Philosophy of the humanities
Week 1: Kuhn, Popper, Plato
1. Both philosophy of science and philosophy of humani es have a double task, viz. a
descrip ve task and a norma ve task (pp. 16-18 Leezenberg 2018). Explain these tasks.
• Descrip ve = descrip on of scien c prac ces and products
• Norma ve = norma ve assessments of scien c prac ces
2. What is the problem of demarca on (p. 91)?
• Demarca on = dis nc on between Episteme (universal truth) and Doxa (pseudo-science
opinion)
• What dis nguishes good science from pseudo-science?
• Three possible answers:
1. Logical Empiricism
- Veri ability: claim should be testable using sensory experience.
- Poli cs and philosophy should be ra onally discussed and prac ced
- Science as the right model for philosophy
- Analysis of the nature , succes and growth of scien c knowledge
- Get rid of everything that is meaningless (religion, specula ve)
2. Cri cal Ra onalism
- Falsi ability: claim should have the poten al to be refuted by some possible observa on
- All knowledge is hypothe cal
- There is no neutral observa on, all are theory laden
3. Kuhn’s Philosophy of science
- Kuhn: ‘normal science is governed by a paradigm’
3. Logical Empiricism endorsed a veri ca on criterion of meaning (p. 77). Explain what this
criterion entails.
- Veri ca on criterion of meaning: knowing the meaning of a sentence is knowing how to verify
it by means of observa on (testability).
- Scien c claims are veri able so they have meaning
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, 4. According to Popper, the veri ca on criterion is useless for dis nguishing universal laws from
metaphysical statements (p. 90). Explain Popper’s argumenta on for this claim.
- It is impossible to verify universal laws due tot the problem of induc on
- Law will be refuted by future observa ons
- Conforma on is NOT a solu on so veri ca on is NOT a solu on to the demarca on problem
5. Popper endorsed falsi ability as a solu on to the problem of demarca on (p. 91). Explain
what this criterion entails.
- Falsi ability: claim should have the poten al to be refuted by some possible observa on
- Deduc ve tes ng to capture growth of scien c knowledge
- Knowledge is not found in observa on, but can be corrected in the light of observa on
- A good theory allows a scien st to grow
6. How does the induc ve method of veri ca on di er from the deduc ve method of
falsi ca on (p. 92)?
• Induc ve = developing a new theory by veri ca on
• Deduc ve = using an exis ng theory by falsi ca on
7. What is the key di erence between an observa on sentence (Logical Empiricism) and a basic
sentence (Popper) (p. 94)?
• Observa on sentence = A statement that is not based on the truth of another statement and
is, rather, taken from a direct observa on is called an observa on sentence. In order to
understand the observa on sentence, no previous knowledge is needed.
• Basic sentence = a theory laden statement that is already informed by the theory that gives
reason for observa on
8. Kuhn dis nguished two di erent meanings of the term paradigm (pp. 118-119). Which
meanings?
1. Exampler: model of good scien c prac ce
2. Disciplinary matrix: science in a par cular eld, a package of claims about the world, method
for gathering data. A paradigm that holds together the discipline (by certain rules)
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Week 1: Kuhn, Popper, Plato
1. Both philosophy of science and philosophy of humani es have a double task, viz. a
descrip ve task and a norma ve task (pp. 16-18 Leezenberg 2018). Explain these tasks.
• Descrip ve = descrip on of scien c prac ces and products
• Norma ve = norma ve assessments of scien c prac ces
2. What is the problem of demarca on (p. 91)?
• Demarca on = dis nc on between Episteme (universal truth) and Doxa (pseudo-science
opinion)
• What dis nguishes good science from pseudo-science?
• Three possible answers:
1. Logical Empiricism
- Veri ability: claim should be testable using sensory experience.
- Poli cs and philosophy should be ra onally discussed and prac ced
- Science as the right model for philosophy
- Analysis of the nature , succes and growth of scien c knowledge
- Get rid of everything that is meaningless (religion, specula ve)
2. Cri cal Ra onalism
- Falsi ability: claim should have the poten al to be refuted by some possible observa on
- All knowledge is hypothe cal
- There is no neutral observa on, all are theory laden
3. Kuhn’s Philosophy of science
- Kuhn: ‘normal science is governed by a paradigm’
3. Logical Empiricism endorsed a veri ca on criterion of meaning (p. 77). Explain what this
criterion entails.
- Veri ca on criterion of meaning: knowing the meaning of a sentence is knowing how to verify
it by means of observa on (testability).
- Scien c claims are veri able so they have meaning
tifififitifi
ti tititititi ti titi titifiti ti ti tifititi fititi titifi tifi ti ti ti ti ti
, 4. According to Popper, the veri ca on criterion is useless for dis nguishing universal laws from
metaphysical statements (p. 90). Explain Popper’s argumenta on for this claim.
- It is impossible to verify universal laws due tot the problem of induc on
- Law will be refuted by future observa ons
- Conforma on is NOT a solu on so veri ca on is NOT a solu on to the demarca on problem
5. Popper endorsed falsi ability as a solu on to the problem of demarca on (p. 91). Explain
what this criterion entails.
- Falsi ability: claim should have the poten al to be refuted by some possible observa on
- Deduc ve tes ng to capture growth of scien c knowledge
- Knowledge is not found in observa on, but can be corrected in the light of observa on
- A good theory allows a scien st to grow
6. How does the induc ve method of veri ca on di er from the deduc ve method of
falsi ca on (p. 92)?
• Induc ve = developing a new theory by veri ca on
• Deduc ve = using an exis ng theory by falsi ca on
7. What is the key di erence between an observa on sentence (Logical Empiricism) and a basic
sentence (Popper) (p. 94)?
• Observa on sentence = A statement that is not based on the truth of another statement and
is, rather, taken from a direct observa on is called an observa on sentence. In order to
understand the observa on sentence, no previous knowledge is needed.
• Basic sentence = a theory laden statement that is already informed by the theory that gives
reason for observa on
8. Kuhn dis nguished two di erent meanings of the term paradigm (pp. 118-119). Which
meanings?
1. Exampler: model of good scien c prac ce
2. Disciplinary matrix: science in a par cular eld, a package of claims about the world, method
for gathering data. A paradigm that holds together the discipline (by certain rules)
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fffi ti titi fiti tititifiti
tifi ti fi titi ff
ti ti titi ti ti titi ti
