Understanding psychology as a science: an introduction to scientific and statistical inference
Popper urged that it was the clash between theory and observations that allowed knowledge to grow. (33)to-process
Three of the most influential philosophers of science after Popper focussed on the way some beliefs were targeted more easily than a core set that provided an enduring relatively consistent paradigm (Kuhn), programme (Lakatos) or tradition (Laudan) of research. That is, they proposed that philosophy of science was best understood in terms of larger units of evaluation than the individual theory. (33)to-process
they shifted the manner in which philosophy of science itself was evaluated, urging that philosophical theory be tested against a carefully examined historical record (33)to-process
normal science, an attempt to force nature into the preformed and rigid box that the paradigm provides. The aim is to stay within the box. (34)to-process
He regarded scientific education as narrow and rigid, ‘probably more so than any other except in orthodox theology’ (35)to-process
In fact, Kuhn (1970a) used puzzle solving as his demarcation criterion between science and non-science. Astrology, for example, made testable predictions at times, but its recognized failures did not create puzzles that could be solved. Failures were just explained as necessary consequences of the inevitable inaccuracies in knowing the exact state of the heavens at the moment of birth. (35)to-process
There must be possible and actual mismatches between theory and data for there to be puzzles to work on. (35)to-process
Seeing how far a paradigm will take you requires commitment to it; and it is that very commitment that will lead scientists unwittingly but inexorably to find its weaknesses. (35)to-process ❧ Cf. making a map and mastering it, getting to the edge and seeing that it doesn’t quite fit (from pattern and nebulosity)
Dunbar (1997) spent a year in four highly productive molecular biology labs, attending lab meetings, reading research proposals, and in general closely monitoring how the scientists worked. He found that anomalies, especially those that challenged core assumptions in the field, were especially closely attended to and used to generate new hypotheses. (36)to-process