Philosophy of Science
Key Figures: Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, Piere Duhem, Carl Hempel, Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Paul Feyerabend, etc.
One area of philosophy that addresses the principles, practices, and applications of science is called the philosophy of science. It investigates issues including the origins of scientific knowledge, what sets science apart from other types of information, and the essence of scientific justification and reasoning. The philosophy incorporates a wide array of topics, including epistemology of science, realism and anti-realism, philosophy of specific sciences, as well as the ethics of science, many of which will be discussed promptly. The epistemology of science discusses the methods in which scientific knowledge is justified, especially with regard to what can be classified as evidence. For example, Karl Popper developed the falsifiability criteria as a means of separating science from pseudoscience, contending that the most successful theories are those that can be disproven but still are backed up. The conflict between scientific realism and its opposite, anti-realism, or instrumentalism, is the focus of "Realism and Anti-Realism." According to realists, science should strive to accurately describe the world. The goal, according to anti-realists, is to accurately depict the "observable" portion of the universe. The discussion between realism and anti-realism revolves around the distinction between observable and unobservable entities and the perspectives of both realist and anti-realist philosophers. The field of specific sciences, also referred to as the philosophy of the special sciences, encompasses philosophical contemplation of the methods, outcomes, and prerequisites of individual sciences, including biology, physics, mathematics, and sociology. Moreover, with the increasing importance of scientific advancement in society, it consistently challenges, if not completely conflicts with, long-established ethical values. Thus, engaging in ethical debates becomes essential to align the utilization of scientific knowledge, particularly new technologies, with the fundamental principles of our civilization.