Study Question Psych

Philosophy of Science

Study Questions for Final Exam

1. Explain the difference between an empirical and rationalist approach to science according to Hempel.
2. Explain why according to Hempel Rationalist truths cannot be self-evident
3. What are the main characteristics of science that were developed during the 16th-17th centuries?
4. What is Deductive Inference? What is an Inductive inference?
5. What is the problem of induction?
6. What is falsiablity?
7. How does it solve the problem of induction?
8. How does it demarcate the difference between science and pseudoscience?
9. Why is it difficult to falsify a general hypothesis?
10. What is the Hypothethico-Deductive method?
11. What are the limitations of this method?
12. When applying the H-D method we need to be very careful of…
13.  What do we use Bayes-Theorem for?
14. Explain the Prior Probability in Bayes Theorem
15. Exaplain the Posterior Probability in Bayes Theorem
16. What is Incommensurability according to Kuhn?
17. According to Kuhn normal science is not necessarily the best empirical science because…
18. What is the covering-law model?
19. Which are the Boundary or Initial Conditions?
20. What is the explanans? 
21. What is the explanandum?
22. What are the conditions of the covering-law model?
23. Why do scientific explanations benefit from containing one or more laws (using the Covering-Law model)?
24. What is a scientific theory?
25. What are the two kinds of language included in a scientific theory?
26. Who is a Realist?
27. Who is an Instrumentalist?
28. Explain what is the traditional causal explanation and what are some of the limitations of this theory.
29. Explain how Woodward’s theory of causation solves these limitations..
30. According to Kuhn during a normal science period what are the four elements of science are determined by the established theory or paradigm.
31. What is a Paradigm?
32. What is a Crisis or Revolution?
33. What is an Anomaly?  
34. The feminist critique tells us that the social background of the scientist influences among others…
35. Explain why the feminist critique argues that the lack of diversity in science is undesirable.
36.  Explain why social forces like politics or the private market can influence the questions of science.
37. Galileo and Ruse believe that religion and science do not clash because of these two fundamental differences
38. Creationists argue that neither evolution nor creationism are theories. Explain why this approach is derived form Popper’s theories.
39. This kind of interpretation of Popper is problematic to understand theories and models, explain why.