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Theory & the Philosophy of Science: An analysis

I need to develop 2 to 3 paragraph analysis of the relationship between theory and the philosophy of science.
I do not really know how to relate the two. I know that theory starts out as a hypothesis, but am unsure on how to clarify philosophy of science (scientific knowledge?) To me the philosophy of science equate what we know in science.....
To analyze the two, I assume that a researcher starts with a hypothesis, that becomes a theory -he conducts research to prove or disprove that theory, and the findings become scientific knowledge. Does that relate to the "philosophy of science"??

Solution Preview

Dear Student,

Not to worry. I understand how it can be confusing. Metaphysical discussion almost always escapes the practicality that science is supposed to have in terms of real life application. I recall a quote from physicist Richard Feynman: "Philosophy of science is about as useful to scientists as ornithology is to birds," he declared. I shall explain, as concisely as possible why he might be wrong, especially in the field of the social sciences.

On the one hand philosophy is a critical discussion that at times does not follow fundamental structure as philosophers constant debate on existence, reality, mind, language and construction of meaning - what makes things the way they are. Theories on the other hand investigate reality as theories start as positions and assumptions, a hypothesis about a certain subject or object that the experiment is designed to prove or disprove and when proven and tested over and over again and found to be 'sound' becomes a theory. So here we are ...

Solution Summary

The solution provides advise on the relationship between theory and the philosophy of science. The solution explains the use of philosophy in research as a tool and a perspective from which to view approaches and to choose and utilise methods or theories for the purpose of knowledge creation. The solution tackles the metaphysical, ontological and epistemological debates in relation to knowledge creation and the role the philosophy of science takes on for this purpose. Explaining the process of research, the solution seeks to make a concise and comprehensive narrative that is easily understood. The solution provides references for further exploration of the topic.