Hazel May Cayomo

BS Arch
STS, Section D
INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY: Pages 7-8, Module 1 (30 Points)
Read
1. Karl Popper’s, Science: Conjectures and refutations,
2. E.D. Klemke et al. 1998. edited text of Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science
http://web.flu.cas.cz/scan/323508145.pdf. Part 1, Science and Psuedoscience and Part 6,
Science and Values.
Q. Beyond the Popperian philosophy of science synthesized in his piece, what other
philosophies can you discern from Science and Psuedoscience?

The second reading material: “Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science” by

E.D. Klemke and others, delves into a variety of scientific philosophies. The initial segment,
titled “Science and Pseudoscience”, presumably investigates the demarcation issue, which
pertains to the differentiation between science and pseudoscience.
The demarcation issue is a central topic in the philosophy of science and has been a
subject of discussion among philosophers. Karl Popper, a renowned philosopher of science,
proposed falsifiability as a resolution to this issue. Popper’s perspective was that a theory or
statement is scientific if it can be subjected to testing and potentially proven incorrect.
However, Popper’s falsifiability criterion has faced criticism and lacks universal acceptance.
Various philosophers have suggested alternative demarcation criteria.
Contrasting Popper’s philosophy, Thomas Kuhn proposed a different viewpoint that
emphasized the concept of paradigm shifts. He suggested that scientific progress does not
follow a linear path of data gathering, but rather undergoes a series of revolutions or “paradigm
shifts” where the prevailing paradigm is supplanted by a new one. Both also had contrasting
views on the role of errors in scientific progress. While Popper viewed errors as learning
opportunities that enhance theories, Kuhn argued that errors made during normal science lead
to paradigm shifts. Despite their disagreements, Popper and Kuhn concurred on certain aspects,
such as the significance of critically testing theories.