| Description of the Structure of Philosophy of Science|

| Philosophy of Science || Puthut J. Buntolo |

P hilosophy of science

ontology + epistemology + axiology

how is science gained

scientific method (research; begins with a problem)

paradigms/approaches

quantitative qualitative

positivism phenomenology

experiment & non-experiment content analysis, introspective (correlation, ex post facto, etc.) & retrospective, grounded theory, ethnographic study, etc. deductive reasoning inductive reasoning

hypothesis-testing verification hypothesis-generating

context of justification context of discovery

coherence theory of truth correspondence theory of truth

science (scientific truth): answers to questions

philosophy: questions to answers—as mater scientiarium

Philosophy is the study of the nature, reasons, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values,

based on logical reasoning. The original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the Greek

roots “philo” meaning love and “Sophos” meaning wisdom. Science is a systematic knowledge

of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation. The word

science comes from the Latin "scientia," meaning knowledge. So, Philosophy of science is the

study, from a philosophical perspective, of the elements of scientific analysis. Philosophy of

science can also be viewed as a way of describing how research is conducted, and a way of

deciding how it should be carried out.

Based on the structure above, Philosophy of Science has three aspects of questioning; ontology

(What is studied in science), epistemology (How is science gained), and axiology (What is the

science for).

Ontology, deals with the scientific truth that has two kinds of objects; they are material object

and formal object. Axiology deals with the moral values that the science gain when the research

has done. It is used to find the ultimate benefits for humans, not to find the ultimate truth.

Epistemology, discusses how the science is gained through the scientific method, that is

research which begins with a problem. It relates to the scientific method used in a research by

starting with identifying a problem. In conducting a research, the problem is then tried to be

solved by using paradigms or approaches, whether quantitative or qualitative. These two

approaches have different perspectives.

The quantitative approach is based on positivism or a natural phenomenon and its properties

and relations as verified by the empirical studies. It has two types; Experiment and Non-

Experiment, such as Correlation, Ex Post Facto, etc. It emphasizes objective measurements

and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through polls,

questionnaires, and surveys. While the qualitative approach is based on phenomenology in

which the researcher investigates the problem from some indicators made by the objective of

science. The typical types of this approach are content analysis, introspective and

retrospective, grounded theory, ethnographic study, as the method of gaining the data. After

the data is gained, the researcher needs to interpret the data.

Quantitative approach uses deductive reasoning (from general to specific) whereas qualitative

uses inductive reasoning (from specific to general). Quantitative approach contains a

hypothesis which tests verification of the phenomena being investigated, in the context of

justification and has coherence with theory of truth because quantitative approach is basically

a hypothesis testing process. While in the qualitative approach the hypothesis gained from the

result of the study is for generating the phenomena in the context of discovery. Eventually, the

hypothesis plays role in a correspondence theory of truth.

The approach/paradigm used, whether quantitative or qualitative, along with the ontology and

axiology, results in answers to questions related to science (the scientific truth). A research is

a cycle process. It happens to come to the start again if there is other problem to be solved. In

other words, as mater scientiarium, philosophy leads to question to answers, therefore,

science continues to work in cycle.