epistemology, science, kinds of knowledge, methodology
Based on the standard biological taxonomy here is a logarithmic model of the relationship between the time it takes life to reach the diversity that is observed today and possible positions on the lowest rank of the initial taxa of life, which I shall call prototypes. Prototypes of the species rank would take tens of years to arrive …
The underdetermination of scientific theory is well-known in the philosophy of science. It comes down to the fact that if theory A implies fact B and fact B is observed that does not logically confirm theory A. Without multiple controlled experiments to isolate causation (which can only be done some cases), there is no logical confirmation of …
In the late 18th and early 19th century several proposals were made such as Lamarck’s that species were transformed into new species. This culminated in Darwin’s theory that all species were transformed from other species (hence there is common descent). In the 19th century creationists continued to hold to a non-transformist view that all species …
Philosophical realism basically means that the objects of ordinary perception exist independently of our minds. We apprehend objects independent of our understanding what happened or how they got here. This common-sense realism is assumed by most people but denied by most philosophers since Descartes. Observations of objects do not need interpretation for us to record that something is …
Ancient science was focused on truth, not utility. It was elitist and unconcerned with helping improve the life of ordinary people. Pure mathematics retains this attitude with its unconcern for applications, leaving that to others. Modern science grew out of the Renaissance and original humanist movement (not to be confused with the contemporary humanist movement). …
The strangest thing about the creation-evolution debate is that it is a trichotomy, not a dichotomy. There are three basic views and the historical creationist position is hardly known today. The traditional (ancient, really) creation theory is that the world is the same as it was when first created. There has been no significant change …
Scientific methodology makes extreme simplicity (or parsimony) a key quality of a hypothesis or theory. One flaw in this is that there are multiple kinds of simplicity. The cultural milieu then becomes the arbitrator of which kind of simplicity is preferred. Historically, one version of simplicity becomes dominant until another version overthrows it. Then it …
Some sensible thoughts and observations from an evolutionary biologist: The Folly of Scientism by Austin L. Hughes, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina. http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-folly-of-scientism A few excerpts: All too many of my contemporaries in science have accepted without question the hype that suggests that an advanced degree in some …
Reference: Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo, tr. by Stillman Drake, Anchor Books, 1957 Galileo wrote a letter in 1615 “to the most serene Grand Duchess Christina.” In his second sentence Galileo notes his opponents were “academic philosophers” who held “physical notions” he contradicted. They were not ecclesiastical authorities as is so often claimed today. He asserts …
On Galileo’s Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina Read More »
Aristotle laid much of the foundation for modern science but failed to take the final steps. He articulated the logic, the four causes, sensory realism, and the importance of observation. But he didn’t have the Bible when he tried to start with final causes and used philosophical speculation instead. Bacon and the early modern scientists …
