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Please complete your reading of the material in Section 1 of the Lecture Material and proceed to Section 2 and 3. Continue reading the two assigned books.
The title of the course is "History and Philosophy of Science" and the aim of the course is to provide an introductory survey. The history and philosophy of science are vast subjects entailing a lot of information and opinions, as you have doubtless realized from the variety of material contained in the Lecture Material and in the book by Thomas Kuhn which you are to work through during the semester. Some guidelines for recognizing basic issues from among extensive details are warranted. Among the central questions that you will be asked to evaluate in future Discussion Forums are "by what criteria are we to call a field of endeavor a science," "what is the purpose of that science, for example is prediction the goal or is explanation enough," "how reliable and well developed are the results of that science, "what criteria should be applied to evaluate such reliability," and "what is the purpose of examining the history and philosophy of that particular science."
Science is conceived of as concerned with truth. In philosophy, one can ask how one accounts for truth and what determines it. In the history of science, one could ask whether the scientific investigators were actually concerned with truth. Thomas Kuhn provides statements about these subject that deflate the portrayal of science as a relentless pursuit of truth. As you read through his book, please keep a record of his positions concerning "scientific truth.' Evaluate his arguments. In a Forum towards the end of the semester, you will be asked whether the concept of 'truth' is viewed consistently throughout the book.
Theoretical physics is perhaps our most impressive and rigorous science. Economics is often called a science, but also a forum for interests, obfuscation and ideology masquerading as science. Is this fair? Are there hidden agendas and personal interests at work in some physics? Are economists engaging in the rigorous pursuit of truth, but are limited in achieving their goal due to the poor quality of the data available to them? As you read through Kuhn's book, I would like you to think about how Kuhn’s viewpoints should apply to theoretical physics and to economics.
Ultimately, scientists are human beings and the question must be considered whether their personal limitations and ambitions detrimentally influence their work or perhaps enhance their work. In this regard, I would like you to view the following videos of Paul Dirac and Jonathan Gruber. Discussion Forum 2 will give you the opportunity to comment on these videos.
Dirac is little known outside of physics, but is considered to have been one of the most accomplished scientists in all of human history. The first video examines his biography and work. The statements are made that Dirac had absolutely no interest in philosophy and religion and was one of the most peculiar people who ever lived. The second is a recording of an interview with him. Besides the subject matter, which I do not expect anyone to understand completely on first encounter, Dirac provides uncommonly deep perspective on the history of his field. Based on the following two short videos and using any other material about Dirac that you can identify, Please describe Dirac's concept of "truth" and explain how truth is to be attained according to Dirac?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfYon2WdR40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et8-gg6XNDY
Economics is a field often called an applied science. We will discuss the distinction between pure and applied sciences, and the different criteria that can be applied to evaluate the quality of each. By way of personal disclosure, I must state that I am skeptical about claims of economics being a science at all in the sense that theoretical physics is. I would appreciate your efforts to convince me otherwise, especially those of you who have studied many courses in economics and related fields. Do economic descriptions produce reliable predictions? Is human economic behavior accurately portrayed? Are the assumptions of rationality of agents sensible? Or, is economics a filed that merely provides insight based on artificial and arguably simplistic models of human behavior? These questions are important as economic prediction is relied upon in the design of public policies.
In the first of the videos that follow, Professor Jonathan Gruber is shown lecturing on microeconomics. Gruber was an advisor on economics who contributed to the design of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. In the second video below, Trey Gowdy of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee questions Prof. Jonathan Gruber about some statements that he made that were caught on video and posted to the internet. Professor Gruber's work on the Affordable Care Act was significant and in an upcoming Forum we will examine some aspects of that program and the economic and scientific work that was used to formulate the government's policies. Please consider whether Congressman Gowdy’s questioning could be relevant to the scientific status of the economics studies undertaken by Professor Gruber. Without understanding all of the details involved in these studies, please describe Gruber's concept of "truth" and explain how truth is to be attained according to Gruber? As you continue to read Kuhn's book, note the many ways in which the author indicates that predilections of scientists and scientific institutions influence the course of scientific development. As we continue in this course, consider how this might be relevant as well in the formulation of laws governing, for example, health care.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vss3nofHpZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xPYuvPrvG0
Please search any source except Wikipedia (or equivalents) for information about the main scientific achievements of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg and Kurt Godel. Similarly search for information about the personalities, and, public or political activities of each of these people. In each case, report briefly whether you judge their personal and/or public lives to have been consistent with their personal ideals of scientific work.
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Please complete your reading of the material in Section 1 of the Lecture Material and proceed to Section 2 and 3. Continue reading the two assigned books.
The title of the course is "History and Philosophy of Science" and the aim of the course is to provide an introductory survey. The history and philosophy of science are vast subjects entailing a lot of information and opinions, as you have doubtless realized from the variety of material contained in the Lecture Material and in the book by Thomas Kuhn which you are to work through during the semester. Some guidelines for recognizing basic issues from among extensive details are warranted. Among the central questions that you will be asked to evaluate in future Discussion Forums are "by what criteria are we to call a field of endeavor a science," "what is the purpose of that science, for example is prediction the goal or is explanation enough," "how reliable and well developed are the results of that science, "what criteria should be applied to evaluate such reliability," and "what is the purpose of examining the history and philosophy of that particular science."
Science is conceived of as concerned with truth. In philosophy, one can ask how one accounts for truth and what determines it. In the history of science, one could ask whether the scientific investigators were actually concerned with truth. Thomas Kuhn provides statements about these subject that deflate the portrayal of science as a relentless pursuit of truth. As you read through his book, please keep a record of his positions concerning "scientific truth.' Evaluate his arguments. In a Forum towards the end of the semester, you will be asked whether the concept of 'truth' is viewed consistently throughout the book.
Theoretical physics is perhaps our most impressive and rigorous science. Economics is often called a science, but also a forum for interests, obfuscation and ideology masquerading as science. Is this fair? Are there hidden agendas and personal interests at work in some physics? Are economists engaging in the rigorous pursuit of truth, but are limited in achieving their goal due to the poor quality of the data available to them? As you read through Kuhn's book, I would like you to think about how Kuhn’s viewpoints should apply to theoretical physics and to economics.
Ultimately, scientists are human beings and the question must be considered whether their personal limitations and ambitions detrimentally influence their work or perhaps enhance their work. In this regard, I would like you to view the following videos of Paul Dirac and Jonathan Gruber. Discussion Forum 2 will give you the opportunity to comment on these videos.
Dirac is little known outside of physics, but is considered to have been one of the most accomplished scientists in all of human history. The first video examines his biography and work. The statements are made that Dirac had absolutely no interest in philosophy and religion and was one of the most peculiar people who ever lived. The second is a recording of an interview with him. Besides the subject matter, which I do not expect anyone to understand completely on first encounter, Dirac provides uncommonly deep perspective on the history of his field. Based on the following two short videos and using any other material about Dirac that you can identify, Please describe Dirac's concept of "truth" and explain how truth is to be attained according to Dirac?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfYon2WdR40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et8-gg6XNDY
Economics is a field often called an applied science. We will discuss the distinction between pure and applied sciences, and the different criteria that can be applied to evaluate the quality of each. By way of personal disclosure, I must state that I am skeptical about claims of economics being a science at all in the sense that theoretical physics is. I would appreciate your efforts to convince me otherwise, especially those of you who have studied many courses in economics and related fields. Do economic descriptions produce reliable predictions? Is human economic behavior accurately portrayed? Are the assumptions of rationality of agents sensible? Or, is economics a filed that merely provides insight based on artificial and arguably simplistic models of human behavior? These questions are important as economic prediction is relied upon in the design of public policies.
In the first of the videos that follow, Professor Jonathan Gruber is shown lecturing on microeconomics. Gruber was an advisor on economics who contributed to the design of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. In the second video below, Trey Gowdy of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee questions Prof. Jonathan Gruber about some statements that he made that were caught on video and posted to the internet. Professor Gruber's work on the Affordable Care Act was significant and in an upcoming Forum we will examine some aspects of that program and the economic and scientific work that was used to formulate the government's policies. Please consider whether Congressman Gowdy’s questioning could be relevant to the scientific status of the economics studies undertaken by Professor Gruber. Without understanding all of the details involved in these studies, please describe Gruber's concept of "truth" and explain how truth is to be attained according to Gruber? As you continue to read Kuhn's book, note the many ways in which the author indicates that predilections of scientists and scientific institutions influence the course of scientific development. As we continue in this course, consider how this might be relevant as well in the formulation of laws governing, for example, health care.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vss3nofHpZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xPYuvPrvG0
Please search any source except Wikipedia (or equivalents) for information about the main scientific achievements of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg and Kurt Godel. Similarly search for information about the personalities, and, public or political activities of each of these people. In each case, report briefly whether you judge their personal and/or public lives to have been consistent with their personal ideals of scientific work.
We can deliver a custom piece for this
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