Philosophy of science
The branch of philosophy that examines the foundations, methods, assumptions, and limits of scientific knowledge and practice.
Scientific method: A set of practices for developing, testing, and revising explanations about the natural world. Its procedures raise questions about whether science has one method or several.
Experiment: A planned procedure that manipulates or controls conditions to investigate a hypothesis or phenomenon. Experiments make questions about intervention, control, and evidential force concrete.
Karl Popper: A twentieth-century philosopher who argued that scientific theories should expose themselves to possible refutation. His falsifiability criterion became a central proposal for demarcating science.
Logical empiricism: A philosophical movement that sought to connect meaningful knowledge with logic and empirical evidence. Its verificationist ambitions differ from later emphasis on refutation and historical change.
Philosophy of biology: The philosophical study of concepts, explanations, and methods specific to biological sciences. Evolution, function, and species make general philosophical questions sharply specific.
Induction: Reasoning from observed cases to broader generalizations or predictions. It exposes the difficulty of justifying laws from finite observations.
Observation: The acquisition of information through perception or instruments, often guided by scientific concepts. What counts as neutral observation is disputed because expectations shape data collection.
Thomas Kuhn: An American historian and philosopher of science best known for analyzing paradigm shifts. His account of scientific revolutions challenged simple pictures of cumulative progress.
Constructive empiricism: Bas van Fraassen's view that science aims at empirical adequacy rather than truth about unobservable entities. It contrasts with realism over what acceptance of a successful theory commits scientists to believe.
Philosophy of physics: The philosophical study of the foundations and interpretation of physical theories. Quantum mechanics and spacetime test assumptions about reality, observation, and explanation.