1. What I understand from today's lesson?
At the beginning of the class, we have learned the meaning virtues, internal and external.
Virtues means:
-when scientists focus on the features of a theory that indicate that it is a good theory
-The aim of science is to deliver a true account of the world, and must focus on truth-conducive features.
-any feature that supports an affirmative answer
-good or useful quality of a thing
Internal means:
-occurring within
-can be evaluated WITHOUT having to observe the world.
-NO observation needed to check correlations between what the theory says and what the world is like
-economical (low/save costs on experiments or laboratories to check for internal features of a theory)
-can be evaluated by studying books
-/ logical consistent=X logical contradiction
-logical consistency-NOT an experimental procedure
-e.g: I love you and I don’t love you
Logical consistent: TRUE/ positive statement (e.g: do)
Non contradiction: denial cannot both be true at the same time
Logical contradiction: the conjunction of a statement Y and it DENIAL NOT-Y
Logical contradiction: negative statement (e.g: don’t)
Internal virtues does not require observation for evaluation
5 Internal values for justifying theories:
Entrenchment
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-A theory should be plausible (def:reasonable and likely to be true), given what we already know.
-The property of entrenchment comes in degree which it has to be at least consistent with the background theories of others.
-Entrenchment is a principle of conservatism, and it is clearly not a rule that is or should be followed with strict rigidity.
-Entrenchment is used as the first indication of a theory’s virtues
-The standard of entrenchment must be imposed with discretion (judging wisely and objectively), sometimes taken seriously but other times disregarded (to not consider sth, to treat sth as unimportant).
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Explanatory Cooperation (EC)
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-EC has an aspect of entrenchment, but has a very high profile in science
-EC means cooperation with other theories. (explain why things are the way other theories say they are).
-EC makes both theories look good. It’s not that justification flows from one to the other but that explanatory link gives them mutual support.
-EC is different from explaining observed phenomena (bcoz: explain observed phenomena is an external feature)
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Testability (testable does not mean being tested or as having passed tests, need not only observable predictions but precise predictions as well)
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-a crucial aspect of science
-a theory must make some predictions observations that can be checked to see that the theory makes contact with the world
-A theory that lacks the feature of testability is precluded from evaluation for external virtues.
-is described using the concept of falsifiability or refutability
-the more precise a prediction, the more informative will be testing
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Generality
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-general theories can capture basic truths
-is a truth-conducive virtue with the assumption of unity
-it enhances a theory’s testability
-If a theory generalizes over many times, then it is amenable (easy to control) to repeated tests.
-enhances falsifiability
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Simplicity
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-Simplicity is a popular choice.
-Sometimes referred to as using Ockham’s razor.
-Simple and uncluttered.
-Most likely to be true.
-Mathematical simplicity can be determined as used as a factor in theory choice.
eg: three theories explained in one line graph.
-however, evaluating simplicity is not easy.
-some theories cannot be easily explained such as theory of evaluation (no mathematical elements involved)
-Theory is also influenced by the language used by the evaluator.
-The measure of simplicity is dependent on the linguistic and theoretical context.
-Simplicity is a pragmatic virtue
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External means:
-being outside
-relevant to the theory’s relation to the world
-/ observation for their evaluation
Evaluate External Features:
-information from external world
-outdoors
External virtues requires observation of the outside world for evaluation.
2 External values for justifying theories:
Explanation
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- able to explain some observed phenomena.
- it is important to note that there are other theories that support that explanation as well.
- it explains why something happens.
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Testing and confirmation
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- it's done by drawing observational consequences from the theory and seeing that they fit the facts.
- accomplished by looking at new evidence as predicted by the theories.
-Emphasis in testing is NOT so much on WHY something happens as simply on the fact that it happens according to prediction.
- test just to know whether that what you predict is true.
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Features that are important to the justification of theories must:
- truth-conducive
- accessible
2. What is the one thing I need help in?
For this lesson, I just understand it in general and very surface level. I hope to have real life examples and applications that allow me to make more sense. I tried to search this topic in Youtube as well as Google, but there is limited resources.
3. How am I going to use this new knowledge to teach nature of science in the future?
In future, I will tell my students that before carry out an experiment,which is external virtue, we need to have precise prediction. After that, they need to explain why something happen and see whether their prediction is true.
To further reading, please check out the e-book:
https://books.google.com.my/books?id=VK5yIq-wzdgC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=internal+and+external+virtues&source=bl&ots=-weoadRlpK&sig=SU4zPkliAxbC8vwBzKOpYqXXHB8&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=internal%20and%20external%20virtues&f=false
