Problem
Okasha, "What is science?"
I. Know what philos sophia means (love of wisdom) and what fundamental questions are (which philosophy investigates). Example: "What is just punishment" is more fundamental than "Is capital punishment just?" because "What is just punishment?" needs to be answered before "Is capital punishment just?" can be answered.
II. Know what the demarcation problem is in the philosophy of science.
III. Know what Karl Popper's falsificationism is. Be able to identify if certain claims are falsifiable are not. For example, from class: (i) "An invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe "after drinking heavily" (quote from a Wikipedia entry) (not falsifiable bc it's undetectable) (ii) Every living thing needs water to survive. (falsifiable. Although it's true, it would be possible to observe its falsity if it were false.)
IV. Know what an ad hoc explanation is and how they can make something unfalsifiable. Example from class: "Everybody gets what they deserve in life" could seemingly be falsified by observing that some children get sick when they don't deserve to be sick. What is an ad hoc explanation that could be given to save the claim?
V. Know why Okasha thinks that ad hoc explanations are sometimes scientifically respectable (how was Neptune discovered?)