Philosophy of science

thumb|The steam engine, the major driver in the [[Industrial Revolution, underscores the importance of engineering in modern history. This beam engine is on display in the Technical University of Madrid.]]

thumb|right|350px|The hypothesis of Andreas Cellarius, showing the planetary motions in eccentric and epicyclical [[orbits]]

techniques used in the construction and testing of scientific hypotheses; in particular mathematical and experimental techniques employed in the natural sciences

In philosophy, empiricism is an epistemological view which holds that true knowledge or justification comes either only or primarily from sensory experience and empirical evidence. It is one of several competing views within epistemology, along with rationalism and skepticism.

Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that views language and thought as tools for prediction, problem solving, and action, rather than describing, representing, or mirroring reality. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics—such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science—are best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes.

thumb|right|upright=1|Auguste Comte, the founder of modern positivism

branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science

Eternity, also referred to as sempiternity or forever, is time with no end i.e. infinite.

A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices, that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures. In popular language, a meme may refer to

thumbnail|Observing the air traffic in Rõuge, [[Estonia]]

Causality is an influence by which one event, process, state, or subject (i.e., a cause) contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (i.e., an effect) where the cause is at least partly responsible for the effect, and the effect is at least partly dependent on the cause. The cause of something may also be described as the reason behind the event or process.

assertion that only statements verifiable through empirical observation are meaningful

hypothetical megastructure, originally described by Freeman Dyson

former group of philosophers and scientists

statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes some aspects of the universe

situation occurring when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation

fundamental method of problem-solving, characterized by repeated, varied attempts which are continued until success, or until the practicer stops trying

In philosophy (metaphysics), physicalism is the position that everything is physical, that there is nothing over and above the physical, and that everything supervenes on the physical. It stands in direct opposition to idealism, which asserts that reality arises from the mind. Physicalism is a form of ontological monism—a single-substance account of the nature of reality, in contrast to "two-substance" (mind–body dualism) or "many-substance" (pluralism) views. Physicalism is closely related to naturalism, though important distinctions exist between them.

thumb|Portrait of Horace Walpole by [[Joshua Reynolds, 1756]]Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery. The term was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754.

process of deducing properties of an underlying probability distribution by analysis of data

about how to distinguish between science and nonscience, including between science, pseudoscience, and other products of human activity, like art and literature, and beliefs

Latin phrase indicating that factors not being considered in a comparison are held to be constant across the items compared

collective judgment, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study

treatise by Aristotle

type of community

Reproducibility, closely related to replicability and repeatability, is a major principle underpinning the scientific method. For the findings of a study to be reproducible means that results obtained by an experiment or an observational study or in a statistical analysis of a data set should be achieved again with a high degree of reliability when the study is replicated. There are different kinds of replication but typically replication studies involve different researchers using the same methodology. Only after one or several such successful replications should a result be recognized as sci

branch of philosophy

Androcentrism (Ancient Greek, ἀνήρ, "man, male") is the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing a masculine point of view at the center of one's world view, culture, and history, thereby culturally marginalizing women. The related adjective is androcentric. The opposite of androcentric is gynocentric.

overview of interactions

evidence collected in a casual or informal manner and relying heavily or entirely on personal testimony

theory within social science

Epistemological razor regarding the burden of proof

interpretation of probability as a measure of the degree of belief of an individual assessing the uncertainty of a particular situation

In philosophy, '''' (; ) is knowledge or understanding. The term epistemology'' (the branch of philosophy concerning knowledge) is derived from .

area of philosophical inquiry

absolutization of the influence of biological characteristics, such as genes, brain structure or physiology, on a person

thumb|349x349px|Charles Sanders Peirce around 1900. Peirce is said to have initiated fallibilism. Originally, fallibilism (from Medieval Latin: fallibilis, "liable to error") is the philosophical principle that propositions can be accepted even though they cannot be conclusively proven or justified, or that neither knowledge nor belief is certain. The term was coined in the late nineteenth century by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce, as a response to foundationalism. Theorists, following Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper, may also refer to fallibilism as the notion that k

thumb|upright|A homunculus inside a [[sperm cell, as drawn by Nicolaas Hartsoeker in 1695]] thumb|Jan Swammerdam, Miraculum naturae sive uteri muliebris fabrica, 1729

epistemological question of whether inductive reasoning leads to definitive knowledge understood in the classic philosophical sense

In social science, antipositivism (also interpretivism, negativism or antinaturalism) is a theoretical stance which proposes that the social realm cannot be studied with the methods of investigation utilized within the natural sciences, and that investigation of the social realm requires a different epistemology. Fundamental to that antipositivist epistemology is the belief that the concepts and language researchers use in their research shape their perceptions of the social world they are investigating and seeking to define.

interdisciplinary research area that seeks to situate scientific expertise in broad social, historical, and philosophical contexts

Antiscience is a set of attitudes and a form of anti-intellectualism that involves a rejection of science and the scientific method. People holding antiscientific views do not accept science as an objective method that can generate universal knowledge. Antiscience commonly manifests through rejection of scientific ideas such as climate change and evolution and the effectiveness of vaccination. It also includes pseudoscience, methods that claim to be scientific but reject the scientific method. Antiscience can lead to belief in false conspiracy theories and alternative medicine. Lack of trust i

form of methodological skepticism associated with the writings and methodology of René Descartes

extent to which a concept, conclusion or measurement is well-founded and corresponds accurately to the real world

Doxa (; from verb ) is a common belief or popular opinion. In classical rhetoric, doxa is contrasted with episteme ('knowledge').

perception of the passing of time

tendency not to side in a conflict

the study of how to reconcile inconsistencies among other fields of science & chemistry

in philosophy of science

proposed description of the scientific method

polysemous term in philosophy; set of all things which are natural and essential properties and causes of individual things

thesis that it is impossible to test a scientific hypothesis in isolation, because such an empirical test of it requires other assumptions

process by which scientific models assume facts about the phenomenon being modeled

Organicism is the philosophical position that states that the universe and its various parts (including human societies) ought to be considered alive and naturally ordered, much like a living organism. Vital to the position is the idea that organicistic elements are not dormant "things" per se but rather dynamic components in a comprehensive system that is, as a whole, everchanging. Organicism is related to but remains distinct from holism insofar as it prefigures holism; while the latter concept is applied more broadly to universal part-whole interconnections such as in anthropology and socio

philosophical concept

phrase used to describe bad science, generally attributed to Wolfgang Pauli

universal principle

value that informs how science is practiced and how scientific truths are discovered

An inquiry (also spelled as enquiry in British English) is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ways that each type of inquiry achieves its aim.

act of counting and measuring that maps human sense observations and experiences into quantities