Notes
Galileo Galilei’s biggest contribution to science was in the field of mechanics where he refuted the Aristotelian theory that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones.1
Galileo is generally regarded as the first truly modern physicist. He was the first to show that the language of mathematics could be used to describe the behaviour of actual objects in the material world, such as falling bodies, projectiles, etc. (pg. 9)
Another innovative aspect of Galileo’s work was his emphasis on the importance of testing hypotheses experimentally. (pg. 9)
Galileo’s emphasis on experimental testing marks the beginning of an empirical approach to studying nature that continues to this day. (pg. 9)
The French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist Rene Descartes (1596-1650) developed a radical new ‘mechanical philosophy’, according to which the physical world consists simply of inert particles of matter interacting and colliding with one another. (pg. 9)
The mechanical philosophy promised to explain all observable phenomena in terms of the motion of these inert, vision of the second half of the 17th century; to some extent it is still with us today. Versions of the mechanical philosophy were espoused, by figures such as Huygens, Gassendi, Hooke, Boyle, and others; its widespread acceptance marked the final downfall of the Aristotelian world-view. (pg. 10)
The scientific revolution culminated in the work of Isaac Newton (1643-1727), whose achievements stand unparalleled in the history of science. Newton’s masterpiece was his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, published in 1687.
Okasha_Philosophy_of_Science, page 10
In 1953 Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, the hereditary material that makes up the genes in the cells of living creatures (Figure 4). Watson and Crick’s discovery explained how genetic information can be copied from one cell to another, and thus passed down from parent to offspring, thereby explaining why offspring tend to resemble their parents
Okasha_Philosophy_of_Science, page 11
The principal task of philosophy of science is to analyse the methods of enquiry used in the various sciences.
Okasha_Philosophy_of_Science, page 13
Indeed, historically, many scientists have played an important role in the development of philosophy of science. Descartes, Newton, and Einstein are prominent examples. Each was deeply interested in philosophical questions about how science should proceed, what methods of enquiry it should use, how much confidence we should place in those methods, whether there are limits to scientific knowledge, and so on.
Okasha_Philosophy_of_Science, page 13
Karl Popper, an influential 20th-century philosopher of science, thought that the fundamental feature of a scientific theory is that it should be falsifiable. To call a theory falsifiable is not to say that it is false. ~ Rather, it means that the theory makes some definite predictions that are capable of being tested against experience. If these predictions turn out to be wrong, then the theory has been falsified, or disproved. So a falsifiable theory is one that we might discover to be false - it is not compatible with every possible course of experience. Popper thought that some supposedly scientific theories did not satisfy this condition and thus did not deserve to be called science at all; rather they were merely pseudo-science.
Okasha_Philosophy_of_Science, page 13
Karl Popper thought a scientific theory is one that is falsifiable—makes definite predictions that can be tested. Unfalsifiable theories are pseudoscience.
The principal task of philosophy of science is to analyse the methods of inquiry in the various sciences. — page 12
Examples of pseudo-science include Freud’s and Marx’s theories. They never admitted they were wrong, and instead made excuses for complications.
However, theories aren’t discredited the moment they conflict with something, only when they persistently conflict with more types of data and there isn’t a logical reason for it will the theory be discarded.
Footnotes
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