How Does Science Add to Knowledge?: Bacon's Method of Scientific Induction
Bacon urges scientists to use a method which he calls "induction." Make a number of observations, look for general patterns, then test those patterns before proposing the underlying law of nature at work. Particularly critical to the process is cond...
What is Real?: Realists' Side of the Debate with Anti-realists, The
The distinction between trying to capture the true nature of reality versus defining it in human terms has remained central to recent philosophy. The two sides in the debate are the realists and anti-realists. To realists, reality is objective and e...
Does Science Give Us Truth?: Conflict Between Consensus Theories of Truth and Popper's Scientific Realism
Agreement in a community of scientists can also be taken as a measure of truth, a human-centered concept that Arthur Fine calls "consensus theories of truth." In looking at the shift from Sir Isaac Newton's theory of gravity to Albert Einstein's, Ka...
Does Science Give Us Truth?: Quantum Mechanics Challenge to Theories of Truth: Bohr and the Instrumentalist View
One of the sharpest debates between the realist and instrumentalist views of science comes in relation to quantum mechanics, the theory of atomic and subatomic phenomena which led to breakthroughs in atomic energy, lasers, and electricity. When you ...
Does Science Give Us Truth?: Quantum Mechanics Challenge to Theories of Truth: Einstein and the Realist View
The realist side of the quantum mechanics debate is headed by Albert Einstein, the most eminent scientist of the era. Einstein proposes that if quantum theory breaks down categories such as space and time we should look for a different set of concep...
Does Science Give Us Truth?: Instrumental Side of Pragmatism, The
Pragmatic criteria guided early creatures in evolutionary history toward those activities that would enhance their survival. Similarly, in its application to science, pragmatism or instrumentalism as its sometimes called, looks for theories that are...
Does Science Give Us Truth?: Correspondence Theory of Truth and Scientific Realism, The
The correspondence theory of truth is considered the default position about truth. If a statement is true it is because it corresponds to some feature, some reality in the world independent of our ideas abut it. An approach to science called scienti...