Catttt Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
..., as defined by...
Does the highlighted sentence mean:
1. They also cast doubt on Karl Popper's definition of the scientific method.
or
2. as Karl Popper shows, They also cast doubt on the scientific method.
I think #1 is OK. Am I right?
Such questions challenge the legacy of the traditional Enlightenment belief in impartiality, justice and freedom from superstition or political subversion. They also cast doubt on the primacy of ‘the scientific method’, as defined by the philosopher Karl Popper in the 1950s. The scientific method aims to prove a hypothesis through a series of empirical tests to distinguish its ‘falsifiability’ (rather than its verifiability). And it is a precious commodity because it offers an agreed and impartial methodology for pursuing an understanding of phenomena or behaviour, providing evidence which can be open to public scrutiny and rationally assessed, even where it can never be definitively agreed on. Scientists are expected to play by the rules which are there to ensure an almost superhuman objectivity. Can this ever be possible? No, claims the philosopher Paul Feyerabend: ‘all methodologies have their limitations and the only “rule” that survives is “anything goes”.’
1. They also cast doubt on Karl Popper's definition of the scientific method.
or
2. as Karl Popper shows, They also cast doubt on the scientific method.
I think #1 is OK. Am I right?
Such questions challenge the legacy of the traditional Enlightenment belief in impartiality, justice and freedom from superstition or political subversion. They also cast doubt on the primacy of ‘the scientific method’, as defined by the philosopher Karl Popper in the 1950s. The scientific method aims to prove a hypothesis through a series of empirical tests to distinguish its ‘falsifiability’ (rather than its verifiability). And it is a precious commodity because it offers an agreed and impartial methodology for pursuing an understanding of phenomena or behaviour, providing evidence which can be open to public scrutiny and rationally assessed, even where it can never be definitively agreed on. Scientists are expected to play by the rules which are there to ensure an almost superhuman objectivity. Can this ever be possible? No, claims the philosopher Paul Feyerabend: ‘all methodologies have their limitations and the only “rule” that survives is “anything goes”.’
Top answer
red apple I think #1 is OK. Am I right? Yes, you are right.
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The more I read about Popper's ideas about scientific method, the more I become convinced that #2 should be right. Please read this text from Wikipedia:
"Popper is known for his rejection of the classical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductivism views on the
"Popper is known for his rejection of the classical https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductivism views on the
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red appleDo you still think that interpretation #1 is true?Yes. The verb is 'defined'. What was defined by Popper?—the scientific method as empirical falsification. Nothing else in that original text can be 'defined'.
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