Reference no: EM132036192

As we learned at the beginning of the course, without philosophy to show how science should be, there's no way that sociology can distinguish between science and non-science. If someone was tasked with describing how science is, they would need some kind of guideline to know what science is. Otherwise, they would put down every experiment ever done in the name of science and every discipline that considers itself a science. As we know, not every experiment lives up to standards of verifiability, including a procedure that can be repeated, variables that are controlled, and large sample sizes. Also, many disciplines like Scientology purport to measure the natural world when nothing they do is actually grounded in pre-established scientific principles.

However, not only does philosophy aid sociology, but the opposite is true. A dilemma that arises for philosophers is similar to one that arises for scientists. There is no way to know if the theories we have are completely true. As we know from the history of science, theories have constantly been shifting in light of new evidence. If this course is any indication, the same is true for scientific philosophy. The consensus for what science ought to be keeps changing in order to make it as sound as possible. Empiricism, rationalism, inductivism, pragmatism... there are still disparities in what each scientific philosophers believes to be true, and we will continue to try and iron out those wrinkles. But it does help to have the sociological component to be able to ground one's argument in actual examples and precedent. Without actually putting things into practice, philosophers won't truly know if what they're saying is true.

Just as science needs a philosophy to establish normative rules, so does scientific philosophy. These normative rules are baked into philosophy - it's a branch called logic. Syllogisms built on syllogisms that must be sound and valid in order to be true. So as long as scientific philosophers stick to the principles of logic, then science will be able to follow the principles of scientific philosophy.