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Philosophy of Engineering: Science

 

Lecture 8:

Teacher: prof. dr. Mieke Boon

Literature & Assignment: Readings Lecture 8

other lectures

     

8.1. Introduction: The problem of objectivity and rationality of science.

 

Lecture slides:

Slides Lecture 8

 

     

8.2. Kuhn’s notion of a disciplinary matrix.

   
     

8.3. What are core principles in Kuhn’s disciplinary matrix? [1] Ontological principles: In order to do science anyway, we need indemonstrable(!) presuppositions that guide our scientific reasoning. Newton called them “rules of philosophizing.”

   
     

8.4. What are core principles in Kuhn’s disciplinary matrix? [2] Principles of logic: Even the rules of logic, such as those originally articulated by Aristotle, are indemonstrable(!) presuppositions that guide our scientific reasoning. These rules have been challenged in modern philosophy of mathematics.

   
     

8.5. What is a metaphysical picture of the world? [1] A general reductionist picture of the world commonly held in the natural sciences.

   
     

8.6. What is a metaphysical picture of the world? [2] A corpuscular picture of the world: the assumption that everything consists of particles and forces between them, which implies for science that everything should be explained in terms of (unobservable) particles and (unobservable) forces between them.

 

Additional literature:

Crosby Smith

Hasok Chang

     

8.7. How do scientists reason within a paradigm? The example of Sadi Carnot – the inventor of thermodynamics.

 

Additional material:

Slides Lecture 9

     

8.8. The change of a paradigm [1]. The change of a metaphysical picture in the history of science affects whether or not a scientific theory is intelligible. Example: From the concept of ‘force’ to ‘energy’.

   
     

8.9. The change of a paradigm [2]. The change of a metaphysical picture. Example: How the concept of aether disappeared.

   
     

8.10. Summary and Conclusions on the role of paradigms in science, and how this idea can help us to understand difficulties of working interdisciplinary.

   
     

8.11. What have we done in this course, and why would an alternative idea about science be helpful for the engineering sciences?