Science
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What is Science?
The Philosophy of Science
“The Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultimate purpose of science. This discipline overlaps with metaphysics, ontology, and epistemology, for example, when it explores the relationship between science and truth. Philosophy of science focuses on metaphysical, epistemic and semantic aspects of science. Ethical issues such as bioethics and scientific misconduct are often considered ethics or science studies rather than philosophy of science” Source: Wikipedia
(DHRF emphasis)
“There is no consensus among philosophers about many of the central problems concerned with the philosophy of science, including whether science can reveal the truth about unobservable things and whether scientific reasoning can be justified at all. In addition to these general questions about science as a whole, philosophers of science consider problems that apply to particular sciences (such as biology or physics). Some philosophers of science also use contemporary results in science to reach conclusions about philosophy itself” Source: Wikipedia
“While philosophical thought pertaining to science dates back at least to the time of Aristotle, general philosophy of science emerged as a distinct discipline only in the 20th century in the wake of the logical positivist movement, which aimed to formulate criteria for ensuring all philosophical statements’ meaningfulness and objectively assessing them. Charles Sanders Peirce and Karl Popper moved on from positivism to establish a modern set of standards for scientific methodology” Source: Wikipedia
Science and Nonscience
“Both scientists and nonscientists seek to gain information and improve understanding in their fields of study. The differences between science and nonscience are based on the assumptions and methods used to gather and organize information and, most important, the way the assumptions are tested”
“The difference between a scientist and a nonscientist is that a scientist continually challenges and tests principles and assumptions to determine cause-and-effect relationships. A nonscientist may not be able to do so or may not believe that this is important”
“For example, a historian may have the opinion that, if President Lincoln had not appointed Ulysses S. Grant to be a general in the Union Army, the Confederate States of America would have won the Civil War. Although there can be considerable argument about the topic, there is no way that it can be tested. Therefore, such speculation about historical events is not scientific”
“This does not mean that history is not a respectable field of study, only that it is not science. Historians simply use the standards of critical thinking that are appropriate to their field of study and that can provide insights into the role military leadership plays in the outcome of conflicts. Once you understand the scientific method, you won’t have any trouble identifying astronomy, chemistry, physics, geology, and biology as sciences. But what about economics, sociology, anthropology, history, philosophy, and literature?”
“All of these fields may make use of certain central ideas that are derived in a logical way, but they are also nonscientific in some ways. Some things are beyond science and cannot be approached using the scientific method. Art, literature, theology, and philosophy are rarely thought of as sciences. They are concerned with beauty, human emotion, and speculative thought, rather than with facts and verifiable laws. Many fields of study have both scientific and nonscientific aspects” (DHRF emphasis)
“For example, the styles of clothing people wear are often shaped by the artistic creativity of designers and shrewd marketing by retailers. Originally, animal hides, wool, cotton, and flax were the only materials available, and the color choices were limited to the natural colours of the material or dyes extracted from nature. Scientific discoveries led to the development of synthetic fabrics and dyes, machines to construct clothing, and new kinds of fasteners that allowed for new styles and colours”
“Similarly, economists use mathematical models and established economic laws to make predictions about future economic conditions. However, the reliability of predictions is a central criterion of science, so the regular occurrence of unpredicted economic changes indicates that economics is far from scientific”
“Many aspects of anthropology and sociology are scientific, but they cannot be considered true sciences, because many of the generalisations in these fields cannot be tested by repeated experimentation. They also do not show a significantly high degree of cause-and-effect, or they have poor predictive value”
All the above from (Enger et al. 2002, pp. 10-11) Cite
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience “consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterised by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claims; reliance on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation; lack of openness to evaluation by other experts; absence of systematic practices when developing hypotheses; and continued adherence long after the pseudoscientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited” Source: Wikipedia
The Limitations of Science
“Science is a way of thinking that involves testing possible answers to questions. Therefore, the scientific method can be applied only to questions that have factual bases. Ethical, moral, and religious concerns are not scientific endeavours” (Enger et al. 2002, p. 12) (DHRF emphasis) Cite
“Science is also limited by the ability of people to figure out how the natural world works. People are fallible and do not always come to the right conclusions because they lack information or misinterpret it. However science is self-correcting and, as new information is gathered, old, incorrect ways of thinking are changed or discarded” (Enger et al. 2002, p. 12) (DHRF emphasis) Cite
“People need to understand that science cannot answer all the problems of our time. Although science is a powerful tool, there are many questions it cannot answer and many problems it cannot solve. Most of the problems societies face are generated by the behavior and desires of people. Famine, drug abuse, war, and pollution are human-caused and must be resolved by humans. Science provides some important tools for social planners, politicians, and ethical thinkers” (Enger et al. 2002, p. 12) (DHRF emphasis) Cite
Fundamental Attitudes in Science
“As you can see from our discussion of the scientific method, a scientific approach to the world requires a certain way of thinking. A scientist is a healthy skeptic who separates facts from opinions (views based solely on personal judgment). Ideas are accepted because there is much supporting evidence from numerous studies, not because influential or famous people have strongly held opinions”
“Careful attention to detail is also important. Because scientists publish their findings and their colleagues examine their work, they have a strong desire to produce careful work that can be easily defended. This does not mean that scientists do not speculate and state opinions. When they do, however, they take great care to clearly distinguish scientific facts from personal opinion” (DHRF emphasis)
“There is also a strong ethic of honesty. Scientists are not saints, but the fact that science is conducted openly in front of one’s peers tends to reduce the incidence of dishonesty. In addition, the scientific community strongly condemns and severely penalises those who steal the ideas of others, perform shoddy science, or falsify data. Any of these infractions can lead to the loss of one’s job and reputation” (Enger et al. 2002, pp. 8,10) (DHRF emphasis)
The Scientific Method
”The Scientific Method is an empirical method of acquiring knowledge that has characterised the development of science since at least the 17th century” Source: Wikipedia
The whole of Science and all the scientific discoveries of the last few hundred years have been based upon the use of the Scientific Method and its underlying philosophy and rules…
Baseline: science_md_R01;B01
References:
Campbell, N. A. and Reece, J. B., 2005. Biology. 7th ed. San Francisco: Pearson, Benjamin Cummings.
Enger, E. D., Ross, F. C. and Bailey, D. B., 2002. Concepts in Biology. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Hoefnagels, M., 2018. Biology : The essentials. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Raven, P. H., Johnson, G. B., Mason, K. A., Losos, J. B. and Singer, S. R., 2019. Biology. 12th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Ryan, M. and O’Callaghan, A., 2002. The Scientific Method. The University of Nevada, Cooperative Extension, Fact Sheet-02-66 [online]. Available from: http://dhrf.net/pdfs/fs0266.pdf.
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