POS Week 2

a priori knowledge

preceding experience and observation; only by thinking about our way of observing events we can conclude that there is sth like causality; we give the meaning to those sequences by presupposing causality

synthetic a priori knowledge

"all phenomena have a cause"; "the world as we observe is three dimensional"

induction problem

the idea that only empirical data may count as good reasons for defending scientific claims

syllogism

valid, deductive argument

deductive-nomological model of science

we have a law from which we deduce our conclusions

induction

going from particular observations to general claims in inductive reasoning one goes from a set of particular observed phenomena and draws a conclusion about a general law applicable to phenomena which have not been yet observed

correspondence model of truth

a claim is true if it corresponds with reality

observational concept

i.e. we can observe that apple is green

theoretical concept

economical recession

What makes a theoretical concept for grasping non-observable phenomena into a good concept

Robustness, Fit, Predictability

Robustness

a concept should be usable in more than one context and it may mean that it will cover a set of phenomena

Fit

claims that one makes using these concepts, should fit into a more general theory

Predictability

using a particular concept, one should be able to make a trustworthy predictions about the occurrence of the phenomenon referred to nay the concept

Coherence Model of Truth

there will always be many reason-giving considerations that support the truth of a particular claim

logical positivism

knowledge should only be based on experience and observations; the main thesis of logical positivism is verificationism

verificationism

only claims which can be verified through empirical observations can have any meaning, therefore can be true or false

metaphysics

it is sth that we cannot verify through observations or sensory experience; something above physics that is driving everything; i.e. religion

3 grand epistemologies

Rationalism, Empiricism, Idealism

Rationalism

thinking is the basis for all knowledge; thinking is what crates knowledge; no empirical evidence

Empiricism

all knowledge comes from observation; it lacks causality, no theory, we cannot predict; we cannot transfer data into knowledge cuz we lack structure

Idealism

all knowledge comes from experience; the ability to structure experience is the idea; the problem is the question where these ideas come from

the linguistic turn

rather than assuming that we have the ability to know before we experience anything we now have sth very powerful called logic to organise our experience

All possible statements

logical nonsense, logical truth/analytical statements, metaphysics, empirical truth/synthetic statement

logical nonsense

all statatemsnt that we know ain't true before experiencing them

logical truth/analytical statements

we don't need to observe it cuz by definition it is true; "the bachelor is unmarried"

metaphysics

knowledge that we cannot verify through observations

empirical truth/synthetic statement

we can verify its truth through observations

synthetic statements

truth of statement depends on a matter of fact; through observation; this circle has diameter of 10 meter

analytic statements

truth of statement depends on the logical structure of a statement; logical analysis; this circle is round

logical reducibility

for every statement in the system of knowledge for that statement to be true one should be able to use logical and through logic to go back to your individual experience

the unity of science ideal

all knowledge should be able to put in a simple system

Problems in logical positivism

theoretical concepts, problem of induction

Theoretical concepts - LP problems

certain concepts cannot be reduced to observations alone; hence we employ intensional and extensional meanings of concepts

Intension

conjuztion of general properties that together define a concept

extension

the set of all real-life phenomena that together define the concept

reflective concepts

mąkę up the properties of a concept; firm performance determine earnings and ROE

formative concepts

made up of its respective properties; democracy can only be a democracy when there are free elections

pragmatic concession

allowing both theoretical concepts may happen when they explain something that is not apparent from observation alone and the use of these concepts lead to the development of new knowledge to be tested

induction

drawing general conclusions from a finite number of observations; new information can change the truth value of the conclusion

deduction

drawing specific conclusions through referring to general rules; new information has no influence upon the truth value of the conclusion