Knowing Science

Alexander Bird's epistemology of science rejects empiricism and emphasizes the role of knowledge in scientific progress. He argues that evidence is knowledge, not limited to perception or observation, and that theoretical knowledge is gained through inference to the best explanation. Bird rejects scientific realism and anti-realism as global metascientific claims and suggests that we should accept only local metascientific claims based on the track record.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 06 October 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

In his groundbreaking work, "Knowing Science," Alexander Bird offers an epistemology of science that stands in stark contrast to empiricism. Instead, he prioritizes the concept of knowledge and assigns it a central role in our understanding of scientific inquiry. Bird's vision of science is one that seeks to expand our understanding of the world through the accumulation of knowledge. This knowledge, he argues, is not limited to individual perception or observation but is instead a collective understanding shared by the scientific community as a whole.

To support his claim, Bird presents evidence as the source from which knowledge can be inferred. He argues that evidence encompasses a broader range of sources beyond mere perception and observation. Evidence can include theoretical insights, mathematical models, and logical reasoning, among others. By drawing on evidence, scientists can develop hypotheses that explain various phenomena in the natural world.

One of the key insights of Bird's epistemology is that evidence is not limited to perception or observation alone. Observation can provide fundamental evidence for a field of inquiry, even if it is not directly perceptual. For example, in the field of physics, observations of particle behavior can provide crucial evidence for the existence of subatomic particles and the laws of quantum mechanics. Similarly, in the field of biology, observations of animal behavior and genetics can shed light on the mechanisms of evolution and the genetic basis of disease.

The process of inferring knowledge from evidence is a central aspect of scientific inquiry. Bird argues that theoretical knowledge is typically gained through inference to the only explanation that can falsify competing plausible hypotheses. This explanation is based on the evidence gathered and is considered the most plausible explanation until it is disproved by further evidence. In cases where not all competing hypotheses are refuted, scientific hypotheses are not known but instead possess varying degrees of plausibility. Plausibilities in the light of the evidence are assessed through probabilities, which help scientists evaluate the strength of different hypotheses.

Bird also discusses the relationship between evidence, plausibility, and explanation. He argues that link eliminative explanationism, which claims that the best explanation is the one that eliminates all competing hypotheses, is not necessarily the most plausible explanation. Instead, he advocates for Bayesian conditionalization, which combines evidence and probabilities to determine the most plausible explanation. This approach allows for the consideration of multiple hypotheses and the weighting of evidence based on its likelihood of being true.

In conclusion, Alexander Bird's epistemology of science presents a compelling vision of scientific inquiry. He rejects empiricism and emphasizes the importance of knowledge as the ultimate goal of scientific research. Bird's approach to evidence-based inference and the use of probabilities to assess plausibility provide a robust framework for scientific discovery. By rejecting global metascientific claims and focusing on local metascientific claims, Bird's work encourages scientists to approach their work with humility and a willingness to revise their beliefs in the light of new evidence.

Weight: 612g
Dimension: 240 x 163 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780199606658