AKA
empiricism
Verificationist
Theory of Meaning (Karl
Hempel, 1905 - 1997)
"Colorless
green
ideas Sleep furiously" (Noam
Chomsky, 1957)
Grammatical but semantically meaningless
Ludwig
Wittgenstein
(1889 - 1951)
Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus (1921) [Text]
Seven Propositions & commentary
Karl
Popper
(1902 - 1994)
The
Logic
of Scientific Discovery (1934;
1959)
The
Open Society and its Enemies (1945)
Conjectures and
Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge
(1963)
Falsification
as a Criterion
of Demarcation
"All Swans are White"
can be disproved
Cf. failure of Kelvin & Jenkin disproofs of
Natural Selection
Fallacy
of
Induction & Skeptical Despair of
Reason
Thomas
Kuhn
(1922 - 1996)
Structure
of
Scientific Revolutions (1962;
Revised 1970, 1996, 2012)
"Normal" vs "Revolutionary"
Science
"Paradigms"
& paradigm shifts
(Cf. Copernican Revolution, Quantum
Physics, Michelson-Morley
Experiment)
Incrementalism vs Revolution in
Biology
EA Carlson
(2018) How Scientific
Progress Occurs
Kuhn to Carlson: Physics is theory-driven,
Biology is descriptive
For Discussion:
Charles Darwin
introduces Natural
Selection
replaces
Argument from Design
Watson, Crick et al. introduce DNA
Potential for self-replication
Potential as information molecule
Molecular Biology of
the Gene
Germ Theory of Disease
Good Science, Bad Science,
Pseudo-Science, etc.
Phlogiston
chemistry (17th cent) vs Alchemy
"Cold
Fusion" physics (1989)
Acupuncture &
traditional Chinese medicine
Astrology vs Astronomy (16th
cent)
Natural Selection vs "Intelligent Design" (21st cent)