All Swans Are White (But the Australian Ones Might Cause a Paradigm Shift)

H01 Group 3 - The Philosoraptors
Chloe Madigan, Michele Kelley, Nate Tilton, Matthew Pyles, Jake Goza

Karl Popper liked logic. Specifically deductive logic. He did not approve of the so-called "old ways" of scientific reasoning, in which evidence was collected to support a hypothesis. He did not think this was a rational way of thinking because it did not leave room for falsifying an observation. To use the example found in A Little History of Philosophy, you might study swans in North America your whole life and make the claim that "all swans are white." While it would make sense to you that all swans are white due to the fact that all of the swans you have observed have been white, your claim would be false. There are actually Australian swans which are black.

Popper believed we should make logical, deductive claims. Essentially, his view of science is what we now learn in school as the "scientific method." You start with a hypothesis, then proceed to test that hypothesis and make attempts to falsify it. If an idea has been tested enough times to where it appears to be unfalsifiable, it gains scientific credibly and that (according to Popper) is how science progresses. Thomas Kuhn did not agree. He believed science exists within paradigms and that, when we gain revolutionary new scientific knowledge, we experience paradigm shifts (think about going from a Geocentric mindset to a Heliocentric mindset). As Michele explained it, in modern society we exist within technological paradigms. When we are presented with innovative new technology, we experience a paradigm shift.

Group 3 also discussed Hannah Arendt and the basis for judging someone who has been indirectly involved in an event as gruesome as the Holocaust. Matthew said he would not fault a person for simply obeying orders but Nate disagreed, arguing that we all have a choice to make and this choice is centered around our own personal morals.

FQ: What idea did Popper's scientific philosophy skate neatly around?
FA: David Hume's "The Problem of Induction."

DQ: Hypothetically, if the United States is drafting citizens for a war which is widely considered unjust and unnecessarily destructive to other countries, how would you respond? Is this a matter of obeying orders to avoid death? Is it a matter of patriotism?