NATURAL AND HUMAN SCIENCES

1. NATURAL AND HUMAN SCIENCES TOK LAJM

2. TASK • What is science? • Try to give a general definition of science • Don’t use any assistive devices!

3. What is science? • (1) Research process • (2) Body of knowledge that is acquired through the use of scientific research process • Common criteria for scientific knowledge • (1) Objectivity • (2) Autonomy • (3) Publicity • (4) Progressivity • (5) Criticality • (6) Falsifiability

4. Science and pseudoscience • Pseudoscience looks like a real science, but does NOT meet the criteria for scientific knowledge How to differentiate pseudoscience from real science?

5. TASK • What kind of pseudo-sciences do you know? • Search for examples from the internet and focus on one • How the pseudoscience does NOT meet the criteria for scientific knowledge?

6. Karl Popper (1902–1994) • Science cannot be right all the time • Only a theory that can be proven wrong is a scientific theory • ”If science is true, it ceases to be science” FALSIFICATIONISM

7. Aim of naturalsciences • The natural sciences seek to discover laws of nature – regularities in the natural world • ”If A, then B” • Mathematical precision

8. TASK • What is meant by: • Hypothesis • Deductive reasoning • Empirical

9. Hypothetico-deductive method • (1) Create a research problem/question • (2) Form a hypothesis • (3) Build a deductive inference • (4) Test the hypothesis with empirical methods • (5) State the results

10. TASK • Create a hypothesis and design a research plan to empirically test the hypothesis with scientific method • Describe the stages of your research • Mere research plan is enough! • Example hypotheses: • (1) Sunbathing causes skin cancer • (2) Amount carbon dioxide in the atmosphere influences global warming • (3) If you increase temperature, then solubility of salt will increase

11. Hypothetico-deductive method • We CANNOT prove the hypothesis right based on the test results • We can only prove the hypothesis wrong • Falsificationism

12. Albert Einstein (1879–1955) • ”No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong”

13. TASK • What are the WOKs used in natural sciences? • How are they specifically used in natural sciences? • Provide concrete examples

14. TASK • What kind of a meaning can natural sciences have for an individual and their personal knowledge? • Why are some people suspicious of scientific findings, and to what extend are they justifiable?

15. Aim of humansciences • The human sciences explain human behaviour, predict it and develop remedies for the problems identified by those predictions

16. TASK • Create groups • Each group should contain at least one student of psychology and/or economics • Students of human sciences should work as mentors within the groups • In addition, each group should contain at least one student of physics, chemistry and/or biology

17. TASK • What is the relationship between the human sciences and natural sciences? • What are the differences, similarities and overlaps between natural and human sciences?

18. Comparisonbetweennaturaland humansciences • The human sciences CAN use the scientific method to test hypothesis • However, the phenomena they try to explain might NOT possess laws that admit no exceptions

19. TASK • Is human behaviour explainable with natural science like laws? • Is it even possible to create natural science like laws concerning human behaviour? • What problems arise?

20. TASK • Find explicit means to research the phenomena on the right both quantitatively and qualitatively • Use the teacher’s handout for inspiration • Write down your research methods • Love • Aggression • Giftedness (choose the area of talent) • Road rage • Mutual respect • Prejudice (choose the area of prejudice)

21. TASK • To what extent can human sciences be objective? • Is there always some bias in human sciences? • If humans study humans, can the research ever be objective?

22. TASK • Volunteer psychology and economics students, please, come to the front of the class • How is your perception of the world affected by human sciences?

23. TASK • What kind of knowledge questions can you create based on what you have learned from natural and human sciences? • Can you incorporate WOKs into your KQ? • How can you connect these and other AOKs?

24. Picture sources • Science <http://www.brstf.org> Accessed 24th of October 2015. • Science and pseudoscience <http://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/philosophy> Accessed 24th of October 2015. • Homeopathy <http://www.rosemareehomeopath.co.nz> Accessed 24th of October 2015. • Karl Popper <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper> Accessed 24th of October 2015. • Scientificmethod formula <https://layers-of-learning.com/a-simple-introduction-to-the-scientific-method/> Accessed 26th of October 2018. • Tardis and scientificmethods <http://www.nndb.com/people/164/000087900/> Accessed 24th of October 2015. • Affirming the consequent <http://evolutiondismantled.com/affirming-antecedent-consequent> Accessed 15th of October 2015. • Albert Einstein <https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein> Accessed 15th of October 2015. • WOKs<http://blogs.osc-ib.com/tag/ways-of-knowing/> Accessed 6th of September 2015. • Suspiciosmeme <https://www.thelostogle.com/2014/01/22/all-these-suspicious-reports-about-suspicious-items-sure-are-suspicious/> Accessed 26th of October 2018.

25. Picture sources • Flashbulb head <http://tok17ykim.blogspot.com/2016/04/problems-in-human-sciences.html> Accessed 29th of October 2018. • Knowledge framework. TOK-guide, first assessment 2015, page 29. • Zipper head <https://educationblog.oup.com/theory-of-knowledge/therapy-wars-and-the-human-sciences> Accessed 29th of October 2018. • Nature human head <http://trapped-by-the-box.blogspot.com/2015/05/finding-humans-in-nature-surreal.html> Accessed 29th of October 2018. • Bias scale <https://www.thoughtco.com/confirmation-bias-250361> Accessed 29th of October 2018. • Interview <https://au.hudson.com/career-advice/interview-preparation> Accessed 7th of October 2018. • Knowledge questions <https://tok-a-journey.wikispaces.com/Knowledge+Questions> Accessed 25th of September 2017.