The requested essay is for a Science and Philosophy class. Its aim is to put forward how my personal views got affected during the class lectures on the following questions: What is science? What is its purpose? How do we know what is and isn’t science? And why is it relevant to know the difference?
The paper should exhibit my personal development and perspective towards these questions, and state how my personal views transformed over time by the following Philosopher’s articles and personal views. These six sources (that are attached in the order) should be used as the bibliography:
1- Whitehead – ‘Nature and Thought’
2- Neurath – ‘The Unity of Science as a Task’
3- Popper – ‘Three Views Concerning Human Knowledge’
4- Hempel – ‘Science and Human Values’
5- Feyerabend – ‘Against Method’
6- Bloor – ‘The Strong Programme in the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge’
-The paper should briefly cite and discuss each philosopher’s perspective against science in the given order (1 through 6). The paper should exhibit knowledge of the ideas I am drawing upon: their place in the text (i.e. what motivates them), what the philosopher(s) are saying, and the possible counter-arguments actually given in the text.
-The paper should clearly state and elaborate on my own thoughts on the ideas I am drawing upon.
-The paper should make vivid agreement, disagreement, confusion, etc. as a reaction to the sources.
-The paper should clearly indicate what my understanding of science is, how my development in class got affected by the referenced Philosopher’s views on science and conclude my final thought on science which is, “Scientific knowledge and scientific method can exist by its own, but it is much more powerful when it is joined by the power of sociological knowledge.”
When the citations are being done, it is a MUST to make it very clear which part is the citation, and which part is NOT, by using appropriate “ ” signs.