Philosophy of Science: Explanation, Confirmation, and Scientific Realism

Abstract

This article examines central debates in the philosophy of science, focusing on scientific explanation, confirmation, demarcation, and realism. It traces the limitations of logical positivism and Popper’s falsificationism, then discusses Kuhn’s account of paradigms, normal science, scientific revolutions, and incommensurability. The article also explores scientific realism and its challenges, including the pessimistic meta-induction and constructive empiricism, before reviewing major models of scientific explanation such as deductive-nomological, causal-mechanical, unificationist, and interventionist approaches. Overall, it argues that science is both a rational and historically situated practice, and that emerging data-driven methods such as machine learning invite renewed philosophical reflection on explanation, theory, and scientific understanding.