Natural Sciences — Methods & Tools
Presentation
Resources
InThinking articles relating to new content:
Theories, Laws, Models, and Assumptions
Theory Choice and Paradigm Shifts
InThinking articles relating to content from the first class:
Structured Notes Sheet
This is the notes sheet for use during class. You can download and print it.
Notes
“That’s funny…” vs. “Eureka!” — Science begins with something not fitting. A creates a puzzle; a good resolves it.
Types of explanation:
| Type | Question answered | Example |
|---|---|---|
| What is it made of? | Lightning is an electrical discharge | |
| What caused it? | Charge built up because air particles rubbed together | |
| What are its components? | Physics, chemistry | |
| How do parts interact? | Ecology, climate |
Good explanations are: simpler (), more intelligible, more powerful (cover more phenomena), better supported. Bad explanations are: ad hoc ( — invented for one case only).
Surprising: explanations do not need to be literally true. A (Vaihinger) is a self-contradictory model that still functions as a good explanation (e.g., the double-slit experiment).
Scientific method is pluralistic — not a single linear sequence. Science is more like a pinball machine: provisional, self-correcting, driven by as much as design.
Watch for: — the most common error in interpreting scientific results.
(Kuhn): Science does not progress smoothly. A dominant paradigm governs until anomalies pile up to breaking point. Kuhn’s radical claim: competing paradigms are — there is no neutral standpoint from which to compare them.
Case studies: Copernican revolution; miasma → germ theory.