-authority

• No branch of science tells us how to lead our lives—yet some philosophers insist science is the only legitimate path to knowledge.

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• Popper criticised Freudians and Marxists for explaining away conflicting data—yet this very procedure may characterise the greatest scientific advances.

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