Journal Article Analysis tgkoontz University of Phoenix

Abstract
A Week 3 assignment in the class, PHL/717 Constructing Meaning, required a philosophical analysis of an article in the Journal of Psychology. The article investigated how the connection between knowledge and learning influenced individuals to think about controversial everyday issues. The analysis included identifying philosophical assumptions, explaining practical significance and applicability, and relating assumptions and methodology to class readings.

Journal Article Analysis An article in the Journal of Psychology investigated how the connection between knowledge and learning influenced individuals to think about controversial everyday issues.
The research supported two of the four proposed hypotheses. None of the epistemological beliefs predicted thinking about omniscient authority or found a correlation between quick learning and time-consuming reflective thinking. The theories not supported warrant further research. “There is not a single rule, however plausible, and however firmly grounded in epistemology, that is not violated at some time or other” (Feyerabend, 2003, p. 81). The inability of the research to support these two hypotheses does not indicate failure, but the possibility of progress in the science (Feyerabend, 2003). More research, possibly encountering a different perspective could clarify the direction the hypotheses should take. The supposed failure to support two of the hypotheses must not lead to abandonment of the research project. A heuristic approach may resolve the discrepancies between the hypotheses and the research results. Lakatos (2003) expounds that a conjecture, at once refuted can be rescued by an auxiliary hypothesis if normative research continues.
Positivism and Post-Positivism From a positivist point of view, this research project is invalid. No observable correlation exists between the hypotheses and the results proclaimed by the researchers. Ayer (2003) explains that the declaration of a proposition is just that a declaration. Positive, observable fact needs to be presented to validate the proposition. Therefore, the conclusion epistemological beliefs