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Philosophy of science

Philosophy of science
Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions concern what counts as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the purpose of science. This discipline overlaps with metaphysics, ontology and epistemology, for example, when it explores the relationship between science and truth. There is no consensus on many central problems in philosophy of science, including whether science can reveal the truth about unobservable things and whether scientific reasoning can be justified at all. In addition to these general questions about science as a whole, philosophers of science consider problems that apply to particular sciences such as biology or physics. Today, some thinkers seek to ground science in axiomatic assumptions such as the uniformity of nature. Introduction[edit] Defining science[edit] Karl Popper c. 1980s Scientific explanation[edit] Justifying science[edit] The purpose of science[edit] Related:  The problems with philosophy

Category:Criticism of science From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Criticism of science in general, including philosophy of science or scientific method; or of mainstream science; or of specific aspects of science, such as relativity or GMOs. Subcategories This category has the following 6 subcategories, out of 6 total. Pages in category "Criticism of science" The following 39 pages are in this category, out of 39 total. Philosophy of religion Branch of philosophy examining the concepts of religion The philosophy of religion differs from religious philosophy in that it seeks to discuss questions regarding the nature of religion as a whole, rather than examining the problems brought forth by a particular belief-system. It can be carried out dispassionately by those who identify as believers or non-believers.[3] Overview[edit] Philosopher William L. The term philosophy of religion did not come into general use in the West until the nineteenth century,[6] and most pre-modern and early modern philosophical works included a mixture of religious themes and non-religious philosophical questions. The philosophy of religion has been distinguished from theology by pointing out that, for theology, "its critical reflections are based on religious convictions".[8] Also, "theology is responsible to an authority that initiates its thinking, speaking, and witnessing ... Basic themes and problems[edit] Ultimate reality[edit] Monotheism[edit]

History and philosophy of science Academic discipline Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultimate purpose of science. This discipline overlaps with metaphysics/ontology and epistemology, for example, when it explores the relationship between science and truth. Philosophy of science focuses on metaphysical, epistemic and semantic aspects of science. There is no consensus among philosophers about many of the central problems concerned with the philosophy of science, including whether science can reveal the truth about unobservable things and whether scientific reasoning can be justified at all. History[edit] One origin of the unified discipline is the historical approach to the discipline of the philosophy of science. See also[edit] References[edit]

Automated reasoning Automated reasoning is an area of computer science and mathematical logic dedicated to understanding different aspects of reasoning. The study of automated reasoning helps produce computer programs that allows computers to reason completely, or nearly completely, automatically. Although automated reasoning is considered a sub-field of artificial intelligence, it also has connections with theoretical computer science, and even philosophy. The most developed subareas of automated reasoning are automated theorem proving (and the less automated but more pragmatic subfield of interactive theorem proving) and automated proof checking (viewed as guaranteed correct reasoning under fixed assumptions). Extensive work has also been done in reasoning by analogy induction and abduction. Other important topics include reasoning under uncertainty and non-monotonic reasoning. Early years[edit] Significant contributions[edit] "There are now in the world machines that think, that learn and that create.

Philosophy of mind Branch of philosophy The Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the body and the external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are addressed, such as the hard problem of consciousness and the nature of particular mental states.[1][2][3] Aspects of the mind that are studied include mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness and its neural correlates, the ontology of the mind, the nature of cognition and of thought, and the relationship of the mind to the body. The problems of physicalist theories of the mind have led some contemporary philosophers to assert that the traditional view of substance dualism should be defended. Mind–body problem[edit] A related problem is how someone's propositional attitudes (e.g. beliefs and desires) cause that individual's neurons to fire and muscles to contract. Arguments for dualism[edit] Self[edit]

Mathematical logic Subfield of mathematics Mathematical logic is the study of formal logic within mathematics. Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory). Since its inception, mathematical logic has both contributed to and been motivated by the study of foundations of mathematics. Subfields and scope[edit] The Handbook of Mathematical Logic in 1977 makes a rough division of contemporary mathematical logic into four areas: The mathematical field of category theory uses many formal axiomatic methods, and includes the study of categorical logic, but category theory is not ordinarily considered a subfield of mathematical logic. History[edit] Mathematical logic emerged in the mid-19th century as a subfield of mathematics, reflecting the confluence of two traditions: formal philosophical logic and mathematics. Early history[edit] 19th century[edit] Foundational theories[edit] 20th century[edit] Set theory and paradoxes[edit] . such as

Philosophy of mathematics The terms philosophy of mathematics and mathematical philosophy are frequently used interchangeably.[1] The latter, however, may be used to refer to several other areas of study. One refers to a project of formalizing a philosophical subject matter, say, aesthetics, ethics, logic, metaphysics, or theology, in a purportedly more exact and rigorous form, as for example the labors of scholastic theologians, or the systematic aims of Leibniz and Spinoza. Another refers to the working philosophy of an individual practitioner or a like-minded community of practicing mathematicians. Recurrent themes[edit] Recurrent themes include: What is the role of Mankind in developing mathematics? History[edit] The origin of mathematics is subject to argument. Many thinkers have contributed their ideas concerning the nature of mathematics. Greek philosophy on mathematics was strongly influenced by their study of geometry. 20th century[edit] Major themes[edit] Mathematical realism[edit] Platonism[edit] Some[who?]

Reason Capacity for consciously making sense of things Reason is the capacity of applying logic consciously by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth.[1] It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, science, language, mathematics, and art, and is normally considered to be a distinguishing ability possessed by humans.[2][3] Reason is sometimes referred to as rationality.[4] The words are connected in this way: Using reason, or reasoning, means providing good reasons. Psychologists and cognitive scientists have attempted to study and explain how people reason, e.g. which cognitive and neural processes are engaged, and how cultural factors affect the inferences that people draw. In the English language and other modern European languages, "reason", and related words, represent words which have always been used to translate Latin and classical Greek terms in their philosophical sense. Philosophical history

Philosophy of logic Study of the scope and nature of logic Different types of logic are often distinguished. Logic is usually understood as formal logic and is treated as such for most of this article. Formal logic is only interested in the form of arguments, expressed in a formal language, and focuses on deductive inferences. Informal logic, on the other hand, addresses a much wider range of arguments found also in natural language, which include non-deductive arguments. The philosophy of logic also investigates the nature and philosophical implications of the fundamental concepts of logic. The metaphysics of logic is concerned with the metaphysical status of the laws and objects of logic. Definition and related disciplines[edit] Nature of logic[edit] The term "logic" is based on the Greek word "logos", which is associated with various different senses, such as reason, discourse, or language. General characteristics[edit] There is wide agreement that logic is a normative discipline. Types of logics[edit]

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