Observation, Science, and Culture: Key Concepts
Observation Sentences: Unique and General
We distinguish between two types of observation sentences:
- Unique: Derived from observation of particular facts in a particular time, place, and condition.
- General: Refer to all phenomena regardless of the time, place, or condition.
Essential Condition for Singular Statements
What is the essential condition to be met by singular statements? That no statement contradicts the universal law derived.
Culture: Etymology and Meaning
According to etymology, culture is derived from two Latin words, one of which is colere, which means dwelling. This then came to mean that every man has a culture in which they live.
Technical Definitions
- Ability or Skill: The capacity with which something is done; dexterity.
- Effectiveness: The capacity to make an attempt or purpose effective.
Formal Sciences
What are formal sciences? Sciences that study and invent ideal entities, establish logical reasoning, and work with ideas created by the mind.
Examples of Formal Sciences
- Formal Science: Mathematics.
- Purpose: The study of numbers and calculations in its various forms.
- Formal Science: Logic.
- Purpose: The structure of reasoning.
Systematic Scientific Knowledge
Scientific knowledge is systematic. Define a system. Critical knowledge is systematic because it dominates organization, management, and coordination in strictly logical relations. A system is a set of ideas, interrelated in a logical manner to form the structure of scientific knowledge.
Philosophical and Scientific Knowledge
Why are philosophical and scientific knowledge not spontaneous, but critical? Because they take a theoretical position, which dominates the effort to move into a critical attitude. They require discipline and are chaired by procedures developed for knowledge.
Thomas Kuhn’s Theory
In the theories of Thomas Kuhn, we can distinguish the following concepts:
- Paradigm: A set of laws and theoretical assumptions that, at any given time, are considered valid by a scientific community.
- Malfunction: The occurrence of events or experiences that contradict the concepts considered valid by the paradigm, putting the paradigm into crisis.
Common Knowledge vs. Scientific Knowledge
One of the characteristics of critical knowledge is that it is founded on experience, on observing external realities. Explain how common knowledge works in this area. Common knowledge is based on daily experience; it is spontaneous and comes from our daily contact with things and people. It is not intended. It is socially determined.
Validity of Inductive Arguments
As for the validity of inductive arguments, it is said that they are not logically valid. What could be given? Cite an example. Inductive arguments are not logically valid. Conclusions could be false from true premises. For example, there were black crows. But there is no logical guarantee that the next raven to be observed is not pink. If it were, the conclusion “all crows are black” would be false. Regarding justifiability, the inductivist uses induction to justify induction (which is a circular definition and the so-called “problem of induction”).
Critique of Naive Inductivism
Inductivism criticizes the naive assumption that says: “Science starts with observation.” Observation is part of science, but you cannot say that science begins with it. For example, if two people observe the same object, in the same circumstances, they would not necessarily have identical visual experiences, although the images that occur in their retinas are alike. What an observer sees depends on their culture and their general state. On the other hand, theories precede observation sentences. Observational statements are made in the language of some theory. Therefore, it is false that science starts with observation. Observation sentences are as fallible as the theories they assume and, therefore, being a completely secure base on which to build scientific laws and theories is wrong. To establish the validity of an observation statement, it is necessary to appeal to theory.
Etymology of Culture
Etymologically, culture derives from two Latin words, one of them is colere, which means cultivating the land, then came to mean to cultivate oneself.
Technological Epochs
- Paleotechnic: Coal and iron.
- Eotechnic: Water and wood.
- Neotechnic: Electricity and alloy.
Factual Sciences
What are factual sciences? Sciences that come from real events and are formed through experience. For example, Psychology.
- Purpose: The study of the human mind.
- Anatomy: The study of the human body.
Sociological vs. Philosophical Definition of Culture
Culture, defined from a sociological point of view, is “all man-made.” This differs from the “philosophical” definition, which states “all man-made in the role of values.”
Objectivity of Scientific Knowledge
One of the characteristics of common knowledge is that it belongs or is related to our way of thinking or feeling. Indicate how scientific knowledge works in this area. Scientific knowledge is objective; therefore, it is independent of the preferences, tastes, or beliefs of the observer. It operates in order to prevent interference by any subjective factor.
Dislocations and Scientific Revolutions
- Dislocations: When anomalies multiply so that they either cannot be kept aside or cannot be explained in normal theoretical terms.
- Scientific Revolution: Changes in worldview, unseen even by the scientists themselves, are carried out.
The Nature of Technique
As a result of the approach to the natural aspects of technique, it appears that technique is not a characteristic of man, but a “feature of life,” as Spengler called it. The technical difference between human and animal art would be qualitative or quantitative but not essential.