Poet Management Scholar : Jasmine Kang

I have a Theory
Pursuit of meaning came before truth
Without knowledge there is no understanding of truth
The dependent variable lacked control over destiny
The independent variable wrote its symphony. 

I have a Theory
Constructs are necessary for a meaningful dialogue 
Propositions fade away in presence of monologue
All phenomenon can be represented
In a theory model the researcher constructed

I have a Theory
Deductive is always at odds with Inductive
Clear hypothesis - the path is predictive
We search for clues in the inductive expedition
Abduction is a loop applicable for certain construction

What is a theory?
In Philosophy of science I felt bewildered
Words made sense, with sentences I was disoriented
Learning these foundations my mind expanded
Generalizability of theory - it took time to command it

The theory 
With patience, slow progress and new reflections
Through historic lens we make future connections
Brick by brick the structure starts standing
New theories, models, discoveries they start banding

Philosophy Of Science

This course was a challenge to wrap my head around. Academic research needs to be grounded in some traditional theory that you are building on. One very rarely starts from scratch. I feel that writing is a retelling in a different context. The difference being, new learning occurs in a different environment with different variables and in a different voice. You can start with your idea of the research topic, and frame your research questions, yet not be tied to it. Before you start doing your research, you need to read deep and wide. As my professor explained, “you should be capable of giving a lecture on the topic.” The lecture should explain everything that one needs to know about it. That felt daunting, how will know that I know enough?

Basic Principles

The other interesting aspect I learned during Philosophy of Science was to define the basic principle being researched. This is regardless if I am doing deductive or inductive or abductive (combination of deductive and inductive) research. For instance, I am interested to research Energy transition and workforce readiness. It was helpful for me to break this down to the basic principle of “Changing nature of work”. This phenomena of changing nature of work has happened many times over in our history. When we mechanized industries and manual tasks. It also happened with the onset of computers and then internet. This has also happened in industries other than Energy transition sector – are there any parallels? Understanding this basic principle helped me use narrow search terminology. This proved helpful to find literature that was relevant to my field of interest on Google Scholar or ChatGPT.

Reading Modern Classics

The most challenging aspect of this course was reading modern classics explaining Philosophy of science. These readings were explaining the connection between philosophy and science – how these two are interrelated. I had never thought about this question before. Does philosophy explain the relationship between sciences like physical, biological, social, and behavioral? We read articles by contemporary classic writers including Hempel, Nagel, Kuhn, and Popper. It took me almost two to three readings to understand these articles. I also needed some help from my online mentor – Chat GPT. As I progress through this journey, I anticipate returning to these readings. I want to develop a clearer understanding of their thoughts and explanations.

As of now, I have initiated my journey.