INTRODUCTION TO
PHILOSOPHY OF
SCIENCE
Damon Burton & Andy Gillham
University of Idaho
What are the 2 sport
psychologies?
What does Martens
think about orthodox
science? Why?
What
is objectivity?
Why does Kuhn and
Polyani think this
doctrine is false?
How does science
evolve?
What is the
difference between
the leap and the
creep approaches?
What is reductionism?
Is it a good
paradigm?
What is DK Theory?
Damn
Konfident
DK THEORY
Scientific Method (Using the Heuristic Paradigm)
Systematic Observation
Single Case Study
Shared (Public) Experience
Introspection
Intuition
Don’t Know
What is the difference
between idiographic
and nomothetic
methods?
What other types of
experiential knowledge
could be used more in
sport psychology?
 What are the roles of
basic” and “applied”
research?
 What balance should there
be between these 2 types
of research?
KINESIOLOGICAL
PSYCHOLOGY


Kinesiology – study of human
movement
Kinesiological psychology -psychological study and
ramifications of human movement
Motor Learning
Kinesiological
Psychology
Motor Development
Social Psych of Physical Activity
Sport Psychology
KINESIOLOGICAL
PSYCHOLOGY




Motor Learning -- study of motor behavior
from a learning psychology perspective.
Motor Development -- study of motor
behavior from a developmental
psychology perspective.
Social Psychology of Physical Activity -study of how social psychological
variables influence motor behavior and
new movement patterns and visa versa.
Sport Psychology -- study of human
motor behavior in a sport context.
FUNDAMENTAL AXIOMS
OF SCIENCE
 reality of space
 reality of time
 reality of matter
 belief that matter is
real
 what exists, exists in
some amount
 quantifiability of  what exists, and
matter
even relationships
 belief that space is between existing
phenomena, are
real
amenable to
 belief that time is
observation and
real
measurement
FUNDAMENTAL
AXIOMS OF SCIENCE
 consistency in
the universe
 The universe is
organized in an
orderly manner
 There is
regularity,
constancy,
consistency, and
uniformity in the
operation of the
universe
FUNDAMENTAL AXIOMS
OF SCIENCE
 Intelligibility of the
Universe
 Determinism
 Empiricism
 Science holds that we
can observe, know,
and understand the
universe in which we
live.
 All events are
determined or caused.
 Knowing is the result
of first-hand, direct
original observation.
Information derived from Lachman (1960)
POLANYI’S TRIAD
OF KNOWLEDGE
Focal Target
(Problem)
Subsidiary Awareness
(Clues)
Person
(Links the 2 Together)
OPERATING CONCEPTIONS
OF SCIENCE


Concept of
Objectivity

Concept of
Amorality

Scientists must remain
impersonal, impartial,
and detached in
making observations
and in interpreting
data; the scientists
must maintain a
disinterested attitude
Science is not moral or
immoral; it is amoral
OPERATING CONCEPTIONS
OF SCIENCE


Concept of
Caution

Concept of
Skepticism

Scientists must maintain
meticulous caution and
painstaking vigilance in
their methods
Scientists reject the
notion of absolutism;
refuse to acknowledge
authoritarianism or
dogmatism as a source of
knowledge, even the data
of science are viewed as
tentative
OPERATING CONCEPTIONS
OF SCIENCE
 Concept of
Theory
Construction
and Utilization
 Concept of
Parsimony
 Science strives to build
and test theory
 Science should be
conservative in stating
the implications of its
data; the data should
be interpreted in the
simples, most succinct
form possible
OPERATING CONCEPTIONS
OF SCIENCE
 Concept of
Reductionism
 Science strives to
reduce specific data to
succinct statements of
consistency
 Reductionism demands
that generalizations be
specified in terms of
precise mathematical
formulae
HARLAN CLEVELAND
(1985)





Cleveland provides a complementary way of
looking at knowledge. He says there are four
key terms related to knowledge: data,
information, knowledge, and wisdom.
Data are undigested observations,
unvarnished facts.
Information is organized data.
Knowledge is organized information,
internalized by me, integrated with
everything else I know from experience or
study or intuition, and therefore useful in
guiding my life.
Wisdom
HARLAN CLEVELAND
(1985)


“Wisdom,” Cleveland states, “is
integrated knowledge, information
made super useful by theory, which
relates bits and fields of knowledge
to each other, which in turn enables
me to use the knowledge to do
something” (p. 23).
This is what Polanyi calls the “tacit
dimension.”