Epistemology of Science Zuoyue Wang , 2/10/2011

1. Epistemology of ScienceZuoyue Wang, 2/10/2011

2. Epistemology of Science Simplified • Philosophy of Science: How Does Science Make Truth Claims about the Natural World? • Political Science: How Does Science Function as a Model and Tool for Understanding the Human World? • Sociology of Science: How Does Society Fit into Science? • Science Policy: How Does Science Fit into Society? • History of Science: How Did the Debate over These Questions about Science and Its Social Context Actually Play out in History?

3. Einstein on Epistemology of Science • Einstein, 1905 • Special relativity built on ether unobservable • Heisenberg, 1925 • Quantum mechanics built on electronic orbits unobservable • Heisenberg vs. Einstein, 1926 • H: I learned from you • E: A good joke can not be repeated twice!

4. Einstein’s Evolution • Einstein started more as an empiricist • General relativity led him to be a rationalist • Empirical data do not lead to theory; making a theory always involves a leap of faith, but any valid theory would have to be tested with experiment • Thus his pursuit of unified field theory and his belief in a deeper theory underlying quantum mechanics

5. History and Philosophy of Science • Positivist View: Science as a cumulative, progressive process • Karl Popper: Science advances not by proving theories true, but by proving them false and revise them • Thomas Kuhn: Scientific change not purely a cognitive process, but also a social process

6. Thomas Kuhn • Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) • Called the most influential book in the social sciences in the second half of the 20th century • Paradigm; Paradigm shift; normal science; scientific community—emphasis on science as a social activity

7. Science Policy • Policy for Science and Science in Policy • Policy for Science • Government funding of science • From “Men of Science” to “Scientific Community” (David Hollinger) • Big Science, Government Funding, Debate over Science and Government • Scientists no longer as pursuers of truth, but more as interest groups

8. Science in Policy • Science in policy refers to how government uses science and technology • Controversial science in policy • Regulatory science • Effects of low dose radiation on human health • Global warming • Debate over • Is science objective? • Are scientists objective and “disinterested”?

9. Science policy-making by voting? • Alvarez: “There is no democracy in physics. We can’t say that one second-rate guy has as much right to opinion as Fermi.” • Yet, Science Policy is not science • Regulatory policy as a negotiated process • FDA, EPA, CDC Advisory Committees often “voted” on recommendations • IPCC also voted on its findings • Sheila Jasanoff, The Fifth Branch: Science Advisers as Policymakers

10. Epistemology of Science Today • Much more complicated than the positivist ideal of progressive science approaching truth and delivering social benefits • We are more aware of the social construction of science and scientific beliefs • We are more wary of scientists with self interest • We are more cautious about scientific and technological solutions to our problems • Yet, science and technology have continued to play a prominent role in our world today due in part to the belief in the epistemological validity of a scientific enterprise that is by and large evidence-based.

11. My Own Research • History of the Discovery of the Equivalence of the Matrix and Wave Mechanics (1985) • In Sputnik’s Shadow: The President’s Science Advisory Committee and Cold War America (2008) • science advising involved social and political construction • The negotiation of original Sputnik Moment • Science is transnational—how science travels across borders and is transformed in the process (“Transnational Science”)