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Natural Sciences - Study the natural world (Inductivism (describes five…
Natural Sciences
- Study the natural world
Often provides the view of validity, guarantee of quality
It is a form of authority worship
Examples of what it entails
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Psychology
Examples of what it does not entail
Astrology
Crystology
Creationism
Feng Shui
May use
scientific method
as procedure for research
Theory - Prediction - Experiment - Observation
Rather than being a fixed cycle, these four steps are part of a dynamic structure in which one can go back and forth
Flaws:
Observation
Selectivity
Choosing what factors to study, may exclude other important ones
Expectations
What we see is influenced by our expectations
Observer Effect
The fact of observing influencing the thing we observe
Hypothesis
Confirmation bias
Looking for evidence in support and overlooking the counter
Background assumptions
Law
Induction has flaws
Making assumptions about the general from specifics may not be accurate
Often focused on beings not necessarily aware of their existence
Humans observing other beings
Science vs. Pseudo-science
Science
Clearly stated and precise, rather than vague, predictions
Does not make
ad hoc
exceptions when finding counter-arguments
Uses the
scientific method
Seeks to make claims and see if they may be disproved
Strongly argued for by Karl Popper
Pseudo-science ("fake" science)
Vagueness, often not falsifiable.
Ad hoc
exceptions, making exceptions when meeting valid counter-arguments
Not necessarily any specific method
Seeks to prove, therefore is subject to confirmation bias
Inductivism
describes five steps in scientific method:
Observation
Hypothesis
Experiment
Law
Theory
Controllability
Measurability
Repeatability
Limitation
Moves from observed to unobserved
Human Sciences
- Study human interactions of past and present
Examples of what it entails
Business
Law
Philisophy
Economics
Psychology
Concerned with beings that are aware of their existence
Humans observing other humans
Natural Sciences make it easier to create a set of rules that describe interactions and situations
Human behavior is more difficult to classify and predict or explain
Limitations
Observation
Observer effect
People behave differently when they know they are being observed
Lab experiments on humans may be less accurate than field experiments, as subjects are fully aware they are being observed
Does not always apply to natural sciences. E.g. a rock will probably not be aware that it is observed
Means to avoid
Covert observations
Habituation
Cannot observe peoples minds
Questionnaires might be misleading
Loaded questions
Measurement
Social phenomena are hard to measure
Experiment
Moral considerations limiting our willingness to experiment
Law
Hasty generalizations based on certain samples
Often from countries that are rich, industrialized, democratic, educated, Western
"Perhaps the action can be explained in terms of someone's intention, or by reference to social norms or some combination of the two." - British philosopher AJ Ayer