pls 121: american politics and government political science the philosophy of science
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
PLS 121: American Politics and GovernmentPLS 121: American Politics and Government
Political SciencePolitical Science
The Philosophy of Science
![Page 2: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
2 / 14
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
![Page 3: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
3 / 14
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
![Page 4: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
4 / 14
Objective Reality
• There is a real world that exists separate from ourselves.
• That world can be known and understood by us.
![Page 5: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
5 / 14
Subjective Reality
• There is no real world separate from our senses.
• The act of experiencing the world creates it.
![Page 6: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
6 / 14
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.
![Page 7: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
7 / 14
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
![Page 8: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
8 / 14
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
![Page 9: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
9 / 14
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”
![Page 10: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
10 / 14
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
![Page 11: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
11 / 14
Imre Lakatos
• Science is a research programme
• The programme consists of:– “Hard Core” of the theory
– “Protective Belt” of the hypotheses and assumptions
![Page 12: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
12 / 14
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
![Page 13: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
13 / 14
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
![Page 14: PLS 121: American Politics and Government Political Science The Philosophy of Science](https://reader035.vdocuments.us/reader035/viewer/2022081908/56649dbf5503460f94ab3e5e/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
14 / 14
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