Lecture 3: Cultural Practice of Science I

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Lecture 3 Cultural Practice of Science I
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How to pack world into words?

• Both inductivists and falsificationists have
  limitations.
• Both are concentrating on the relationship
  between theories and individual observation
  statements or set of them, they fail to take
  account of the complexity of major scientific
  theories.

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• This lead to a need to get a more adequate
  picture and this can be achieved while depicting
  theories as structured wholes of some kind.

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• There are three reasons to see scientific
  theories as structured wholes of some kind
• Historical study of science suggests that no
  theory developed in isolation instead it develops
  either part of a structure or a system or an
  element that defy the system or structure.
• By considering coherently structured theory that
  the concepts acquire the meaning.

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• Theories can be considered research programmes if
  they are open-ended. For example, Newtons
  mechanics provided a research programme for 18th
  and 19th Century physicists, the programme for
  explaining the entire physical world in terms of
  mechanical systems involving various forces and
  governed by Newtons laws of motion.

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• Imre Lakatoss suggested Methodology of
  Scientific Research Programme
• 3 elements
• Negative Heuristic of the Programme this
  involves the stipulation that the basic
  assumptions underlying the programme, its hard
  core, must not be rejected. It is protected from
  falsification by a protective belt of auxiliary
  hypothesis, initial conditions, etc

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• Positive Heuristic The positive heuristic
  consists of partially articulated set of
  suggestions or hints how to change, develop, the
  refutable variants of the programme, how to
  modify, sophisticate, the refutable protective
  belt.

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• Progressive or Generative The research programme
  will be progressive or degenerating depending on
  whether they succeed in leading or whether they
  persistently fail to lead to the discovery of the
  novel phenomena.

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• Three examples for clarifications of the above
  terms of research programme
• Hard core of Copernican Astronomy are based on
  the assumptions
• the earth and planets orbit a stationary sun
• the earth spins on its axis once a day

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• Newtonian Physics
• The Newtons laws of motion
• His law of gravitational attraction
• Marxs Historical Materialism
• the social change is to be explained in terms of
  class struggle, the nature of classes and the
  detail of the struggle being determined in the
  last instance by the economic base

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• The hard core of the programme is rendered
  unfalsifiable by the methodological decision of
  its protagonists. Any inadequacy in the match
  between an articulated research programme and
  observational data is to be attributed, not to
  assumptions that constitute the hard core, but to
  some other part of the theoretical structure.

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• The maze of assumptions that constitute this
  other part of the structure is what Lakatos
  refers to protective belt. It consists not only
  of explicit auxiliary hypotheses supplementing
  the hard core but also assumptions underlying the
  description of the underlying conditions and also
  observation statements.

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• For example the hard core of Copernican research
  programme needed to be augmented by adding
  numerous epicycles to the initial circular
  planetary orbits and it was also necessary to
  change the previously accepted estimate of the
  distance of the stars from earth. If observed
  planetary behaviour differed from that predicted
  by the Copernican research programme at some
  stage of its development then the hard core of
  the programme could be protected by modifying the
  epicycles or adding new ones.

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• Eventually other, initially implicit, assumptions
  were to be unearthed and modified. The hard core
  was protected by changing the theory underlying
  the observation language, so that the telescopic
  data replaced naked-eye observations, for
  instance. The initial conditions also came to be
  modified eventually, with the addition of new
  planets.

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• Any scientist who modifies the hard core has
  opted out of that particular research programme.
• All planets other than the earth orbit the sun,
  while the sun still orbits a stationary earth.
  Tycho Brahe suggested this idea. In this way he
  opted out of the research programme of Copernican

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• The development of the research programme
  involves not only the addition of auxiliary
  hypotheses but also the development of adequate
  mathematical and experimental techniques.

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• For example, from the very inception of the
  Copernican programme it was clear that adequate
  mathematical techniques for manipulating
  epicyclic motions, improved techniques for
  astronomical observations and adequate theories
  governing the use of a variety of instruments
  were necessary for the elaboration and the
  detailed application of the programme.

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• Take an example of Newtons early development of
  his gravitational theory.
• Step 1 Newton first arrived at the inverse
  square law of attraction by considering the
  elliptical motion of a point planet around a
  stationary point sun.

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• Step 2 It was clear that if the gravitational
  theory was to be applied in practice to planetary
  motion, the programme would need to develop from
  this idealized model to more realistic model. But
  that development involved the solution of
  theoretical problems and was not to be achieved
  without considerable theoretical labour. Newton
  himself, faced with a definite programme, that
  is, guided by a positive heuristic, made
  considerable progress.

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• Step3 He first took into account the fact that a
  sun as well as a planet moves under the influence
  of their mutual attraction.
• Step 4 Then he took account of the finite size
  of the planets and treated them as spheres. After
  solving the mathematical problems posed by that
  move, Newton proceeded to allow for other
  complications such as those introduced by the
  possibility that a planet can spin, and the fact
  that there are gravitational forces between the
  individual planets as well as between each planet
  and the sun.

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• Step 5 When Newton had progressed that far in
  the programme, following a path that had
  presented itself as more or less necessary from
  the outset, he began to be concerned about the
  match between theory and observation.

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• Step 6 When the match was found wanting, he was
  able to proceed to non-spherical planets, and so
  on. As well as the theoretical programme
  contained in the positive heuristic, a fairly
  definite experimental programme suggested itself.
  That programme included the development of more
  accurate telescopes, together with auxiliary
  theories required for their use in astronomy such
  as those providing adequate means for allowing
  for refraction of light in the earths
  atmosphere. The initial formulation of Newtons
  programme also implied the desirability of
  constructing apparatus sensitive enough to detect
  gravitational attraction on a laboratory scale
  (Cavendishs experiment).

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• An important feature of this example of
  developing research programme is the
  comparatively late stage at which observational
  testing become relevant.

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• That is early work on a research programme takes
  place without heed of or in spite of apparent
  falsifications by observation. A research
  programme must be given a chance to realize its
  full potential. A suitably sophisticated and
  adequate protective belt must be constructed. In
  our example of the Copernican Revolution, this
  included the development of an adequate mechanics
  and optics. When a programme has been developed
  to a stage where it is appropriate to subject it
  to observational tests it is confirmation rather
  than falsification that are of paramount
  importance, according to Lakatos.

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• A research programme is required to succeed, at
  least intermittently, to make novel prediction
  that turn out to be confirmed.

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• Newtons theory experienced dramatic successes of
  this kind when Galle first discovered the Neptune
  and Cavendish first detected gravitational
  attraction on the laboratory scale. Such
  successes were the marks of the progressive
  character of the programme. By contrast,
  Ptolemaic astronomy had failed to predict the
  novel phenomena throughout the Middle Ages. By
  Newtons time, the Ptolemaic theory was decidedly
  a degenerating one.

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• Criteria for a research programme to be termed as
  a scientific programme
• a research programme should possess a degree of
  coherence that involves the mapping out of a
  definite programme for a future research.
• a research programme should lead to the discovery
  of novel phenomena at least occasionally.

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• Thomas Kuhns The Structure of Scientific
  Revolution 1962
• Two main contributions
• He placed the emphasis on the revolutionary
  character of scientific progress, where a
  revolution involves the abandonment of one
  theoretical structure and its replacement by
  another, the incompatible one.
• Another important feature is the important role
  played in Kuhns theory by the sociological
  characteristics of scientific community.

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• The major difference between Kuhn on the one hand
  and Popper on the other is the formers emphasis
  on sociological factors.

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• Kuhns picture of the way a science progresses
  can be summarized by the following open-ended
  scheme
• Pre-science-normal science-crisis-revolution-new
  normal science- new crisis

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• The disorganized and diverse activity that
  precedes the formation of science eventually
  becomes structured and directed when a single
  paradigm becomes adhered to by a scientific
  community. A paradigm is made up of the general
  theoretical assumptions and laws and techniques
  for their application that the members of a
  particular scientific community adopt. Workers
  within a paradigm, whether it be Newtonian
  mechanics, wave optics, analytical chemistry or
  whatever, practice what Kuhn calls normal
  science.

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• Normal scientist will articulate and develop the
  paradigm in their attempt to account for and
  accommodate the behaviour of some relevant
  aspects of the real world as revealed through the
  experimentation. In doing so, they will
  inevitably experience difficulties and encounter
  apparent falsifications. If difficulties of that
  kind get out of hand, a crisis develops.

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• A crisis is resolved when an entirely new
  paradigm is emerges and attracts the allegiance
  of more and more scientists until eventually the
  original, problem ridden paradigm is abandon. The
  discontinuous change constitutes a scientific
  revolution. The new paradigm, full of promise and
  not beset by apparently insuperable difficulties,
  now guides new normal scientific activity until
  it too runs into serious troubles and a new
  crisis followed by a new revolution result.

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Scientific Practice

• My Theory(in making) of Inconvenience and
  Convenience
• Example An Old Man in the bus number 14 from
  Nyotorv to University on October 12, 2006

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• Inconvenience among people is caused by
  non-negotiability of their convenience in
  different aspects of life
• Inconvenience among people is directly
  correlated with non-negotiability of giving up
  their conveniences in different aspect of life
• Inconvenience among people has something to do
  with the non-negotiability of giving up their
  convenience in different aspects of their life

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• First and second can be responded by quantitative
  research while the third statement can be
  answered by qualitative research method.

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• Some considerations when creating response to
  above three statements
• Role of variables such as time, space, context
  and prevailing mind set of people
• Supposing theory The need for greater
  negotiation
• Where can one learn about negotiation?
• Can we transfer this insight about inconvenience
  and need of negotiation in some aspects of
  convenience in life to other domain of life?

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• What are the examples?
• Situation of distribution of tasks among set of
  employees within a firm
• Working on a project situation where members of
  the project need to work as a team
• How to decide which aspects of notions
  negotiability are useful if I want to investigate
  above three statements?
• What role can power play in the situation of
  negotiability that is relative strength of every
  person involved in the process of negotiation?

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• Here convenience-inconvenience emanates from the
  context of bus with some observationthis
  observation emanates from practice and now
  leading me to make hypothesis where I will try to
  gain a deeper understanding about the phenomena
  and also about different aspects related to
  phenomena
• Now my choice of paradigm can structure the
  response to my investigationit could be the case
  that paradigm may consider this problem
  insignificant and can term it unworthy of
  investigation

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• Who decides what to investigate can also
  structure the field of investigation?
• Who can use this research and who can fund the
  research can also bring influence on research?
• What would be the consequence of this type of the
  research etc? This can lead me to work out the
  effect of the research on the lives of people etc