Science and Scientific Method

Defining Moments:

 "The first was the rise of Greek philosophy... dated to Thales (ca. 585 BC)."

 "The second rise was the rise of modern science... Galileo to Newton (ca. 1600)."

Impact of Greek Philosophy and Modern Science:

 "Both Greek philosophy and modern science have become anchors of Western civilization and
culture..."

 "...suffuse almost the entire global."

 "In non-Western societies... hardly an institution that has not been influenced directly or
indirectly by both."

Understanding of Science:

 "Despite the influence of science in our society, it is not always accompanied by a clear
understanding of its method."

 "It may not even be clear at all what science is—and what it is not."

Definition of Science:

 "For our purpose and for brevity, we may define science as 'rational inquiry into Nature'."

 "By rational, we mean that such inquiry must be within some logical structure, and not some
haphazard inquisition."

 "At the same time, this definition attributes an objective existence to Nature, which is the object
of the inquiry."

Distinct Entities in Inquiry:

 "In short, there are two entities: the object of the inquiry and the (mind of the) inquirer."

 "The object of inquiry is assumed to have an objective existence independent of the inquirer’s."

 "The inquirer is assumed to have an objective existence independent of the inquirer’s."

 "The inquirer is assumed to be capable of rational inquisition."

 "We are, for the moment, assuming that we can set the observer/inquirer apart from Nature and
that the boundary between them can be delineated clearly."
 Science as body of knowledge

Purpose of Rational Inquiry and Scientific Knowledge:

 “As commonly understood, the purpose of this rational inquiry is to gain knowledge about
Nature.”

 “Thus, ‘scientific knowledge’ can be taken as a mental picture of what Nature is.”

 “The faithfulness with which our mental model represents the real world reflects the degree of
our understanding of that real world.”

 “They continually undergo change and improvement.”

Scientific Knowledge and Empirical Statements:

 “Any bit of scientific knowledge is a declarative statement about the real world.”

 “If there happens to be two competing theories, the conflict cannot be resolved by mere
debates, argumentation, or ratiocination.”

 “The question of whether there is a top quark or not (there is), or the question of whether
polywater exists or not (it does not) could never be settled through argumentation and debate.”

 “Scientific knowledge is much more than just a mere collection of empirical statements.”

Requirements for Scientific Knowledge:

 “For a collection of empirical statements to constitute scientific knowledge, it must satisfy at

least the following requirements:”

 a) The collection must be internally consistent.

 b) There must be a logical interrelationship between the statements that organizes them
into a coherent whole.

 c) We should be able to deduce a prediction, which can then be tested by an experiment

or observation.

Hierarchy of Empirical Statements:

 “At the lowest level are the primitive statements of direct observation…”

 “At the next level are statements that are not of direct observation, but instead express some
common features of or relationship between the entities.”

 “These general statements, or natural law, together with their logical scaffolding, their tacit
assumptions and philosophical underpinning would make up what we commonly call scientific
theory.”

Overarching Fundamental Principles:

  “Finally, at the highest level are the overarching fundamental principles that encompass the
entire range of the Natural Sciences.”

 “Unlike those theories that are limited only to within their specific topics and regions of validity,
these principles allow no exception and cut across all disciplines.”

 “Thus, all our theories in physics, chemistry, and biology must, at all times, submit to the
principle of conservation of energy.”

The philosophical underpinning

Philosophical Underpinning of Scientific Knowledge:

 “This entire structure of scientific knowledge rests on its philosophical underpinning, on the
philosophical assumptions that are necessary to play this game.”

 “One such assumption is what we had earlier mentioned: that Nature is regarded to have an
objective existence independent of that of the scientist and of his mind.”

Importance of Assumptions in Science:

 “In science, we seek the so-called laws of nature; which are general statements about the
behavior of Nature…”

 “This quest depends on two crucial assumptions: 1) there is regularity in Nature that is
expressed by these laws, and 2) the human mind can ‘know’ these laws.”

Nature of Scientific Laws and Assumptions:

 “Moreover, the laws of Nature, as we express them, do not carry any time stamp that indicates
when and where they were discovered, or where they are applicable.”

 “Needless to say, these assumptions are not subject to empirical proof, but we need them for
science to exist at all. One can say that these are the articles of faith of science.”

Scientific Worldview and Paradigm:

 “This majestic edifice of scientific observations, laws, theories, and principles, together with all
the (explicit or tacit) philosophical assumptions necessary to hold them together, constitute
what we call the scientific Weltanschauung, or the scientific worldview.”

 “The affirmation of the Weltanschauung is what differentiates the mind of a scientist from a
non-scientist’s.”

 “This scientific worldview is closely related to what Thomas Kuhn (1962) referred to as the
scientific paradigm, in his analysis of how science progresses.”

Normal Science and Paradigm Shifts:

  “Ordinarily, scientists do what Kuhn calls ‘normal science’…”

 “But, since our knowledge is not perfect—and, therefore, the paradigm is not perfect
representation of the real world—there are discoveries and observations made every now and
then that do not quite fit into the paradigm. These are called anomalies.”

Scientific Revolutions and Paradigm Change:

 “Events, however, take a different turn if there is a competing paradigm that is equally viable
and, in addition, can explain the anomalies. When this is the case, then the existing paradigm is
overthrown and a new one is established.”

 “The periods of scientific revolution are also the times when fundamental changes in our
scientific knowledge occur and fundamental discoveries are made.”

Conservatism and Change in Science:

 “Scientists, on the whole, are loath to replace the existing paradigm. There has to be extremely
compelling reasons before a paradigm is replaced.”

 “However, the old paradigm may not completely disappear. In many cases it is retained—though
—dethroned—because, in practical terms, it is still useful.”

Example of Paradigm Shift:

 “An illustrative example of the conservatisms of science involves the continental drift theory…”

 “By the 1960s, with compelling evidence and with the rise of the concept of plate tectonics,
continental drift theory was revived and is now at the center of geology.”

The methods of science

Scientific Validation and Empirical Basis:

 “To repeat what we have said, science is empirical. Science is about the physical world.
Therefore, its statements about the world must be validated by observation and
experimentation.”

Scientific Method and Realities:

 “However, the stylized ritual of problem-observation-hypothesis-confirmation-theory, as found

in many school textbooks, is an almost comic distortion of the actual scientific method…”

 “For one, it misleads the reader into believing that the steps in scientific research are so well
defined and that each step ineluctably leads to the next.”

 “Finally, such a description completely ignores the decisive role that serendipity, imagination,
dreams, and simple luck sometimes play.”
Purpose of Scientific Research:

 “The purpose of any scientific research is to arrive at a statement that describes an aspect of the
physical world…”

Tools and Approaches in Science:

 “The intellectual tools at the scientist’s disposal could be logical inference, inductive reasoning,
analogy with past events, mathematics, imagination, lucky guesses, and even dreams.”

Importance of Peer Review and Reproducibility:

 “In other words, if chemist X says that he obtains a compound A from some ingredients under
some stated conditions, then chemist Y, using the same ingredients and duplicating the same
conditions, should be able to obtain the same compound A.”

 “Publication in a professional journal enables other scientists to scrutinize the entire exercise for
possible error in method or in concept. This involves what we call peer review.”

Integrity and Honesty in Science:

 “It is for the same reasons that utmost honesty is demanded of every scientist. A scientist is
allowed by his peers to commit a mistake every now and then. But, a scientist is never allowed
to commit a dishonest act, such as deliberately fudging the data.”

 “A single instance of dishonesty is enough to ruin a scientist’s career forever.”

 “But in the practice of their profession, their integrity must be as pure as driven snow.”

The value of science

Value of Science:

 "Where then lies the value of science? The value of science lies in its predictive power. We can
anticipate events and effects because we can predict them."

 "But, science also has a deeper value: it teaches us honesty, humility before facts, tolerance, and
what the biologist J. Bronowski (1965) calls 'the habit of truth'."

Lessons from Science:

 "It gives us lessons on boldness and courage, as Galileo, Newton, and Einstein were bold and
courageous enough to advance ideas that broke the molds that they were in."

 "In the face of coercion and physical force, science falls silent. But for those who use force
against science, the consequence has been always ruinous."

Lysenkoism and Suppression of Science:

  "An instructive example is the Lysenko doctrine that held sway in the Soviet Union from the
1930s to the 1960s."

 "Throughout his stay in power, all other views on genetics contrary to his were suppressed. The
result, especially in agriculture, was disastrous."

Democracy and Science:

 "If we look back at the history of science, we see that its development closely paralleled the
growth and development of the democratic tradition."

 "The constitutional protection of the right to free speech might as well have been lifted verbatim
from the philosophy of science."

Science and Moral Questions:

 "Science makes no claim that it holds the answer to all our problems. Necessarily, science is
silent on questions of moral values and on moral dilemmas."

 "What science can do is to help us with the empirical parts of the problem so that when we
make a decision, it will be an informed and rational decision made in a democratic environment
that science has helped shape."