Philossopy of Science

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

Relationship Between Science and Philosophy

Difficult subject to define, like the philosophy itself.

• Philosophy deals with questions that sciences have been unable to answer, and perhaps will never answer.

• Why the sciences cannot find and answer to these questions.

• How science should proceed to find an answer to such questions.

Scientific advancements influence philosophic debates and vice versa.

So, Philosophy and science need each other to define itself and the other.

In old times, philosophers were also the forerunners of science (Plato, etc.) Gradually, different departments of science separated itself from philosophy.
Newton: Physics vs. metaphysics
Darwin: Biology vs. philosophy and theology
20th century: Logic and computer science vs. philosophy

However, all scientific departments still left certain problems to philosophy to answer (e.g. what is a number, what is time, what is a point).

Science takes some questions from philosophy arguing that it can answer: e.g. meaning of life. Evolutionary biology answers and says life has no meaning. So gets resistance from theology. Should leave it to philosophy.

All of the sciences rely on deductive (tumdengelim) and inductive (tumevarim) arguments and argues that first is always reliable. But never answers why and leaves it to logic, which is a subdiscipline of philosophy.

So, the history of science and enduring questions which are not answered shows that science and philosophy are, in fact, inextricably linked.

Philosophy has its subdisciplines:
Logic: valid forms of reasoning;
Aesthetics: study of nature of beauty;
Ethics and political philosophy: moral values and justice;
Epistemology: the nature, extent and justification of knowledge;
Metaphysics: study of thing we believe exist.

So, Philosophy deals with two sets of questions:

*The questions that science (physical, biological, social, behavioral) cannot answer and