Standing on the

Shoulders of Giants
Natural Sciences
as an Area of Knowledge.
22 Aug 2016

Greek Philosophers
Used the power of reasoned thought. Experimental
testing of ideas was not considered important.

The School of Athens, Raphael (1483 - 1520)

Archimedes

The whole problem with the world is that

fools and fanatics are always so certain of
themselves, but wiser people so full of
doubts.

Aristotles Four Elements of Matter

The Renaissance
The Aristotelian view of the world begins to be
superceded.

The Birth of The Scientific Method

Francis Bacon (1561 1626)
Scientific investigations must involve
a planned procedure.

William Gilbert (1544 1603)

In the discovery of secret things and in the
investigation of hidden causes, stronger reasons
are obtained from sure experiments and
demonstrated arguments than from probable
conjectures and the opinions of philosophical
speculators of the common sort.

The Modern Scientific Method

The Modern Scientific Method

Is inductive
Relies observations
Future hypothesises are based on falsification

Penicillin - A Case of
Serendipity in Science
Discovered in 1928, Alexander Flemining.
"When I woke up just after dawn on September 28,
1928, I certainly didn't plan to revolutionize all
medicine by discovering the world's first antibiotic,
or bacteria killer, but I guess that was exactly what I
did."

Penicillin - A Case of
Serendipity in Science
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Inoculates plates.
Leaves them on the bench.
Goes on holiday for 4 weeks.
Examines the plates on his return.
Places the plates in disinfectant.
Picks a plate to show a colleague.

Penicillin - A Case of
Serendipity in Science

Questions/ Task
Write a 150 word Journal on Managebac, to answer
one of the following questions. Also, quote in it a
phrase from the TOK book under Natural
Sciences. The due date is Monday, 29 August
2016 midnight time.
1. Is the science performed in schools really
science?
2. What other examples of serendipity in science
are there?
3. What is the role of the sceptic in science?
4. Can observations ever be truly objective?