Nature of Science

Science is a Tentative Enterprise  The product of the judgment of individuals  Requires individuals to defend their conclusions by appeals to reason and evidence  Scientific truths are those that are agreed upon by all fully informed observers  The only thing certain about science is that it will always change.  #2 & 10

Science is an Empirical “Faith” (or belief system)  Faith = a certainty that certain principles or bodies of knowledge are true  Empirical in that the “faith” is based on repeated practice and testing  # 5, 6, 12, & 16  Keep in mind…  Includes unobservables (inductive reasoning)  Can be influence by social or cultural factors  Is fundamentally an interpretive activity

Science is not a Single Method  Scientific methods refers to the whole gamut of means and methods in the world of science  The fact that science tests not just concepts but also methods and means also strengthens this discipline  #3

Experiments are a Goal- Oriented Form of Scientific Observation  Science is based on observations (as opposed to “science is based on experiments”)  Experiments are goal-oriented procedures (as opposed to scientists having no idea how they will turn out)  No single experiment can prove a theory true  #1, 7, 9 & 11

Scientific Theories are Explanations of Scientific Facts  Facts are observed.  Theories explain the “why” or “how” behind those facts.  Scientists use theories to guide further research  Theories change due to new data or connections between already known data  # 4, 8, 14, 18, & 22

Scientific Laws are Descriptions of Nature’s Behavior  A scientific law describes the relationships between observed phenomena  Example: Law of gravity describes what will happen when you drop an apple but doesn’t explain why.  # 15, 17, 19, & 24

Science is a Creative Enterprise  Combines human ingenuity with the desire to test everything against observed facts and rules of reason/logic.  All scientific theories, models, etc. are human constructions.  Relies on inductive reasoning as much as deductive reasoning.  # 13, 20, 21, & 23

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