Scientific Method

What do you know?

Here are some questions to answer before reading further

  1. What is a "method"? What are some examples you can think of?
  2. What makes something "scientific"?
  3. What is the scientific method?

Concept

01 - Methods are an approach to predictable results

This may not sound particularly insightful, but starting from this general concept, we will explore it for now in a very specific context.

Let's start with a tentative definition for the scientific method:

The Scientific Method is the idea that questions about the natural world can by answered by following some set of steps to acquire knowledge and explain that knowledge in the form of a hypothesis.

Philosophy and inquiry

When we ask "what something is?" we are immediately in the realm of philosophy. Philosophy is a deep and wonderful area of human knowledge. It is not science, but for centuries it has explored important questions scientists would do well not to ignore

Philosophy does

Concept Clarification: One of the tasks of philosophy is to clarify what we mean when we say something. Take the phrase "it's a beautiful day." What is beauty? What is the day? Philosophy is nearly endless in its pursuit of questions, and questions of the form "what is X?" lead to entire fields of philosophical study (e.g. "what is beauty" is the subject of aesthetics; "what is a part and what is a whole?" is the subject of mereology).

Philosophy tries to help us be clear about words and their meaning, and what we mean when we use those words.

To get quickly to the practical, how do we benefit from the work philosophy does? Here are four questions philosophy has worked on and that we can learn from:

Philosophy asks

What is knowledge?

Epistemology - επιστημολογία* is a branch of philosophy that asks the question how can we know something? What is evidence for/against something? How and when should we trust (or refuse to trust) evidence? When do we have enough evidence? These are very important questions in the sciences.

What is logical?

Logic - λογική is a branch of philosophy which asks about what are the rules of reason and reasoning. Given some premise (e.g. Socrates is a man, men are mortal) how do we reach a conclusion (e.g. Socrates is a man, therefore he is mortal) that is true? Logic also gives rise to mathematics which underlies the natural sciences (although math is not a science).

How do we communicate our meaning?

Philosophy of language asks how do we use words (or signs; see semantics σημαντικός) to represent abstract concepts? In the English language for example, I can "know that I have 3 dollars in my pocket" and I can "know how my friend thinks." Spanish, like other Romance languages distinguishes between knowing a fact (verb: saber) from knowing someone you have relationship with (verb: conocer).

Ultimately, to operate in science we need to weigh evidence, develop logical conclusions, and express our meaning. These approaches are not inherently scientific, but they are used by science. Philosophy of science is concerned with a more thorough exploration of what the role of philosophy is in the sciences.

Take home message: Science makes use of philosophical tools (methods) to do its work. At some point, you should get to know a bit about that subject.

*Note: Although here and in many cases philosophy makes use of Greek terms this is not meant to privilege Greek or Western thought. Every human culture has its own ways of thinking and reasoning and it is arrogant to suggest that the most popular (or best documented) approach is necessarily the best one. It is also arrogant to imagine that Greek philosophy did not have its antecedents in other cultures. The use of the Greek terms above is to draw attention both to the important contributions of the Greek scholars and to acknowledge that if we ignore their specific origin we risk imagining that these are the only possible ways to think about these terms.

Key questions

After that detour through philosophy, how do we bring those ideas back to science? Well, to do science we need to have a working definition so let's return to the one suggested above:

The Scientific Method is the idea that questions about the natural world can by answered by following some set of steps to acquire knowledge about the world and explain that knowledge in the form of a hypothesis.

Using this definition, and the one you posed in the What do you know questions, here are some additional ones to ask.

  1. Does the scientific method resemble how we ask questions about the world in in ways that aren't traditionally considered science? For example, is a criminal investigation scientific? Is the exploration of a theme in the Beethoven's Diabelli variations (Op. 120) scientific? Is a model volcano presented at a science fair scientific?

  2. What is the "natural world"?

  3. Besides the scientific method, what other methods do you think we might see used in science?

Activity

Short essay

About short essay assignments

Short essay assignments are typed, 500 words maximum or less. In addition to getting to know your thoughts they are also a chance to get feedback on your writing. You will usually have a minimum of two weeks to complete these assignments. It is highly suggested that you give yourself time to write a first draft, reflect and/or get feedback, and write a final draft.

Write a short essay on the following topic:

The scientific method is a unique form of inquiry

The point of your essay can be to support or refute the above statement; it's your choice which position to support.

Think about breaking up this essay into 3 sections

  • Introduction to the scientific method
  • A body where you contrast the scientific method with one or more other forms of inquiry (for example, how does the scientific method compare to how a fiction author explores a character in a novel).
  • A conclusion where you summarize your thoughts

This is something more of an English assignment rather than a scientific writing assignment. You may have any opinion or position you want, but develop your ideas clearly and keep your writing simple.

Readings and resources

There are a number of books, articles, links, etc. that could contribute to this topic. These resources are not meant to be exhaustive or suggest you should review all of these materials. If this topic piques your curiosity, have a look. Please also suggest other resources that you find and I will add to this list. You will not need to purchase or read these books to complete any assignment. These are meant for your own enrichment.

Books

What Is This Thing Called Science? - Alan F. Chalmers

  • Amazon link
  • Amazon Summary: Since its first publication in 1976, Alan Chalmers's highly regarded and widely read work--translated into eighteen languages--has become a classic introduction to the scientific method, known for its accessibility to beginners and its value as a resource for advanced students and scholars.

Defending Science - within reason - Susan Haack

  • Amazon link
  • Amazon Summary: Sweeping in scope, penetrating in analysis, and generously illustrated with examples from the history of science, this new and original approach to familiar questions about scientific evidence and method tackles vital questions about science and its place in society. Avoiding the twin pitfalls of scientism and cynicism, noted philosopher Susan Haack argues that, fallible and flawed as they are, the natural sciences have been among the most successful of human enterprises-valuable not only for the vast, interlocking body of knowledge they have discovered, and not only for the technological advances that have improved our lives, but as a manifestation of the human talent for inquiry at its imperfect but sometimes remarkable best. This wide-ranging, trenchant, and illuminating book explores the complexities of scientific evidence, and the multifarious ways in which the sciences have refined and amplified the methods of everyday empirical inquiry; articulates the ways in which the social sciences are like the natural sciences, and the ways in which they are different; disentangles the confusions of radical rhetoricians and cynical sociologists of science; exposes the evasions of apologists for religious resistance to scientific advances; weighs the benefits and the dangers of technology; tracks the efforts of the legal system to make the best use of scientific testimony; and tackles predictions of the eventual culmination, or annihilation, of the scientific enterprise.Writing with verve and wry humor, in a witty, direct, and accessible style, Haack takes readers beyond the "Science Wars" to a balanced understanding of the value, and the limitations, of the scientific enterprise.