Philosophy & Science

Kaleidoscope, ERT, Ph.D. Workshop, 16-21 of June 2005 University of Limerick,

presentation by annette aboulafia,

Content

• Basis problems of Philosophy

• Philosophy and Science

• Qualitative investigation and research design

Basic Philosophical Assumptions

FREEDOMPeople basically have control over their own behaviour and understand the motives behind their behaviour

DETERMINISMThe behaviour of people is basically determined by internal or external forces over which they have little, if any, control

Would strongly agree

Would agree

Is neutral or believes in synthesis of both views

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

1 2 3 4 5

HEREDITARYInherited and inborn characteristics have the most important influence on a person's behaviour

ENVIRONMENTALFactors in the environment have the most important influence on a person's behaviour

UNIQUENESSEach individual is unique and cannot be compared with others

UNIVERSALITYPeople are basicall very similar in nature

ACTIVEHumans primarily act on their own initiative

REACTIVEHumans primarily react to stimuli from the outside world

CHANGE/DEVELOPMENTSignificant changes in personality can occur throughout people's lifetime

STABILITYPersonality are essentially stable and unchanging

Would agree

Would strongly agree

The basis of philosophy

• The Sophists – rejected an objective truth behind the subjective

experience --> relativism, pragmatism, subjectivism

– monism between Subject - Object

• The Rationalists (Plato) – distinguishes between the sensual and the non-sensual

– the separation between manual and intellectual work

– dualism between Subject - Object

Modern Philosophy starts with the discovery of the ‘folio’ between subject and object

The basic question of modern Philosophy:– how does humans apprehend categories, forms and

values which cannot be deduced from his own experience?

S

the abstract (theoretical) reality

O the concrete reality

'folio'

The basic problem of philosophy is the relation between the folio and the world

The basis of science

• Aristoteles (the father of formal logic) made the basis for different sciences

philosophy/ logical principles

different scientific disciplines

Three basic ways of recognition

• The ‘science’ of thinking – logic and mathematics (philosophy)

• The ‘science’ of experience – focuses on empirical observations, humans experiences

of the world

• The science of object – focus on the object itself, not our experience of it

– natural sciences e.g. Galilei and Newton.

The concept of Science

• Science is concerned with its object of investigation

– the focus is on the object

– the human ability of recognition is taken as given

• Precondition for science– the world exists

– the world can be ’grasped’ by means of concepts

• Philosophy of science is concerned with methods of investigation

General statements• science starts the investigation in the world - not in theories,

logic, concepts (e.g. as in Philosophy)• science develops theories of the object• a theory is a set of abstract concepts that we make about a

group of facts or events in order to explain them• theories can give explanations to phenomena which can or

cannot be directly observed• the keystone of science is empirical observation and theories

must be empirically validated• observation depends on a prior ’model’ of the world (Kuhn)• observations are shaped through ‘learning activities’• scientific results cannot be judged on their method. The result

is a reflection of the object, not of the method.

Boundaries of Science

• Science is not well-defined, and it may only be a concept which refers to certain things without having much in common …

• except some ideals, methods or features of science that are valid for all of them …e.g.

• …scientific knowledge is more concentrated and systematic, i.e. ‘as much information as possibly, described as simple as possible’.

• …scientific knowledge can learn us about things, which is beyond the reach of our experience.

Everyday and theoretical knowledge

• Everyday knowledge – a participating practice

– empirical level of cognition

– generalisation of factual data

– based on direct sensual perception

• Theoretical knowledge - – the ‘observed’ cognition

– theoretical/abstract level of cognition

– general principles

– based on semantic interpretation, conceptualisation and rationalisation

Three steps in the process of recognition

common knowledge, the phenomenological or sensual level of understanding

the abstract, theoretical level of analysis (the process of 'segregation')

scientific knowledge, understanding of inner relations (the process of 'synthese')

Characteristics of Science

• Explanation – fundamental principles and concepts are explanations of

concrete processes and events in the world.

• Objectivity – scientific knowledge tries to avoid subjectivity by various

methodological strategies

• Prediction – is possibly within closed systems, (a part of reality, which are

not disturbed by outside events or forces). But this does not hold for other systems (outside laboratory experiments).

(Finn Collin, 1993, Videnskabsfilosofi (Philosophy of Science). Folkeuniversitetet. Denmark)

The validity of science

• Scientific knowledge is general and goes beyond the observable

• Two approaches to argue for the un-observable:– Inductive conclusion: generalisation based on an amount of

observations (often statistical measurements). Cannot give information of none observable, theoretical phenomena.

– Concluding to best explanation: allows for deduction of none observable objects, and is validated by its possibility to explain an amount of experiences.

(Collin, 1993)

Qualitative investigation and research design

Based on Creswell, J. W. (1998), Qualitative Inquiry and research design. Sage Publications

• “Design is the logical sequence that connects the empirical data to a study’s initial research questions and, ultimately, to its conclusions”.

(Creswell, p. 3 quote by Yin, 1989, p. 28)

• In designing a study, one works with – broad philosophical assumptions,

– possible frameworks, problems, and questions

– data collections through techniques (interviews, observation, documents, audio-visual materials).

Strong commitment

• Commit to extensive time in the field• Engage in the complex process of data analysis –

sorting through large amounts of data and reducing them to a few themes or categories

• Write long passages because the evidence must substantiate claims (incorporate quotes), and the writer needs to show multiple perspectives

• Participate in a form of social and human science research that does not have firm guidelines or specific procedures and is evolving and changing constantly (this complicates telling others how one plans to conduct a study and how others might judge it when the study is done).

(Creswell, p 16-17)

Questions for discussion

• How is qualitative research defined?

• Why do we choose to conduct a qualitative study?

• What preliminary decisions need to be made?

• What type of questions are asked? Information collected? Analysis undertaken?

• How are the data and analysis represented in the narrative?

(Creswell, p 14)

How is qualitative research defined?

• “Qualitative research is an inquiry process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The researcher builds a complex, holistic picture, analyzes words, reports detailed views of informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting.”

(Creswell, p.15)

Why do we choose to conduct a qualitative study?

(Creswell, p. 17)

• because of the nature of the research question – it often starts with a how or a what – describing what is going on

• the topic needs to be explored – i.e. variables cannot be easily identified, theories are not available

to explain behaviour of participants and need to be developed.

• the need to present a detailed view of the topic – e.g. the wide-angle lens will not suffice to present answers to the

problem

• in order to study individuals or groups in their natural setting.

• other reasons?

What preliminary decisions need to be made?

Qualitative approaches to design have unique features:• A general approach, as a detailed plan is difficult or insufficient

given emerging issues that develop in a field study.• Some issues are problematic such as e.g. how much literature

should be included in the front of the study, how much theory should guide the study.

• The researcher uses a set of philosophical assumptions (explicitly or implicitly) that guide the study

– e.g. knowledge is within the meanings people make of it, knowledge is gained through people talking about their meanings, knowledge is tied to the context, etc.

Within these considerations in mind we begin by posing a problem, a research issue, to which we would like an answer. (Creswell, p 19-20)

What type of questions are asked? Information collected?

• To study a topic, we ask open-ended research questions, wanting to listen to the participants we are studying and shaping the questions hereafter. The questions change during the process of research to reflect an increased understanding of the problem.

• Qualitative research is extensive collection of data, typically from multiple sources of information. Four basic types of information: interviews, observations, documents, audio-visual materials.

Analysis undertaken?• After organizing and storing the data, we analyze

them and try to make sense of them.

• We examine the data working from particulars to more general perspectives (themes, dimensions, categories, etc.).

– The interrelated set of activities of data collection, analysis and report writing makes is difficult to know which stage we are in.

• We (re)present our data, partly based on participants’ perspectives and partly based on our own interpretation.

How are the data and analysis represented in the narrative?

• Throughout the study we shape our narrative – we tell a story, presenting the study following the traditional approach to scientific research: problem, question, method, findings.

• We let the voices of our informants speak and carry the story through dialogue.

(Creswell, p. 20)