Summary

A philosophy is a reasoned point of view of how to approach some task, or life itself. We all have our philosophies, and they do influence our approach to science. Understanding this can help us to appreciate that there will always be other points of view, which form a natural and important criticism of our own approach. In this chapter examples are described of research following particular philosophies and the counter-philosophies are also discussed.

Presuppositional philosophies assume that a particular methodology is correct, or that knowledge has a certain structure. The major philosophical positions are each opposed by a philosophy that makes contrary presuppositions. So, empiricism emphasizes the importance of data and initiating research through direct observation, while rationalism emphasizes that research should start with theory. Reductionism takes it that an understanding of complex systems can be made in terms of their less complex systems, while holism asserts that understanding cannot be complete if based on the study of components of a system. There are also fundamental differences in the approach to science itself and whether there can be objective standards that research can follow. Relativism argues that universal standards do not exist, while criticism, as a philosophy, attempts to achieve them through analysis of methods as well as results.

Philosophies can be understood by studying them in a historical and developmental perspective. As new types of scientific problem have been encountered, developments in the scientific method have been closely linked to developments in philosophy. Some methodological problems recur in scientific investigations and so previous debates remain relevant.