Philosophy 250 Philosophy of Science April 7

1
Philosophy 250 Philosophy of ScienceApril 7

• Announcements
• Reading
• Maxwell, The Ontological Status of Theoretical
  Entities pp. 1052
  
• Paper Assignment 2
• Thesis Statement and Argument Outline due Wed
  4/16 for extra credit.

2
Objectivism Weak Objectivity

• Hardings Critique
• Too Narrow a conception of Objectivity -
• Amounts only to intersubjectivity
• Biases that differ among scientists are
  identified and eliminated, but shared biases are
  not. (pg 143)
  
• Too Broad a conception of Objectivity -
• Not all social values and interests have the same
  bad effects upon research results. (pg 144)
  
• But, if we reject Objectivism arent we left with
  relativism?

3
Standpoint Epistemology to the Rescue -

• Standpoint Epistemologies call for the
  recognition that all knowledge is
  historically,politically, and,culturally situated
  - but not for a judgmental or epistemological
  relativism.
• SPE calls for critical evaluation to determine
  which social situations tend to generate the most
  objective knowledge claims. (pg 150)
  
• SPE requires a scientific account of the
  relationships between socially situated belief
  and maximally objective belief.

4
Strong Objectivity

• The sciences need to legitimate - within the
  practice of scientific research - critical
  examination of the historical values and
  interests that may be shared within the
  scientific community,
• If the goal is to make available for scrutiny all
  the evidence for or against an hypothesis, then
  the evidence about the context also requires
  critical examination as part of the scientific
  practice.
• Strong Objectivity extends the notion of
  scientific research to include systematic
  examination of powerful background beliefs.
  
• This requires participation of marginalized
  persons in the institution of science.
  

5
Longinos Critique

• Traditional "objectivists" - rely on logic and
  reliability of observational evidence.
  
• History and cultural context are unimportant and
  can be ignored.
  
• Historically unsatisfactory - this is not the way
  that science is done.
  
• Logically problematic - neither verification nor
  falsification result in certainty.
  
• Objectivity is at best intersubjective
  agreement
  

6
Longinos Critique Continued

• Alternatively, Internalism - relies on logical
  relationships among theories and theory-dependent
  observations.
  
• History and cultural context may intrude and must
  be isolated
  
• Is coherence a good stand-in for truth?
• How independent is Independent Evidence?
• Objectivity is at best intersubjective agreement

7
Longinos Critique Continued

• Stand Point Epistemology (Harding) - concentrates
  on scientific practice as revealed by the
  historical study of science. But with an
  emphasis on the epistemological standpoint of the
  scientists doing the work.
• Has all the same problems as Internalism, but
• Produces an intersubjectivity that minimizes
  institutional biases.
  
• Presents logical problems of it's own. - who's
  standpoint? Is there just one female standpoint
  who's it it?
  

8
Longinos Critique Continued

• According to Longino, the source of the weakness
  in all of these approaches is the same
  
• All of theses models treat science as an
  individual activity
  
• They conflate objectivity of scientific method
  with the objectivity of individual scientists
  practicing science.
  

9
Science as a Social Practice

• Science as method is practiced not primarily by
  individuals, but by social groups. (group
  activity)
  
• members are dependent on one another for
  providing the conditions under which science can
  be practiced (ideas, lab space, technical
  support, money)
• Education - one does not simply become a
  biologist by declaration. There is training and
  initiation required (must learn How to be a
  biologist)
• Scientists constitute a community (or network of
  communities) embedded in a larger community. The
  survival of the scientific community depends on
  the larger society valuing what scientists do.

10
Scientific knowledge is social knowledge.

• Scientific knowledge is produced by a community
  and transcends the contributions of any
  individual or even any sub-community within the
  larger society
• Objectivity is gained by using both
• criticism from alternative points of view and
• subjection of hypotheses to critical scrutiny
  within a specialized community.
  
• These factors limit the intrusion of individual
  subjective preference.
  

11
Objective Social Knowledge

• Scientific communities will be objective to the
  degree they meet the following necessary
  dimensions of critical discourse
  
• Recognized avenues of criticism (journals,
  conferences, peer review)
  
• Shared Standards
• Avenues for Community Response - grants,
  perceived importance, popular science journals
  
• Equality of intellectual authority among
  qualified practitioners