theory
- set of general claims about some domain of phenomena
- e.g. Darwin’s theory of evolution
What are the aims of science?
describe, predict and explain the world
theory vs. hypothesis
hypotheses seen as more tentative
what do theories consist of/ are associated with?
- laws
- principles
- (statistical regularities)
- models
- axioms
- invariances
- symmetries
a theory is useless unless accompanied by…
condition of application aka auxilliary assumptions (e.g. market in perfect complication)
conditions of application
initial, boundary, idealising conditions
in natural sciences, more mature theories are likely to be…
mathematically formulated
why is math important?
allows us to formulate more precise (and therefore more refutable) claims
observation
- all forms of sensing
- can be extended by instruments
- e.g. looking at cell through microscope
direct observation
observations that track the targeted object
indirect observation
observe something else that allows us to infer existence/properties of target object
what can observations help with?
- construction and alteration of theories
- ultimate arbiter of disagreement between theories
relationship between observations theories?
- theories contain more content because to generalise is to go beyond particular observations
- theories also go beyond what is directly observable/observable at all/only indirectly observable
theory-ladenness of observations
‘theoretical’ (but not always) factors influence and potentially distort:
- perceptions
- perceptual belief
- oberservation reports
examples of factors in theory-ladenness
- sensory physiology
- linguistic choices
- conceptual schemes
- prior beliefs
- theories
- environmental cues
what is the problem with theory-ladenness?
if individuals sponsoring rival hypotheses perceive/report the world in a genuinely rival manner, then those perceptions/reports cannot be neutral adjudicators between said hypotheses
