Philosophy of Science Revision Gift (30 June 2026)

Answer each question from memory first, aloud or on paper, before you check your notes.

Explain what philosophy means and name its main branches.
What is the difference between empirical science and rational science?
Minerva is studying whether different exercise programmes affect the body composition of male and female participants. Is this activity Science or Philosophy of Science? Give your reason.
Give two criteria that can help us distinguish science from pseudoscience or non-science. Explain each criterion clearly.
What is natural science? What is metaphysics?
A dragon pox vaccine is shown to reduce symptoms among participants in a clinical study. A researcher then concludes: ‘The dragon pox vaccine reduces symptoms in patients.’ Is this reasoning part of formal science or empirical science? Explain the difference between the two.
Severus is comparing the metaphysical assumptions made by chemists and biologists. Is this activity Science or Philosophy of Science? Give your reason.
What is the main goal of philosophy, and what tools does philosophy use to reach this goal?
What are the limitations of the scientific method when dealing with moral, metaphysical, historical, complex, or difficult-to-observe questions?
Consider this argument:
‘All herbologists are scientists. Neville is a herbologist. Therefore, Neville is a man.’
What form of reasoning is this argument trying to use?
From this argument, identify the major premise, minor premise, and conclusion:
‘All herbologists are scientists. Neville is a herbologist. Therefore, Neville is a man.’
What is the main characteristic of a philosopher?
Is the conclusion ‘The dragon pox vaccine reduces symptoms in patients’ reached through deduction or induction? Explain why.
Define what it means for an argument to be valid.
Define what it means for an argument to be sound.
Is this argument valid? Is it sound? Give your reason:
‘All herbologists are scientists. Neville is a herbologist. Therefore, Neville is a man.’
Luna is studying the differences between bacteria and viruses. Is this an empirical science or a rational science? Explain why.
Can we guarantee with absolute certainty that the statement ‘The dragon pox vaccine reduces symptoms in patients’ is true? Explain why or why not.
Philosophy of Science studies the beliefs, foundations, and impacts of science. Explain how this differs from doing ordinary scientific research.
Give examples of questions or phenomena where scientific methods may be limited, and briefly explain why science may not fully answer them.