126 - Michael Strevens: Scientific Explanation & Methodology and The Knowledge Machine

Michael Strevens is Professor of Philosophy at New York University, where he works across the philosophy of science and the philosophical applications of cognitive science. In this episode, Robinson and Michael talk about his recent book, The Knowledge Machine, which explores how irrationality shaped the Scientific Revolution. Along the way, they discuss the great debate over the nature of the scientific method—including appearances from Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn—how explanations function in science, and what roles religion, aesthetics, and other factors distinct from concrete evidence should play in scientific thought.

Michael’s Website: http://www.strevens.org

The Knowledge Machine: https://a.co/d/0hmHDCm

OUTLINE

00:00 In This Episode…

00:51 Introduction

03:42 The Knowledge Machine

14:23 What is the Scientific Method?

21:28 Kuhn and the Scientific Method

30:41 Sociology and the Scientific Method

32:40 Reasoning, Evidence, and Prejudice

47:30 The Iron Rule of Explanation

57:09 The Irrationality of Scientific Thought

01:03:57 Newton, Bacon, and the Scientific Revolution

01:12:13 An Attack on Science?

Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com

Robinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University. Join him in conversations with philosophers, scientists, weightlifters, artists, and everyone in-between.