Philosophy And Science
Write an essay in which you express and defend your views on the following issues:
- Consider the rise of modern science during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
- How did Enlightenment philosophers both defend and contribute to this cultural development?
- How did elements of scientific reasoning alter conceptions of the origin and limits of human knowledge?
- Explain the difference between intrinsic and instrumental goods and how modern science embodies an instrumental approach to the relationship between human beings and the natural world.
- Is recognition of our proper place in the context of a vast and ancient universe an essential insight?
- How does it affect our understanding of ourselves?
- Consider how philosophical and scientific reasoning make a difference to our daily lives. (Of course we all benefit from technological advances that came from these ways of thinking, but that is not the point here.)
- In what situations or circumstances of ordinary life is it appropriate to apply philosophical or scientific thinking to seek a solution, resolve a conflict, or make a decision? Imagine you are invited to contribute a post on this topic to a blog about philosophy, like those that appear in The New York Times blog The Stone, the What Is it Like to be a Woman in Philosophy? blog from WordPress, or Philosophy Now magazine.
- How would you argue for (or against) the use of philosophical reasoning in everyday life?
Philosophy of science is a sub-field of concerned with the foundations, , and implications of . The central questions of this study concern , the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultimate purpose of science. This discipline overlaps with , , and , for example, when it explores the relationship between science and . Philosophy of science focuses on metaphysical, epistemic and semantic aspects of science. Ethical issues such as and are often considered or rather than philosophy of science.
There is no consensus among philosophers about many of the central problems concerned with the philosophy of science, including whether science can reveal the and at all. In addition to these general questions about science as a whole, philosophers of science consider problems that apply to particular sciences (such as or ). Some philosophers of science also use contemporary results in science to reach conclusions about philosophy itself.
While philosophical thought pertaining to science dates back at least to the time of , philosophy of science emerged as a distinct discipline only in the 20th century in the wake of the movement, which aimed to formulate criteria for ensuring all philosophical statements’ meaningfulness and objectively assessing them. and moved on from positivism to establish a modern set of standards for scientific methodology. ‘s 1962 book was also formative, challenging the view of as steady, cumulative acquisition of knowledge based on a fixed method of systematic experimentation and instead arguing that any progress is relative to a “,” the set of questions, concepts, and practices that define a scientific discipline in a particular historical period.
Struggling to meet your deadline ?
Get assistance on
Philosophy And Science
done on time by medical experts. Don’t wait – ORDER NOW!
Subsequently, the approach to science, in which a theory is validated if it makes sense of observations as part of a coherent whole, became prominent due to and others. Some thinkers such as seek to ground science in assumptions, such as the . A vocal minority of philosophers, and in particular, argue that there is no such thing as the ““, so all approaches to science should be allowed, including explicitly ones. Another approach to thinking about science involves studying how from a perspective, an approach represented by scholars like and . Finally, a tradition in approaches science from the perspective of a rigorous analysis of human experience.
Philosophies of the particular sciences range from questions about the nature of raised by Einstein’s , to the implications of for . A central theme is whether one scientific discipline can be to the terms of another. That is, can chemistry be reduced to physics, or can sociology be reduced to individual ? The general questions of philosophy of science also arise with greater specificity in some particular sciences. For instance, the question of the validity of scientific reasoning is seen in a different guise in the . The question of what counts as science and what should be excluded arises as a life-or-death matter in the . Additionally, the philosophies of biology, of psychology, and of the explore whether the scientific studies of can achieve objectivity or are inevitably shaped by and by social relations.
Additional Requirements
- Written communication: Should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
- APA formatting: Your paper should be formatted according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.
- Length: 4–6 typed and double-spaced pages.
- Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
- Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
- Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
- One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
- I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
- Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
- In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
- Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
- Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
- Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
- Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
- I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
- I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
- As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
- It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
- For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
- Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
- Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
- Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
- The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
- Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
- If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
- I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
- As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
- Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
- Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
- Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.