Lesson 1.

2: Science and Knowledge

Lesson Summary
This lesson emphasizes the nature of science, its rigid protocols to ensure that any scientific
knowledge is indeed reliable.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the learner will be able to:

1. Recognize scientific knowledge;

2. Analyze a scenario when belief knowledge is masked as scientific knowledge, and
3. Critique the steps to establish scientific knowledge.

Motivation Question

When you express an idea and will be asked, is that scientific?

How will you defend your answer that indeed it is science-based?

Discussion
According to a French chemist, Pierre Eugene Marcelin Berthelot (1827-1907), "All
chemical phenomena depended on the action of physical forces which can be determined and
measured." He opined that everything could be explained. Do you agree with his statement? Maybe
it's the reason that man don't just stop and wonder at nature but instead tries to understand it.

Science is from the Latin word Scientia, meaning, to know. It is a systematic body of knowledge
based on facts and evidence. The explanation or prediction in unveiling nature can be tested.
Knowledge - a statement about what is accepted as sufficiently "real" that allows one to take
action upon and thereby live life. But what is real? Have you heard of a dragon? Is it real? In ancient
times, Greece, China, and Egypt had all their versions of dragons. However, the Chinese dragon
represents something desirable, while that of Egyptians is something evil. If you look at the map,
these are accessible places/civilization thus, can share stories. Indeed, animals or people move
around, but not in ancient times when these places were deemed remote from each other. So how
can science explain this?

Types of knowledge
 1. Belief Knowledge- knowledge about the world is inherent and unique in each human being
attained by individual revelation

Going back to dragons, some claimed to have seen these. Remember Harry Potter or the
movie 'How to Train a Dragon? But is there a specimen as proof of its existence? Are there
data on their population?

2. Research Knowledge - a gathering of knowledge is universal, not just individual revelation,

and is based on a protocol to allow one to select between alternative observations.

So how does science explain the universal notion of a dragon? What is the common feature
of dragons, serpentine/snakelike, right? In ancient times, large snakes are seen from afar,
no camera nor telescope, unlike in your time of which close up and good resolution
pictures are taken with high definition lenses. In fact, Sir Attenborough has a scientific
documentary of the so-called 'dragon'. It turned out to be large reptiles that were mistaken
as dragons. Actually, there is a lizard, Pogona vitticeps with the common name 'central
bearded dragon.' The fear of snakes is based on evolutionary instinct. In Africa, large
reptiles or snakes abound. The molecular evidence based on DNA taken from 'Lucy', the
'Eve' of the molecular world, modern men evolved from the great migration from Africa.
Can you make the connection?

Requirements of research knowledge

1. All observations must be repeatable by one or more observers.

e.g., if dragons are real, then there must be a specimen that can be seen, again and again
However, if one says God created the world, can God create another world to prove such?
This is one of the areas that science and religion do not totally agree with each other.

2. All hypotheses are falsifiable - According to the Philosopher, Karl Popper, that temporary
explanation (hypothesis) can be tested by acceptable logic, empirical and statistical, to
accept or reject the hypothesis. However, he also specified that a contradiction need not
automatically nullify the entire hypothesis. Interpret the statement below using this
requirement for research knowledge.
'all swans are white, but there is a black swan'

3. involves natural phenomena - must involve things that occur in nature

Furthermore, research knowledge does not claim fact but rather claims logical
circumstantial explanation in the light of the requirement. Are you familiar with the
abiogenesis or theory of spontaneous generation? A classic example would be the
statement that flies emerge from rotten meat- a dead thing that gave rise to a living
organism. As observed, maggots will appear a few days after in a slice of exposed rotten
meat. These are observations. Do you remember who refuted this theory? By
experimentation, Louis Pasteur disproved this theory. Can you outline how Pasteur did it?
How about in your locality, have you heard of something similar to events explained based
on spontaneous generation theory? Can you disprove it?

The goal of science

 • Understanding of phenomena – how do you feel when natural phenomena unveil before
your eyes? Is it amazing or threatening? Man continuously seeks to understand these
events because it can either destroy or build up something, including human life. Take for
example lightning. It can kill but on the otherhand, it is a way to convert gaseous nitrogen
to a form usable by plants. Do you know there are those that find lightning a view to behold?
• Identify relationships and characteristics – this brings you back why you study a
tardigrade, to explore something beneficial for man. How about the reason why a corona
virus is investigated to its totality? Because the characteristics that make it fatal to man
have to be understood so that control measures can be adopted or better yet eliminate
these pathogens.
• Predict summaries and conclusions – when scientists make pronouncement about a
particular subject, this is usually based on good set of data. These are analyzed, like what
is the trend to predict future scenario. A good example of this application is the prediction
of the trajectories of typhoon that uses monitoring data through time among the factors
used in the projection. Recently, real time data on COVID-19 infections are analyzed to
predict the rate of transmission of the virus , thus policies on wearing of proper mask,
observance of quarantine protocol are implemented among the strategies to combat the
viral infection.
• Derive knowledge and facts – this time, can you elaborate on this goal?

Fact - is a statement based on research knowledge

• in light of the current evidence, this is accepted to be true
• so there was a time that spontaneous generation/abiogenesis was accepted
• fact is changed, when better pieces of evidence and explanations are presented
• spontaneous generation was discarded when an experiment proved this to be
erroneous.
• the cell theory, that only life begets life, is the accepted fact to date.
• is based on research knowledge
• mini-hypothesis subject to testing by repeated observations
• when perceptions of facts vary
• doesn't readily get accepted
• some facts become dominant, but others are open for testing

Hypothesis
• tentative explanation by the pattern created by two or more facts
• based on observation
• has predictive value
• testable, open to being proven wrong

Note: No amount of data will prove a hypothesis to be an absolute truth!! They only fail to
disprove it.

Death of hypothesis
• data are found to disprove it, especially empirical data
• its predictions constantly fail
• it is supplanted by the new hypothesis that better explains the data
• it used to be introduced that hypothesis, when not subjected to contradictions though
time, becomes a theory. Then this theory is elevated into law. However, some opined that
a hypothesis is only a limited and temporary explanation of a phenomenon. While a
 scientific theory is an in-depth explanation. But theories can also change when new
information is validated. A scientific law, on the other hand, is a statement that is not
supposed to go wrong. When that law is proven to be wrong, then the science supported
by it becomes also wrong.

Approaches to research knowledge

1. Formal science
• logic and mathematics - the language of science have the same meaning anywhere else
in the world
• universal
• e.g. numbers are the same anywhere else

2. Empirical science
• deals with objects and observations
NO truth; no right or wrong but there are limitations including but not limited to the
availability of equipment to aid the senses e.g. telescope for a detailed view of a distant
object