Chapter 5 - Introducing Falsification

Vienna 1920

Karl Popper - advocate of an alternative to "inductivism" or referred here as "falsificationism"

Inductivism - a scientist observes nature, tentatively poses a modest axiom to generalize an observed pattern, confirms it by many observations, ventures a modestly broader axiom, and confirms that, too, by many more observations, while discarding disconfirmed axioms. Axiomatization grows ever broader but never appreciably exceeds careful, extensive observation while scientists keep accurate records for collaboration. Thus freed from preconceptions but impelled beyond a lone human's observational power, science gradually uncover nature's material and causal structure.

Rudolph Carnap advocated logical positivism which directly clashed with Popper

Popper was jaded by how these theories gave off the appearance of being powerful theories confirmed by a wide range of facts but they couldn't explain anything because they can't rule out anything

Falsificationists believe that observations are guided by and presupposes theory.  They don't believe theories are true simply because there are observable evidence.  Theories are construed as speculative and tentative conjectures or guesses freely created by the human intellect in an attempt to overcome problems encountered by previous theories to give an adequate account of some aspects of the world or universe.

Once proposed, speculative theories are to be rigorously and ruthlessly tested by observation and experiment.  Only the fittest theory that is repeatedly tested can be said that it is the best available; that it is better than anything that has come before.

If it can be established by observation in some test experiment that a ten-kilogram weight and a one-kilogram weight in free fall move downwards at roughly the same speed, then it can be concluded that the claim that bodies fall at speeds proportional to their weight is false.

To be granted status of a scientific law or theory: an hypothesis must be falsifiable

1. It never rains on Wednesday IS falsifiable because it can be falsified by observing rain to fall on a Wednesday.

Week Ten 11/25

I came.  I saw.  I defended (my proposal.)  Thanks to my committee members for attending and giving valuable feedback along the way.

Thus concludes the thesis proposal portion of the blog.  Full production on thesis will begin during the Winter break and continue into next quarter.