SCIENTIFIC LOGIC: CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - PHILOSOPHY - 2024

The scientific logic is one that is responsible for developing a method that allows access to scientific knowledge; that is, it is about developing empirical truth. Science and logic have an intrinsic relationship.

This relationship is given as a consequence of the fact that the systematization of the first - that is, the organization of the research processes, formulation of hypotheses and verification - must operate according to the laws of the second to ensure the validity of the conclusions drawn from experimentation. scientific.

Karl Popper is the main representative of scientific logic. Source: Lucinda Douglas-Menzies link

To better understand the concept of scientific logic, it is pertinent to address the meaning of the two words that make up the noun phrase, to then determine the nature of their relationship.

Logic and science

What is logic?

Formal logic is a branch of philosophy and mathematics that studies correct thinking. When we speak of "thinking correctly" we refer to the rational procedure by means of which man is capable of generating inferences from certain premises that allow him to reach coherent conclusions.

Logical reasoning is governed by several principles; among these stand out that of sufficient reason, that of identity, that of non-contradiction and that of causality, among others

The formal structure of logic allows to discriminate if a speech offers valid or invalid arguments. If the relationship between the propositions of an argument does not respect the principles of logic, that argument must be considered a fallacy.

What is science?

We can understand science as the systematization of a set of knowledge that allows us to access the knowledge of a truth that can be demonstrated empirically; that is to say, an objective reality.

characteristics

In his treatise entitled The Logic of Scientific Research (1934), the philosopher Karl Popper defined the elements and problems that characterize the logic of the most widely accepted scientific method today: the hypothetical-deductive. Some of its characteristics are the following:

Criticize the inductive procedure

Inductive reasoning is one that proposes universal inferences from particular phenomena.

Ever since the empiricist David Hume criticized the acceptability of inductive logic in his Research on Human Knowledge (1748), it has been widely banned by many theorists of the scientific method, despite the fact that it is still used in some forms of methodological approach..

Hume's critique points out that inductive logic tries to trust experiential observations as if they verified phenomena that cannot be verified in experience. According to this logic, the regularity of the phenomena that occurred justifies the conclusion that they will be repeated in an identical way.

Karl Popper argues that inductive logic or "probability logic" fails to justify itself. In attempting to do so, the inductive procedure enters a regression process that extends infinitely, without its propositions being verified in concrete experience.

In this way, it is even possible to fall into Kantian apriorism, a trend that indicates that knowledge is independent of any experience.

Examples

-The fact that for several years it has rained 60% of the time in certain atmospheric conditions does not mean that this pattern will always repeat itself.

-The fact that we have observed a large number of white swans does not ensure that all the swans that exist are white.

Define the hypothesis as a possible illogical formulation

According to Popper, "the job of the scientist consists of proposing theories and contrasting them." However, from his perspective, hypothesis formulation does not imply the use of logic in a formal sense.

The propositions that outline the principles of scientific theories are creative ideas or intuitions, which propose a probable solution to a problem that arises from empirical experience.

The logical rigor of the scientific method begins in its second moment, that of the deductive refutation or contrast of the proposed theory.

Example

- The metaphysical theories about the atom in Greek philosophy inspired atomic scientists like Rutherford.

Proposes deductive testing of theories

Popper establishes four procedures that make up the logical due process of testing a theory:

Comparison of findings

Analyze among themselves the different conclusions that the study throws to verify the coherence of the proposed system; that is to say, that the results of the study keep logical relationships with each other (equivalence, deductibility, compatibility, etc.).

Study of the logical form of the theory

This determines whether the character of the theory is really scientific (that is, empirical), or if on the contrary, it is tautological (redundant or empty statement).

Comparison with other theories

If the theory survives refutations, comparing it with other studies of the same phenomenon will help determine whether the work done represents an advance.

Empirical application

The conclusions to which the theory takes us must be verified by experimentation.

If at the end of the last test procedure, the singular conclusions derived from the theory are verified, it must be accepted that, for the moment, there is no reason to reject it.

Otherwise - that is, if the testing process is negative - the theory must be assumed to be false.

Example

Astronomers Urban Le Verrier and John Adams were able to deductively verify the hypothesis that an unknown planet was affecting the orbit of Uranus.

They did mathematical calculations to determine the probable mass and location of the star, and then proceeded to empirical testing using a telescope pointed at the deduced coordinates. Indeed, the experiment proved that in the established place there was a planet, which they named Neptune.

Establishes that scientific objectivity is based on intersubjectively contrasting

According to the scientific logic of Popper's theory, the principle of objectivity inherent in science is not fulfilled by the fact that a theory can be justifiable since, due to its rejection of the inductive method, a proposition can never be entirely verified, only contrasted.

In this sense, Popper affirms that "the objectivity of scientific statements rests on the fact that they can be contrasted intersubjectively".

The predominance of intersubjective testing as a criterion of objectivity is due to the fact that only the facts that can be repeated accurately, regularly, following certain patterns, are those that can be contrasted by anyone who follows the prescribed steps.

Repetition and regularity eliminate the possibility that the results of the experience are a mere coincidence. For this reason scientific experiments are carried out following these logical precepts.

Example

If all students in a class obtain exactly the same results when conducting an experiment where Newton's first law is tested, the objectivity of the principles of this law will be demonstrated to those students.

References

1. Hume, D. "Research on human knowledge." (1988). Madrid: Alliance.
2. Hutchins, R. "Adams, John Couch (1819–1892), astronomer." (September 2004) in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: oxforddnb.com
3. Klimovsky, G. "The deductive hypothetical method and logic". (1971). La Plata: UNLP. FAHCE. Institute of Logic and Philosophy of Sciences. (Notebooks of the Institute of Logic and Philosophy of Sciences. Celeste Series; 1). In Academic Memory. Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Academic Report: memoria.fahce.unlp.edu.ar
4. Lorenzano, C. “Structure and methods of science. Basic epistemology writings ”. (October, 2014) at Academia.edu. Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Academia.edu: academia.edu
5. Popper, K. "The logic of scientific research" (1980). Madrid: Tecnos.