WHAT IS THE

NATURE OF
SCIENCE?

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF SCIENCE?

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THIS IS THE
SCIENTIFIC WORLD VIEW
1. The Universe Is Understandable.
2. The Universe Is a Vast Single System In
Which the Basic Rules Are Everywhere
the Same.
3. Scientific Ideas Are Subject To Change.
4. Scientific Knowledge Is Durable.
5. Science Cannot Provide Complete
Answers to All Questions.

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY?
Certain features of science make it
distinctive as a means of
understanding the world/universe
Those features are especially
characteristic of the work of
professional scientists, but anyone
can use them to think scientifically
about many aspects of everyday life

Science Demands Evidence

The validity of scientific claims is
settled by referring to observations of
phenomena
Therefore, scientists concentrate on
getting accurate data

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1. Observe and describe a phenomenon or group of
phenomena
2. Formulate hypotheses to explain the phenomena;
hypotheses often take the form of a proposed causal
mechanism or mathematical relationship
3. Use the hypotheses to predict the existence or
actions of other phenomena, or to predict
quantitatively the results of new observations
4. Perform additional data collection or repeat
experimental tests of the predictions by several
independent experimenters using properly performed
techniques or experiments

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Observations/Data Hypotheses Hypothesis
Testing Models Laws Theories

At some point in time, each stage must be reported to

the larger scientific community by presentations or
publications

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

The scientific method does not allow any
hypothesis to be proven true
Hypotheses can be disproven, in which case
those hypothesis are rejected as false
A hypothesis which withstands a test designed
to falsify it establishes a level of probability that
the hypothesis accurately explains data and
can be used for further predictions, subject to
further tests

Hypothesis Testing

SCIENTIFIC LAWS AND THEORIES

A Scientific Theory is an explanation of a set or
system of related observations or events based
upon proven hypotheses and verified multiple
times by detached groups of unbiased
researchers
(One scientist cannot create a theory; s/he can only
create hypotheses)

SCIENTIFIC LAWS AND THEORIES

As a result of our confidence in the

Scientific method, both scientific laws and

broader scientific theories are accepted to
be true (accurate) by the scientific
community as a whole

A scientific law or a scientific theory is

used to make predictions of events or
relationships among data sets

SCIENTIFIC LAWS AND THEORIES

The biggest difference between a law and a
theory is that a theory is much more complex
and dynamic
A law governs a single action or situation,
whereas a theory explains an entire group of
related phenomena (Mendels Laws versus
Darwins Theory of Evolution by Natural
Selection)
[Note: Evolution is a Fact; Darwins Theory is
the scientifically accepted explanation for the
fact(s) and mechanisms of evolution.]

SCIENTIFIC LAWS AND THEORIES

Genuine scientific theories must be falsifiable
by applying the scientific method (data
collection and hypothesis testing)
If one cannot imagine a specific investigation or
experiment, based on predictions from the
theory, leading to results which can further
verify or refute the predictions, then the theory,
as an explanation, is not scientific

SCIENTIFIC LAWS AND THEORIES

When the scientific community accepts a Law
or Theory, it represents the best understanding
of the explanations for the properties of a given
system at that point in time
A Scientific Theory represents our best
understanding of the truth about some aspect
of the universe, even though it is not proven as
absolute and is still understood to be subject to
future revision, or even to rejection

THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

The Experimental Method is usually considered
the most scientific of all methods, the method
of choice
The main problem with all other nonexperimental methods is investigators have less
control over the situation and its components
The Experimental Method exerts the most
control on data collection and interpretation

THE EXPERIMENTAL METHOD

An experiment is a study of cause and effect
It differs from non-experimental methods in that
it involves the deliberate manipulation of one
variable, while trying to keep all other variables
constant
Experiments must be properly designed and
include controls

HYPOTHESIS GENERATION
The use of logic and the close examination of
evidence are necessary but not usually
sufficient for the advancement of science
Scientific concepts do not emerge automatically
from data or from any amount of analysis alone
Inventing hypotheses or theories to imagine
how the world works and then figuring out how
they can be put to the test of reality is a
creative thought process

SCIENCE EXPLAINS AND PREDICTS

Scientists try to make sense of observations by
constructing explanations for observations that
are consistent with currently accepted scientific
principles
Such explanationstheoriesmay be either
sweeping or restricted, but they must be
logically sound and incorporate a significant
body of scientifically valid observations
The credibility of scientific theories often comes
from their ability to show relationships among
phenomena that previously seemed unrelated

SCIENCE EXPLAINS AND PREDICTS

It is not enough for scientific theories
to explain the observations that are
already known
Theories should also explain
additional observations that were not
used in formulating the theories in the
first place; that is, theories should
have predictive power

SCIENTISTS TRY TO
IDENTIFY AND TO AVOID BIAS
When faced with a claim that something is true,
scientists respond by asking what evidence
supports it
But scientific evidence can be biased in how
the data are interpreted, recorded or reported,
or even in the choice of what data are
considered in the first place
A scientists nationality, culture, gender, ethnic
origin, age, political convictions, etc., may
incline him or her to look for or emphasize one
kind of evidence or interpretation over another

SCIENCE IS NOT AUTHORITARIAN

In science, it is appropriate
to turn to knowledgeable
sources of information and
opinion, usually specialists
in relevant disciplines
But respected authorities
have been wrong many
times in the history of
science

Aristotle

SCIENCE IS SELF CORRECTING

AND PROGRESSIVE
In the short run, new ideas that do not agree
well with mainstream ideas may encounter
vigorous criticism, and scientists investigating
such ideas may have difficulty obtaining
support for their research
Challenges to new ideas are the legitimate
business of science in building valid knowledge

SCIENCE IS SELF CORRECTING

AND PROGRESSIVE
SF Author Sir Arthur C.
Clarkes First Law:
When a distinguished
but elderly scientist
states that something is
possible, he is almost
certainly right. When he
states that something is
impossible, he is very
probably wrong.

SCIENCE AS A WAY OF KNOWING

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The Universe Is Understandable

The Universe Is a Vast Single System In Which the Basic
Rules Are Everywhere the Same
Scientific Ideas Are Subject To Change
Scientific Knowledge Is Durable
Science Cannot Provide Complete Answers to All Questions

Scientific ideas are developed by particular ways of

observing, thinking, experimenting, and validating

Observations/Data Hypotheses Hypothesis

Testing Models Laws Theories

Principles and Processes

of Evolution
For the rest of the semester, we will
examine the fact(s) of Evolution and
the evidence that supports
Darwins/Biologys Theory of Evolution
by Natural Selection
We will also expose Intelligent
Design as an unsatisfactory
alternative explanation of causation

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF

SCIENCE?

END