PLS 121: American Politics and GovernmentPLS 121: American Politics and Government

Political SciencePolitical Science

The Philosophy of Science

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The Story Thus Far…

• So far:– The technical requirements for

science

• Today:– The reasons for those technical

requirements

– Nature of reality

– Philosophy (and philosophers) of science

– Necessary conditions for science

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The Real World?

• What is the nature of reality?

• Does a reality exist? – If so, can we ever come to know it?

• Answers to these questions– Objective

– Inter-Subjective

– Subjective

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Objective Reality

• There is a real world that exists separate from ourselves.

• That world can be known and understood by us.

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Subjective Reality

• There is no real world separate from our senses.

• The act of experiencing the world creates it.

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Inter-Subjective Reality

• There exists an objective reality.

• We are, unfortunately, unable to know this reality.

• We are, however, able to approximate knowledge of it.

• To get close to the reality, multiple observations by multiple persons must be used.

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Philosophy of Science

• Popper– Falsification as the line of

demarcation between science and pseudo-science (between physics and metaphysics)

• Kuhn– Normal and Revolutionary Science

• Lakatos– Research Programmes

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Karl Popper

• The difference between science and pseudoscience is falsifiability

• Science creates hypotheses that are empirically testable

• Pseudoscience does not

• In a science, when a theory is falsified, it is discarded

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Samuel Kuhn

• Objection to Popper: – Obviously science does not discard

theories that have produced negative results

• Response:– Science progresses through

periods of “Normal Science” and “Revolutionary Science”

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Samuel Kuhn

• Normal Science:– A common paradigm (model) exists

to drive research

• Revolutionary Science:– This common way of looking at the

problems and answers is lacking

• Both are necessary in science at times

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Imre Lakatos

• Science is a research programme

• The programme consists of:– “Hard Core” of the theory

– “Protective Belt” of the hypotheses and assumptions

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Imre Lakatos

• The numerous hypotheses that have been falsified are parts of the Protective Belt that can be jettisoned without serously affecting the core theory

• Research programmes change in reaction to the hypotheses that have and have not been falsified

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Imre Lakatos

• Progressive Science:– Programme changes in response to

falsified hypotheses, but creates a greater understanding of the underlying factors.

• Degenerate Science:– Programme changes in response to

falsified hypotheses, but creates no new understanding.

– Ad hoc changes

• We should strive to have a progressive science

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Assignment

• What is the purpose of government? – How would your philosophers answer

the question.

• Last Names A–D: Plato

• Last Names C–H: Aristotle

• Last Names E–L: Machiavelli

• Last Names I–O: Hobbes

• Last Names M–R: Locke

• Last Names P–S: Burke

• Last Names S–V: Montesquieu

• Last Names T–Z: J.S. Mill

• Last Names W–B: Nietzsche