1. Explain briefly the significance of research in modern times.
Research fosters the development of logical thinking habits and organizational
skills by instilling scientific and inductive reasoning. It has aided the government
in making more informed decisions about how to allocate the country's resources
and in seeing the country's existing economic and social structure. As a result,
using data-driven research, it assisted the government in making smart
judgments that would strengthen our country's system. In addition, research has
aided industries and enterprises in achieving greater profit and productivity and
also to improve the quality of their products. Lastly, research has helped us,
individuals, to improve our quality of living towards a more sustainable lifestyle
and environment.
2. Distinguish between Research methods and Research Methodology.
Research methods are the methods used by researchers to collect data to
conduct research on a particular research topic. A Research methodology is
systematic approach to solve the research problem and to reach a new
conclusion.
3. What is the four groups of methods in research?
o Methods concerned with data collection (primary and secondary data)
o Methods which include the set of processes that are involved in a given
experiment
o Statistical techniques which are used for establishing techniques between
data and the unknowns
o Methods which are used to evaluate the accuracy of the results obtained
4. Distinguish between research methods and research techniques and give one
example of method and its techniques on anything you can think of.
5. State whether the following figures have had materialism or idealism proclivity:
a) Idealism
Rudolf Peierls, a physicist who played a major role in the Manhattan Project,
said, "The premise that you can describe in terms of physics the whole function
of a human being [...] including knowledge and consciousness, is untenable.
There is still something missing".
b) ______________
Erwin Schrödinger said, "Consciousness cannot be accounted for in physical
terms. For consciousness is absolutely fundamental. It cannot be accounted for
in terms of anything else".
c) Idealism
Werner Heisenberg, who came up with the uncertainty principle, wrote,
"The ontology of materialism rested upon the illusion that the kind of existence,
the direct ‘actuality’ of the world around us, can be extrapolated into the atomic
range. This extrapolation, however, is impossible…Atoms are not things".
6. Explain briefly the Materialism and Idealism.
Materialism is a philosophical monism that maintains that matter is nature's
underlying substance and that everything, including mental states and
consciousness, is the product of material interactions. While, idealism is a belief
that reality is all in the mind, and that everything that exists is in some way
dependent on the mind's activity. Holds that the "origin" of the material world is
consciousness or thought.
7. Explain briefly the Epistemology and the five approaches to knowledge.
The branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge is
epistemology. It is the philosophical study of the nature, origins, and limits of
human knowing, as well as knowledge justification and belief rationality.
The five approaches to knowledge are:
o Empiricism- as a systematic and well-developed philosophy which states
that all knowledge is acquired or based from experience.
o Rationalism- this technique relies on reasoning to arrive at knowledge,
and it argues that if the proper reasoning process is followed, legitimate
knowledge will be gained.
o Intuition- the act or process of coming to direct knowledge or certainty
without reasoning or inferring.
o Authority- an act of acceptance of information or facts presented by
someone because that person is a highly reputable source is a technique
to acquiring knowledge.
o Hypothetico-deductive reasoning or scientific method- an approach that
uses the best of the aforementioned approaches to knowledge which uses
both inductive and deductive reasoning and it is the foundation of modern
scientific research
8. What are the assumptions of the scientific method?
o order – the universe is an ordered system that can be investigated and the
underlying ‘rules’ can be exposed;
o external reality – we all share the same reality that does not depend on
our existence. We can therefore all equally contribute to and share
knowledge that reflects this reality;
o reliability – we can rely on our senses and reasoning to produce facts that
reliably interpret reality;
o parsimony – the simpler the explanation the better. Theories should be
refined to the most compact formulation;
o generality – the ‘rules’ of reality discovered through research can be
applied in all relevant situations, regardless of time and place.
9. Explain briefly the Ontology and the two extreme research paradigms.
The branch of philosophy known as ontology investigates notions like existence,
being, becoming, and reality. It addresses issues such as how entities are
classified into fundamental categories and which of these entities exist at the
most fundamental level.
The two extreme research paradigms are the positivism and the interpretivism.
Positivism holds that reality exists outside of humans. The positivist approach to
scientific inquiry is predicated on the assumption that the world around us is real
and that we can learn about it. Interpretivism opposes the idea that there is a
single, verifiable reality that exists outside of our senses. It asserts that our
perception of the world is the result of our minds' construction. This isn't to say
that the world isn't real; it just means that we can only experience it via our own
perspectives.
10. What do you think the Zorblaxians likely believe? Check all that applies that
probably describes about their philosophical viewpoints
☐ Idealist
☐ Materialist
☐ Physicalist
☐ Positivist
☐ Interpretivist
☐ Constructivist
11. Choose Positivist, Constructivist, or Middle Grounder (implies to Critical Realism,
Post positivism, etc. that stands in between of the two extremes) based on the
texts below.
a) Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) – held that our minds organize our experiences
to make sense of the world. Therefore ‘facts’ are not independent of the way
we see things and interpret them.
______________
b) Auguste Compte (1789–1857) – maintained that society can be analyzed
empirically just like any other subjects of scientific enquiry. Social laws and
theories are based on psychology and biology.
______________
c) Karl Marx (1818–1883) – defined moral and social aspects of humanity in
terms of material forces.
______________
d) Emil Durkheim (1858–1917) – argued that society develops its own system
of collectively shared norms and beliefs – these were ‘social facts’.
______________
e) Thomas Kuhn (1922–1995) – revealed that scientific research cannot be
separated from human influences and is subject to social norms.
______________
f) Auguste Comte – argued that, much as the physical world operates
according to gravity and other absolute laws, so does society.
______________
g) John Locke (1632–1704) – made the distinction between bodies or objects
that can be directly measured, and therefore have a physical existence, and
those abstract qualities that are generated by our perceptions and feelings.
_____________
12. What is the essence of the message in this picture?
I believe that the picture represents the diversity of people. We are driven by
different ontological and epistemological assumptions thus leading to different
beliefs and point of views of reality. We are so diverse that even our way of
thinking might be different to other people. What we might think is real might not
be real for other. What we assume or think to be true, might not be true to other
people since they believe, on their own reality, that this does not exist.
Furthermore, our ways of confirming reality might not be the same way as others
deal with reality, therefore leading to a different conclusion on what reality or
things really are.
13. Watch the following two videos and ponder upon it:
o [Link]
o [Link]
Describe briefly the strong emergence and weak emergence. Is it possible to
describe a new, and hence unknown phenomenon without having observed it
first? In other words, can you describe something “new”—hypothetical
possibility—which you have not yet experienced?
Weak emergence means that the emergent property can be derived from the
properties of the system’s constituents and the interactions between the
constituents.
Strong emergence is what philosophers refers to the hypothetical possibility that
a system with many constituents displace a novel behavior which cannot be
derived from the properties and the interactions of the constituents.
I believe it is feasible to introduce anything new without first experiencing it. I
believe that bringing something new that has no empirical basis is valid as long
as it is founded in what we now believe to be valid. If the preposition is founded
on a theoretical assumption and does not break any natural rules, it can still be
justified. Einstein, for example, was able to present his theory of general relativity
without ever having experienced it. Her assumptions, however, did not
undermine natural laws. Soon after, his speculations/theories were proven when
a total solar eclipse occurred, and his theory became well known even to this
day.
