THE HISTORY AND

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

WEEK 6
 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

• According to Alex Rosenberg;

• Philosophy is the discipline that deals with the questions which science cannot answer, and with
questions about why the sciences cannot answer the first set of questions.
 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
• According to Bertrand Russel;

• Philosophy is something intermediate between theology and science. Like theology, it consists of
speculations on matters as to which definite knowledge has, so far, been unascertainable; but like
science, it appeals to human reason rather than to authority, whether that of tradition or that of
revelation. All definite knowledge--so I should contend-- belongs to science; all dogma as to
what surpasses definite knowledge belongs to theology. But between theology and science there
is a no man's land, exposed to attack from both sides; this No Man’s Land is philosophy.
 WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?
• «Almost all the questions of most interest to speculative minds are such as science cannot answer, and
the confident answers of theologians no longer seem so convincing as they did in former centuries.
• Is the world divided into mind and matter, and, if so, what is mind and what is matter? Is mind subject
to matter, or is it possessed of independent powers? Has the universe any unity or purpose? Is it
evolving towards some goal? Are there really laws of nature, or do we believe in them only because
of our innate love of order? Is there a way of living that is noble and another that is base, or are all
ways of living merely futile? If there is a way of living that is noble, in what does it consist, and how
shall we achieve it? Is there such a thing as wisdom, or is what seems such merely the ultimate
refinement of folly?
• To such questions no answer can be found in the laboratory. Theologies have professed to give
answers, all too definite; but their very definiteness causes modern minds to view them with
suspicion. The studying of these questions, if not the answering of them, is the business of
philosophy». (Russell, 1943)
 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

• General philosophy of science is as old as philosophy itself, especially if we take into account
that science has long been regarded as a paradigm of privileged knowledge (Greek: episteme;
Latin: scientia); that is, systematic and reliable knowledge of the world as opposed to mere
opinion or ungrounded belief. From the ancient Greeks onwards, philosophers have taken
science as an exemplar and sought to understand its nature and methods.
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• The relationship between science and philosophy is very close and difficult to explain.
• The aim of both is to understand the world and human life. The difference between them is in
terms of method.
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• Science starts from facts and tries to base its conclusions by returning to those facts.
• Philosophy, too, starts from human experience, which is a kind of fact.
• However, philosophy does not rely on facts to base its conclusions, but on logical analysis and
sometimes even outright metaphysical speculation.
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• In history, humankind's efforts to comprehend the universe through reason go far back. The
emergence of sciences, on the other hand, is very recent.
• In the beginning, all sciences that now exist under various names were included within the scope
of philosophy.
• Until the 17th century, even physics, under the name of natural philosophy, was a somewhat
metaphysical study whose scientific identity was not yet clear enough.
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• The separation of psychology and sociology from philosophy is even more recent. It is possible
to see that these are included in the philosophy programs of some universities even today.
• However, when we look at the developments in the last 300 years, we see that studies such as
physics, chemistry, biology, psychology and sociology have broken away from philosophy and
gained scientific identity.
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• Two common points stand out in all these divisions:

• 1) a field of study with more or less clear boundaries;

• 2) research methods and techniques appropriate to this field.

 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• It is impossible for a study that has reached a certain level of development in both aspects to
remain in philosophy.

• By becoming independent of philosophy, such a study increases the possibilities of progress,

becomes clearer and more reliable in its findings, and acquires the power to produce knowledge
that leads to the control of the natural or social environment.
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• However, philosophy does not have the power to produce this kind of knowledge, and this is not
its purpose.

• Then, a question arises: Will philosophy continue, and if so, what is its mission?
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• The function of philosophy is not to provide any practical interest or benefit to human beings,
but at best to satisfy their curiosity to know, understand and see the truth.

• This desire to understand and know, and humankind's amazement and curiosity in the face of the
universe, lie at the basis of philosophical thought. Philosophy will continue as long as such
curiosity continues.
 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

• Human beings are not creatures that seek only self-interest or benefit.
• He wants to know the structure and order of the universe, the value and purpose of living, the
relationship between matter and spirit, the degree of reliability of our knowledge, and the
qualities of good, beautiful and true.
• Philosophy is the effort to satisfy those needs and tries to do so in two ways:
• 1) getting to the truth behind what's happening in the universe;
• 2) to criticize and bring to light our knowledge, concepts of goodness, truth and beauty.
• Out of the effort on the first way emerged metaphysics, and
• out of the effort on the second way were born other traditional branches of philosophy: theory of
knowledge, ethics , aesthetics and logic.
• Philosophy is universal in terms of its subject. In other words, everything that relates to human
life can be the subject of philosophy.

• Everything, from the simplest element of perception (for example, the hardness of the table you
touch) to the most complex thinking system (for example, einstein's general theory of relativity),
can be the subject of philosophical investigation.
• Philosophy is not an endeavor that produces knowledge, and it is wrong to consider it a type of
knowledge.

• The purpose of philosophy is not to provide information, but to criticize and clarify information
provided or claimed to be provided by other means.

• Philosophy tries to fulfill this function through logical analysis and conceptual thinking.
• For example;

1. Is it true that men are considered superior to women in Islam?

2. 2. Can we know for certain what is called truth?

• The first of these questions is a factual question; we can answer this through scientific research.

• The second question is a conceptual question; we can give the answer by clarifying the meaning
of the terms "true" and "know".

• Science deals with the first kind of questions, philosophy with the second kind of questions.

• In one case, it is necessary to collect facts and in the other case, it is necessary to do logical
analysis.
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE: SCOPE

• Philosophy of science deals with philosophical and foundational problems that arise within
science.
• It can be divided into two major strands:
• General philosophy of science,
• The philosophies of the individual sciences.
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE: SCOPE

• General philosophy of science strives to understand science as a cognitive activity that is

uniquely capable of yielding justified beliefs about the world;
• The philosophy of the individual sciences focuses on more specialized issues within physics,
biology, psychology, economics, etc.
 THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE: SCOPE
• Some of the questions raised by general philosophy of science are:

• What is the aim (or aims) of science and what is its method (or methods)? More generally: what is
science, in the first place, and how does it differ from non-science and pseudo-science?

• What is a scientific theory and how do scientific theories relate to (and thus represent) the world?
How do theoretical concepts get their meaning and how are they related to observation?

• What is the structure and content of concepts such as causation, explanation, confirmation, theory,
experiment, model, reduction, and probability?

• What rules, if any, govern theory-change in science? What is the function of experiment? What
role do values (both epistemic and pragmatic) play in scientific decisions and how are they related
to social, cultural, and gender factors?
ANY QUESTIONS?
 REFERENCES
• Rosenberg, A. (2003). Philosophy of Science. Routledge Taylor &Francis Group: NY
• Russell, B. (1945). A History of Western Philosophy. Simon And Schuster, Inc.:New York
• Topdemir, H. G. (2011). Francis Bacon ve Yeni Bilimsel Yöntem. Bilim ve Teknik. Tübitak

• Yıldırım, C. (2012). Bilim Felsefesi. Remzi Kitabevi