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It's sad that more people don't study the philosophy and sociology of Science, especially people in engineering and the sciences. Scientists make ontological a
by knowtheory 13y ago
It's sad that more people don't study the philosophy and sociology of Science, especially people in engineering and the sciences.
Scientists make ontological and metaphysical claims about the nature of the universe, and unless they avail themselves of the philosophy of science there are a lot of arguments that one can't defend against.. There are a lot of fundamentalists who avail themselves of Thomas Kuhn's argument that scientific progress is entirely just cultural consensus amongst scientists, and has no additional metaphysical reality.
Fighting off that argument is squarely in the philosophy of science, as is being able to articulate what it means to observe, theorize about, and know reality.
- Herring 13y agoI don't know if it's sad really. I guess it depends what your priorities are. There's fighting off philosophical arguments, and there's getting things done. Too much emphasis on either one reduces your ability to do the other.
- knowtheory 13y agoFighting off philosophical arguments is a fundamental part of politics and convincing other people that you are right. You're also right that there's only so much time in the day, but it depends on who you have to go through to get stuff done. Who do you need money, or approval from.
- Herring 13y agoAh, I see your point. You're right. If it's studying philosophy to convince other people then I'm in.