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1.1 Hansson - What knowledge do we need

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1. What does "intersubjectivity" mean?

Answer 1: One says that scientific knowledge should be intersubjective, i.e. common to all humans. Knowledge is neither tied to one individual, nor to this individuals perspective. Answer 2: Before a statement (or belief, obtaining knowledge...etc.) can be recognized as a true one it has to be 'evaluated' (justified) with respect to four criteria: objectivity, intersubjectivity, subjectivity, normativity [more info lecture 1, slides 11-14]. Let's focus on the intersubjectivity. Intersubjectivity criterion expresses the requirement that, to be true, a statement has to be valid for all humans (= common to all humans). Thus, the statement is intersubjective if it is commonly accepted and resistant to critical assessment of others. If anyone could arrive at it and it holds against critical testing by anyone. Regarding the definition of knowledge [lecture 1, slides 13]: "Intersubjective: Knowledge can be shared If X has good reasons for believing that P, X can inform other people about these reasons. If X has good reasons, others can recognize Xs reasons as good.

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2. Why is philosophical scepticism not a good method for empirical science?

Philosophical scepticism doubts the reliability of the senses they may fail us and could be deceiving , the basis of empirical science.

3. What do we mean by empiricism?

The term empiricism is used to denote an opinion that puts much weight on empirical observation, and draws strict limits to how much can be achieved by reason alone.

4. Which of the following is an example of episteme?

Answer 1: It might be helpful to recall that episteme is also called 'the knowledge of facts'. One does not have to know how to 'do' something, but rather to make right statements about it. Answer 2: Science is a means to acquire knowledge. Of course, there are many types and forms of knowledge, however the ancient Greeks (including Aristotle) distinguished between two main types of knowledge: 1. action knowledge, called techne (obtained from applied science); = practical knowledge. Know how to: Ride a bike. Perform an experiment. Identify independent variables in a statistical analysis. 2. knowledge of facts, called episteme (obtained from pure science); = theoretical knowledge. Know why/that: One doesnt fall off the bike. If the experiment is performed correctly and one gets the result X, the theory Y is incorrect.

Example from The Art of Doing Science : An act of balancing a plate on a stick in circus. In this case, the circus artist has action knowledge (techne) about this phenomenon, since he

acquired practical knowledge about how to balance to keep the plate in place. On the other hand, the physicist has knowledge of facts (episteme) about this phenomenon, because he is able to explain what forces combine to keep the plate in place. The Art of Doing Science - pp. 6-7; Lecture 1 slide 8

5. Which of the following is not a presupposition for science?

I will indicate the three presuppositions for science. Intro: Why they were defined? Since objectivity and intersubjectivity are difficult to achieve for many statements, there was doubt whether it is possible at all to fulfill these criteria. Thus, philosophers formulate three conditions that together imply that objective and intersubjective knowledge is possible. These preconditions express "the demands of objectivity and intersubjectivity". "All these three preconditions are taken for self-evident in everyday life. It is almost only in philosophy that they are seriously reflected upon." [ The Art of Doing Science - p. 12] Answer: The three presuppositions on which science is based are: 1. There is a real world that is independent of our senses. 2. This real world is common to all of us. 3. With combined forces we can achieve, or at least approach, knowledge about this real world that is common to us all. The Art of Doing Science - p. 11;

6. What do both science and democracy presuppose?

Text from Section 1.7 "The danger of belief in authorities": "The value of an argument cannot depend on who puts it forward. Science and democracy share a strong commitment to the fundamental equality between human subjects (they are nonauthoritarian = anti-authoritarian). In order to be workable, both science and democracy presuppose a rational public discussion where arguments are tried against each other. Democracy and modern science also have common philosophical roots in the enlightenment tradition and its protests against old authorities." [The Art of Doing Science, p. 12]

7. What does the scientific corpus consist of?

Intro: "Some worldviews offer absolute and certain knowledge. Science is not one of these worldviews. (...) Science tries to offer the best available knowledge today, and in addition methods with which we can successively improve our knowledge." "If it turns out that we (humans) were wrong, we change our opinions. The same procedure applies in science." [The Art of Doing Science, p. 13] If we follow this argumentation, we will end up with the conclusion that "We will never be able to achieve completely certain knowledge." (since everything can be changed in the future.) However, in practice, if we don't like to discover/derive everything again and ourself, it is worth to "believe that knowledge is true until there is a good reason to doubt it". [The Art of Doing Science, p. 14] Answer: "The accepted scientific statements comprise together the scientific corpus, the mass of scientific knowledge. This corpus consists of everything that is taken for true in science until we obtain a good reason to doubt it. Alternatively, we can describe the corpus as containing all the statements that could be made, without reservations, in a sufficiently detailed scientific textbook." [The Art of Doing Science, p. 15]

8. Which roads to intersubjective knowledge are usually available to us?

Two roads are available to us in order to achieve intersubjective knowledge: our senses and our reasoning capabilities. Observations made with the help of our senses (like vision, for instance) tend to be similar for the majority of people (people tend to have a more or less common sense regarding their general environment). Furthermore, presenting and justifying aour arguments in a rational way, helps others understand whether our conclusions stand or not. As a result of this, both our senses and reasoning capabilities provide roads to knowledge that is common to - and accepted by all humans (intersubjectivity) [The Art of Doing Science, 1.11]

9. What is meant by rationalism?

Rationalism is a method or a theory in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive. Rationalism puts more emphasis on the exercise of rational reasoning and argumentation instead of empirical observations (using our senses) when trying to acquire knowledge. For rationalists, reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge (ours senses, for example). Rationalism has its roots in the Ancient Greek Philosophy (Pythagoreans, Socrates and Plato). Famous "rationalists" were Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza (modern ages). [The Art of Doing Science, 1.12]

10. When was the first university laboratory founded?

It was founded in 1599 by Galileo Galilei in the University of Padova, Italy (then the Venetian Republic). [The Art of Doing Science, 1.13]

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