Paper 5: Epistemology and Metaphysics of Science
You should answer four questions in total. Answer one question from Section A and
three questions from Section B. All questions carry equal weighting.
SECTION A
1. In virtue of what, if anything, is scientific knowledge more reliable than other
forms of knowledge?
2. Do models make a difference to the issue of scientific realism?
3. Is the unity of science a good ideal?
SECTION B
4. “The success of science would be a miracle unless theories were, to some
extent, true.” Discuss.
5. Is the pessimistic meta-induction a strong inductive argument?
6. Is structural realism “the best of both worlds”?
7. “Any theory in the special sciences is ultimately reducible to a theory in
physics.” Do you agree?
8. “The best explanations are those that lead to understanding.” Do you agree?
9. Is the deductive-nomological model an adequate account of scientific
explanation?
10. Are laws of nature mere regularities?
11. “Similarity is neither necessary nor sufficient for scientific representation.”
Discuss.
12. How, if at all, can idealised models enable learning true facts about
phenomena?