I was especially interested in the intersection of philosophy and prediction because much of what we’ve learned about modern prediction falls within a very practical context. Prediction is often used to help in very practical ways in our everyday lives: informing clothing choices, our driving routes, etc. I was especially interested in Hall’s commentary on philosophy within theoretical prediction, as used by Newton and Mendel. A theoretical approach to predictions rather than empirical allows scientists to think beyond the data and on a larger scale and leads to the discovery of often accurate theoretical predictions.
One question I would have asked is how can modern philosophers use philosophical principles to create predictions in a time in which accurate data is widely available for virtually any question. Many of the ancient philosophers we learned about earlier in the semester used theory to make predictions that often ended up being incorrect, so I’m interested in how philosophers can use theory to make predictions without falling into the traps of previous philosophers.