Philosophy of science in information systems

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Philosophy of Science in Information Systems
Dr. Gabriel Kamau

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Goal of the lectures
Get a “bigger picture” by better understanding
• Fundamental principles, concepts, and terms in philosophy ofscience
• The (historical) context of research strategies
• Broader perspective on empirical Information Systems
What you have learnt so far
• Methods for empirical in Msc IT/CS….SE etc
• Theory building
Focus:
Why
Focus:
What & How

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Exemplary, more philosophical questions
• What is truth? Is there such a thing as universal/absolute truth?
(i.e. assuming that there is a physical reality which represents
“truth”, are we able to completely capture it via theories?)
• How can we achieve scientific progress?
• Which research methods should we apply?
• What is a suitable (empirical) basis?
• When is an observation objective? Is there really objectivity?
• How much relevance/impact can we achieve?What does relevance
mean?
• What trade-offs do I need to make when designing a study?
• …

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Outline
• Science (in a Nutshell)
• Scientific Method
• Philosophy of Science - a Historical Perspective
• KeyTake Aways
• From Philosophy of Science to Empirical Information Systems
• Empirical Information Systems Processes
• Current Challenges in Empirical Information Systems

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Goals of the lecture
Principle ways of working
Methods and strategies
Fundamental theories
Philosophy of science
Theory building
and evaluation
… are supported by…
Methods and
strategies
Analogy: Theoretical and
Experimental Physics
Get a basic understanding of
•philosophy of science
•implications for our discipline
•context of research methods and
strategies

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What is Science?

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What is science about?
Systematically and objectively gaining,documenting/preserving,
and disseminating knowledge

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What is science about?
• Gaining knowledge by the systematic application of research methods
– Reasoning by argument / logical inference
– Empiricism (case studies,experiments,…)
– …
• Research should:
– Have a high scientific and / or practical relevance and impact
– Be rigorous and correct
However…
• There is no universal way of scientific working (see Pragmatism / epist.anarchy)
➡Method appropriateness depends on many non-trivial factors
Systematically and objectively gaining,documenting/
preserving, and disseminating knowledge

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What is science about?
In principle, we try to be objective (independent of subjective judgment)
However…
• There is nothing absolute about knowledge/“truth” (see Scientific Realism)
• Accepting documented knowledge depends on acceptance by (subjective) peers,
often judging by desire for “novelty”,“aesthetics”, etc.(see Post-Positivism)
➡Accepting scientific results is also a social process
Systematically and objectively gaining,documenting/
preserving, and disseminating knowledge

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What is science about?
• Scientific knowledge needs to be disseminated
– documented in a reproducible way following (often unwritten) rules,
– evaluated (by peers),and
– disseminated / communicated to the public
However…
• Science (and scientific publishing) is also part of an economic system
Systematically and objectively gaining,documenting/
preserving, and disseminating knowledge
Source:https://medium.com/@jasonschmitt/can-t-disrupt-this-elsevier-and-the-25-2-billion-dollar-a-year-academic-publishing-business-aa3b9618d40a#.il1kxilt9

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In the end, science is a human undertaking
Source (l):https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2011/12/08/is-peer-review-a-coin-toss/
Source (r):http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.22784/abstract

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The Scientific Method
Law
Hypothesis (must be falsifiable)
Experiment (with independent,
dependent and control variables)
Conclusion
Theory
Peer review,
replication of
experiments,
scrutiny by the
scientific
community
and attempts
at falsification
A paradigm
shift may (but
not always)
lead to
changes in
scientific laws

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The Scientific Method
• The scientific method is a fairly simple idea
• But it took us over 2000 years to perfect it
• In fact, the last piece was only added in the 1960s
when Karl Popper (1902-1994) proposed the
principle of falsification

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The Scientific Method
• The principle of falsification dictates that a scientist should abandon a
theory when it is falsified
• Sometime this doesn’t happen - it may be difficult for a scientist to admit
their (lifetime’s?) work is incorrect
• However the falsification itself may be incorrect (or limited by available
information):
– When Newton was asked why gravity did not cause the Universe to collapse he
stated that God was counteracting it (we now know the Universe is actually
expanding, overcoming gravitational attraction between galaxies)
– When Mendeleev saw that some atomic masses did not fit into his periodic
table, he concluded that experimental error was to blame (it was actually due to
the occurrence of isotopes)
– Lord Kelvin had measured the rate of cooling of the Earth and concluded
(incorrectly) that the Earth was approximately 100 million years old. When
Darwin realised this would mean the Earth was too young to support his theory
of evolution by natural selection, he merely stated that Kelvin was wrong
Therefore, is there a level of subjectivity to the Popper’s principle of falsification?

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Pseudoscience
• When a knowledge claim purports to be scientific but does not
meet the requirements of the scientific method, we label it
pseudoscience
• Such claims are often falsifiable or make such vague claims that
they cannot be falsified (often supporters simply reject any
falsification)
• They are often based on belief systems which are not supported by
empirical observation
• While a good scientist (hopefully) should reject a hypothesis if it is
falsified, a pseudoscientist will often introduce ad hoc exceptions to
avoid doing so
http://edrontheoryofknowledge.blogspot.mx/2013/12/the-difference-between-quantum.html

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A Scientific Knowledge Claim
Is this scientific?

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Two Different Ideas
• The Story of
Creation in
Genesis
• Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution by
Natural Selection
Which is scientific and why?

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Pseudoscience or science?
• Acupuncture
• Astrology
• Intelligent design
• Crystology
• Feng shui
• Graphology
• Homeopathy
• Phrenology
If it works for people, why
bother about whether it is
scientific or not?
But if it works then surely we
should find out WHY. Won’t
this then involve a scientific
hypothesis and testing and
therefore make it scientific?
Can something be unscientific
but NOT pseudoscience
Can something that has been
regarded as pseudoscience
become accepted as science?

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The Problems of Science
• Since science is based on empirical observation, it is affected by the
problems that beset observation:
– Sometimes your expectations can lead you to see things that are not really
there. e.g. Planet Vulcan
– Acceptance of expert opinion or a fixed idea can lead you to not see (or
overlook) things that are really there. e.g. in May 1952 (a year before Watson
and Crick made their model) Rosalind Franklin had all the evidence she
needed to conclude that DNA was a double helix, but she didn’t interpret the
information correctly
– The act of observation itself has an effect on results (the observer effect). e.g.
placing a thermometer in a liquid affects the temperature of the liquid
– There are some things that the human brain doesn’t seem to be able to
understand (or things that lie outside our experience). e.g. The Bell
Experiment

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Rationalism vs. Empiricism
• Rationalists look to reason to support knowledge claims while empiricists embrace
experience (observation)
• You might think this is the same thing, but while a rationalist would support a
beautiful theory over observational evidence, an empiricist would support the
observation over the theory (falsification)
• The correct stance in terms of the scientific method is really to be empirical.
Reason is limited by unconscious prejudices (although you could argue that our
sense perception has similar problems)
• In practice, science progresses through an uneasy mixture of rationalism and
empiricism
• This introduces problems into our idea of falsification. While a scientific theory can
never be proved (certainly not in the same way as a mathematical theorem),
perhaps it may not be possible to properly falsify either. However, be careful not to
equate this to relativism
Perhaps Newton, Mendeleev, Darwin and Einstein were rationalists rather than empiricists. When
Einstein was asked what he would have felt if Eddington’s observations had failed to support his
Theory of General Relativity, he said “Then I would feel sorry for the Good Lord. The theory is
correct.” (Einstein was, after all, an ‘armchair theorist’)

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The Nature of Scientific Discovery
• Paradigm ‘Aframework of belief, usually applied to ruling
theories of science’
• Paradigm shift ‘Acomplete change from one paradigm to
another, due to a major change in scientific thinking’
• The term was first used by philosopher Thomas Kuhn in his
book ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’ (1962)
• Kuhn used the duck/rabbit illusion to
show how a paradigm shift could lead
to you seeing the same information in
a completely different way

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Examples of Paradigm Shifts in Science
• The Copernican Revolution
• The replacement of phlogiston theory with Lavoisier’s ideas
of chemical reactions (‘The Chemical Revolution’)
• The publication of On The Origin of Species by Charles
Darwin
• The acceptance of Mendelian inheritance rather than
Darwin’s idea of ‘pangenesis’ (the idea that all of the
characteristics of a parent are heritable)
• From Newton’s idea of gravity to Einstein’s view of relativity
• Publication of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle
• The elucidation of the structure and function of DNA
Note that paradigms exist in all areas of knowledge, not just natural science
We associate paradigm shifts with the idea of ‘genius’
Note that the IB does not like you to use clichéd examples of paradigms in your essay

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Recognising a Paradigm Shift
• Sometimes a paradigm shift occurs very suddenly – e.g. Sir
Arthur Eddington proved Einstein’s Theory of General
Relativity correct by observing a solar eclipse on 29th May
1919
• Sometimes it takes time for scientists to recognise a
paradigm shift. Thomas Kuhn likened this to religious
conversion
• Sometimes claims are made for a paradigm shift which the
scientific community rejects. e.g. homeopathists claim that
their remedies work because water molecules have a
‘memory’ of a cure and pass this on to their patients. This
would require a new paradigm in chemistry and biology to
be correct

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Reaction to Paradigm shifts
• Reaction to a paradigm shift can be very negative, sometimes violent and
sometimes very long-lasting (often in opposition to the scientific evidence)
• e.g. The Catholic Church condemned Copernicus and imprisoned Galileo
• e.g. There is widespread opposition to the teaching of evolution in schools
• On 31 October 1992, Pope John Paul II
expressed regret for how the Galileo
affair was handled, and officially
conceded that the Earth was not
stationary, following a study conducted
by the Pontifical Council for Culture
(Galileo was kept under house arrest by
the Church from 1633 until his death in
1642)
• On 15 February 1990, in a speech
delivered at the University of Rome,
Cardinal Ratzinger cited current views
on the Galileo affair as forming what he
called "a symptomatic case that
permits us to see how deep the self-
doubt of the modern age, of science
and technology goes today“
• He stated that the treatment of Galileo
by the Inquisition was “rational” and
“just”

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Progress in Science
• Kuhn claimed that progress in science is punctuated -
i.e. there are periods of crisis which result in scientific
revolutions
• He stated there are periods where paradigms exist together
and scientists must choose between them. At other times
scientists simply work within the existing paradigm without
even questioning it
• Popper felt that scientific progress was much smoother
with new paradigms being accepted much more easily into
the body of scientific knowledge
Interestingly, a similar argument exists in evolutionary biology - Stephen Jay Gould developed a
theory of punctuated equilibrium in which evolution occurs in marked jumps. Richard Dawkins
believes gaps in the fossil record which support this are due to migration events

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Science and Truth
• Science is a tool for getting closer to the truth
• There are problems involved in falsification and a scientific theory by
definition can never be claimed as fact (some people think the use of the
word ‘theory’ in science equates to a lack of certainty)
• However, perhaps paradoxically it is the best method we have for
approaching truth about our observations of the Universe around us
• If a scientific theory has supporting evidence, corresponds to previous
knowledge, coheres to the current paradigm and is pragmatic then we can
accept it as true (at least until a better version of the theory comes along
or there is a paradigm shift)
“Science does not aim at establishing immutable truths and eternal dogmas;
its aim is to approach the truth by successive approximations, without
claiming that at any stage final and complete accuracy has been achieved.”
- Bertrand Russell

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SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Problem/Question
Observation/Research/Developing a Tentative Theory
Formulate a Hypothesis
Experiment
Collect and Analyze Results
Conclusion
Communicate the Results

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Steps of the Scientific Method
1. Problem/Question: Develop a question or
problem that can be solved through
research or experimentation.
1. Observation/Research/ Developing a
Tentative Theory: Make observations and
research your topic of interest and
developing a tentative explanation of the
problems

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Steps of the Scientific Method
3. Formulate a Hypothesis: Predict a possible answer to
the problem or question.
Example: If soil temperatures rise, then plant growth
will increase.
If the insulin decrease then diabetic
4. Experiment: Develop and follow a procedure.
Include a detailed materials list.
The outcome must be measurable and explanable

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Steps of the Scientific Method
5. Collect and Analyze Results: Modify the procedure if
needed. Confirm the results by retesting.
Include tables, graphs, and photographs.
6. Conclusion:
Include a statement that accepts or rejects the
hypothesis.
Make recommendations for further study and
possible improvements to the procedure.

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Steps of the Scientific Method
7. Communicate the Results:
Be prepared to present the project to
an audience.
Expect questions from the audience.
Publishing
(University without research is not a university, but
research without publication is nothing

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Example
6/20/2020 Dr. Gabriel Kamau
Scientific Method
Observation A patient has fever
Hypothesis
(prediction)
The patient may has influenza
Test The patient is given a drug
(decolgen)
Observe result The patient is still has fever
Revise hypothesis? The patient may has typhus.
New test? Re-run medical test (giving a drug
for typhus). Observe results (the
patient’s temperature is normal)
Scientific Theory Fever is caused by typhus.

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Scientific Development
(Kuhn)
Paradigm I Normal
Science
Anomalies
CrisisRevolution
Paradigm II

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NORMAL SCIENCE AND ANOMALIES
NORMAL SCIENCE: Main principles
Science develops gradually
Search the relationships between facts and
existing theories
Articulation of theory (in research)
ALMOST ALL SCIENTISTS FOLLOW THIS MAIN PARADIGM
ANOMALIES: Discovery of new facts and heory
The new facts unexplainable with existing
theories.
Invention of a new theory which is not fit
the existing paradigm (main)

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CRISIS AND REVOLUTION
CRISIS
Many scientists doubt the truth of existing paradigm.
Many theories based on different paradigms.
Unclear paradigm of a science.
Arise fundamental critics toward existing theories.
REVOLUTION
Old paradigms leaved by its followers
New theories based on a new paradigm

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History of Science
“Science” wasn’t built in a day…
384-322 BC 1561-1626 …1694-1778 1724-1804
Aristoteles
…
• Progress of knowledge of nature (reality)
• Draw benefits from growing knowledge
Bacon Voltaire
• Era of (French) Enlightenment
• Emancipation from god and beliefs
• Science is a human undertaking for the search of knowledge
(by portraying reality and its laws)
• It needs to be considered in a historical context
➡Knowledge growth
➡Increased understanding of scientific working (and what science eventually is)
Kant
• System of Epistemology
• Era of
Constructivism
• Era of
Rationalism
1896-1980
1902-1994…
Piaget Popper …
• Search for laws and reasoning for phenomena
• Understanding the nature of phenomena

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Is Information Systems research
science?

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Science can have different purposes
• Guiding the application of scientific
methods to practical ends
• Often rather practical (and
pragmatic) character
➡Typically addressed by
engineering disciplines
Design Science
• Gaining and validating new
insights
• Often theoretical character
➡Typically addressed by natural
and social sciences
Basic Science

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Science can have different purposes
• Guiding the application of scientific
methods to practical ends
• Often rather practical (and
pragmatic) character
➡Typically addressed by
engineering disciplines
Design Science
• Gaining and validating new
insights
• Often theoretical character
➡Typically addressed by natural
and social sciences
Basic Science
In research,
• we apply scientific methods to practical ends (treating design science problems)
• we also treat insight-oriented questions, thus, we are an insight-oriented science,too.

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Science can have different purposes
Design ScienceBasic Science
Applied
Research
* Polynomial time hierarchy
(structural complexity theory)
Fundamental
Research
Image Sources (left to right): Wikipedia, nasa.gov, Apple

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Science can have different purposes
Design ScienceBasic Science
Applied
Research
Typically having more
“practical
impact/ relevance”
Fundamental
Research
Typically having more
“theoretical
impact/ relevance”

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Yes.
Is Information Systems research
science?

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What areTheories?
(A quick prologue)

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Theories (generally speaking)
A theory is a belief that there is a pattern in phenomena.

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Theories (generally speaking)
A theory is a belief that there is a pattern in phenomena.
Examples:
• Global warming was invented by the Chinese government to harm the US industry
• Vaccinations leads to autism
Are these theories scientific?
➡Speculations based on imagination or opinions that cannot be refuted
Further examples:https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump

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Scientific theories
1.Tests
• Possibly experiment, simulation,trials
• Replication
2. Criticism
• Anonymous peer review / acceptance in the community
• Corroboration / extensions with further theories
A scientific theory is a belief that there is a pattern in phenomena while having
survived
1. tests against experiences
2. criticism by critical peers

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Scientific theories
A scientific theory is a belief that there is a pattern in phenomena while having
survived
1. tests against experiences
2. criticism by critical peers
1.Tests
• Possibly experiment, simulation,trials
• Replication
2. Criticism
• Anonymous peer review / acceptance in the community
• Corroboration / extensions with further theories

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Scientific theories have…
A purpose
Quality criteria
• Testability
• Empirical support / (high) level of evidence
• Explanatory power
• Usefulness to researchers and / or practitioners
• …
Analytical Explanatory Predictive Explanatory &
Predictive
Scope • Descriptions and
con-
ceptualisations,
including
taxonomies,
classifications,and
ontologies
- Whatis?
• Identification of
phenomena by
identifying causes,
mechanisms or
reasons
- Whyis?
• Prediction of what
will happen in the
future
- Whatwill
happen?
• Prediction of what
will happen in the
future and
explanation
- What willhappen
and why?
Based on:Sjøberg,D.,Dybå,T.,Anda,B.,Hannay,J.BuildingTheories in Software Engineering,2010.
Laws “versus” theories
A law is a purely descriptive theory
about phenomena (without
explanations), i.e.an analytical theory.

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Scientific theories have…
A purpose
Quality criteria
• Testability
• Empirical support / (high) level of evidence
• Explanatory power
• Usefulness to researchers and / or practitioners
• …
Analytical Explanatory Predictive Explanatory &
Predictive
Scope • Descriptions and
con-
ceptualisations,
including
taxonomies,
classifications,and
ontologies
- Whatis?
• Identification of
phenomena by
identifying causes,
mechanisms or
reasons
- Whyis?
• Prediction of what
will happen in the
future
- Whatwill
happen?
• Prediction of what
will happen in the
future and
explanation
- What willhappen
and why?
Based on:Sjøberg,D.,Dybå,T.,Anda,B.,Hannay,J.BuildingTheories in Software Engineering,2010.
Laws “versus” theories
A law is a purely descriptive theory
about phenomena (without
explanations), i.e.an analytical theory.

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Theories and hypotheses
Empiricism
Theory /Theories
(Tentative) Hypothesis
Falsification /
Corroboration
Theory (Pattern)
Building
Hypothesis
Building
Hypothesis
• “[…] a statement that proposes a possible
explanation to some phenomenon or
event” (L.Given, 2008)
• Grounded in theory, testable and falsifiable
• Often quantified and written as a
conditional statement
Scientific theory
• “[…] based on hypotheses tested and
verified multiple times by detached
researchers” (J. Bortz and N. Döring,
2003)
If cause/assumption (independent variables)
then (=>)
consequence (dependent variables)

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Theories and hypotheses
Empiricism
Theory /Theories
(Tentative) Hypothesis
Falsification /
Corroboration
Theory (Pattern)
Building
Hypothesis
Building
Hypothesis
• “[…] a statement that proposes a possible
explanation to some phenomenon or
event” (L.Given, 2008)
• Grounded in theory, testable and falsifiable
• Often quantified and written as a
conditional statement
Scientific theory
• “[…] based on hypotheses tested and
verified multiple times by detached
researchers” (J. Bortz and N. Döring,
2003)
If cause/assumption (independent variables)
then (=>)
consequence (dependent variables)

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From real world to theories… and back
Principles, concepts, terms
Empiricism
Theory /Theories
(Tentative) Hypothesis
Falsification /
Corroboration
Theory (Pattern)
Building
Units ofAnalysis
Sampling Frame (Population)
Induction
Inference of a general rule
from a particular case/result
(observation)
Deduction
Application of a general rule
to a particular case,
inferring a specific result
Hypothesis
Building
Abduction (Creative) Synthesis of an
explanatory case from a general rule
and a particular result (observation)
Sampling
RealWorld

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From real world to theories… and back
Principles, concepts, terms
Empiricism
Theory /Theories
(Tentative) Hypothesis
Falsification /
Corroboration
Theory (Pattern)
Building
Units ofAnalysis
Sampling Frame (Population)
Induction
Inference of a general rule
from a particular case/result
(observation)
Deduction
Application of a general rule
to a particular case,
inferring a specific result
Hypothesis
Building
Abduction (Creative) Synthesis of an
explanatory case from a general rule
and a particular result (observation)
Sampling
RealWorld

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Foundation of Science
Ontology
(what is the nature of phenomena we seek to know?)
Epistemology
(How do we know what we claim to know?)
Axiology
(What is the role of values in inquiry)

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Stress-fields in science
Realism
Epistemology EthicsOntology
Is there a world
independent of
subjectivity?
From where do
discoveries result?
From experiences?
From where does
ethics result? Does
there exist something
like universal ethics?
Idealism
Rationalism
Empiricism
Normative Ethics
Descriptive Ethics

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Necessary postulates for scientific working
• There are certain rules and principles for scientific working
• There is a scientific community to judge about the quality of scientific work
• There is a reality that exists independently of individuals’ observations — the
physical truth (“realism”) — and individuals can make observations about (an
excerpt of) reality
• Although observations may be faulty, it is possible (on the long run) to make
reliable observations and to falsify incorrect statements about reality
Scientific knowledge
Scientific knowledge is a portrait we paint of
(our understanding of) reality.

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Knowledge
Philosophy and Science, dealt with
knowledge.
Knowledge is justified true belief (O’Brien, 2006)
Scientific Knowledge is an organized and systematic knowledge
by a scientific method.

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Sources of Knowledge
Belief/Religion → Religious Knowledge
Intuition/Thinking → Philosophical Knowledge
Experience → Cultural Knowledge
Research → Scientific knowledge

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Types of Knowledge
a priori knowledge
What one knows before taking into account observations or
evidence (Knowledge is not justified by experience, it is accepted as
a given truth, it is innate knowledge)
May include necessary/analytic truths, assumptions, given facts, etc.
Exp. * All men die
*All bachelors are unmarried man
* Everything has a cause
* Murder is wrong

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Types of Knowledge
a posterior knowledge
What one knows after taking into account observations and
evidence (knowledge is justified by experience)
May include laws and explanations of natural or social phenomena.
Exp. *Stress leads to cardiovasculer deseases.
*Fertilizers increase paddy production
*If there is no conflict, there is no change

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How to Acquire Knowledge (epistemology) (Theories of
Knowledge)
Rationalism
Empiricism
Constructionism

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Rationalism
Knowledge arises from reasoning, a priory knowledge
The way to knowledge is from the general to the particular
Requires some general a priori truths which it views as
necessary condition
Characterised by deduction
The general principles gives meaning to the observations by
relating them
Theory-driven
Exp.
All men are mortal;
Socrates is a men;
Therefore, Socrates is mortal
We know this is true because rationally it makes sense

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Illustration
PREMIS MAYOR
PREMIS MINOR
KNOWLEDGE/
THE TRUTHDEDUCTIVE
Critiques of Rationalism
Difficulties to set a standard of evaluating.
Idea is difficult to catch, it is abstract
Difficult to actualize in practical

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Empiricism
Knowledge arises from observation, a posterior knowledge
The way to knowledge is from the particular to the general
Requires some particular a posterior truths (perceptions) which
are contingent
Characterised by induction
The general principles arise from the process of relating
observations
Data-driven
Exp.
It has been observed through the years that all humans die;
Therefore, Socrates will die.
We know this is true because empirically it is supported

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Illustration
EMPIRICAL
FACTS
KNOWLEDGE/
THE TRUTHINDUCTIVE
Critiques of Empiricism
Limitation of our sensory and perception.
Object sometimes is not real

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THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION
 Empericism: that knowledge arises from sense
experience
 Rationalism: that knowledge is primarily acquired
by a priori processes or is innate
 Constructivism: proposes new definitions for
knowledge and truth that form a new paradigm,
based on inter-subjectivity instead of the classical
objectivity, and on viability instead of truth.

67. 20/06/2020
67
Constructivism
Proposes new definitions for knowledge and truth that
form a new paradigm, based on inter-subjectivity instead
of the classical objectivity, and on viability instead of truth