Understanding Science: Methods, Limits, and Historical Evolution
Science is a systematic and organized body of knowledge derived from the study of human activity, utilizing laws and general principles.
Key features of science include its focus on reality, accuracy, and, where possible, mathematical formulation.
Formal Science
Formal sciences, such as logic and mathematics, do not refer to objects observable by the senses. They provide necessary, universal, and consistent information based on the coherence of reason itself.
Empirical Sciences
Empirical sciences are based on the observation of facts and provide information about the world. They are not necessarily universal or absolute.
Social Sciences
Social sciences study human facts, characterized by intentionality, which is not directly observable. The observer is part of the observed, leading to generalizations and predictions that are less neutral and objective.
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
The hypothetico-deductive method is an inductive process that begins by formulating hypotheses to be verified. These hypotheses must be testable.
Steps of the Scientific Method:
- Observation of facts and identification of key aspects.
- Formulation of a hypothesis, often based on previous theories.
- Deduction of consequences using logic and mathematics.
- Verification through experiments testing variables.
- Critical verification, including attempts at refutation.
- If a hypothesis gains sufficient support, it may become a law. Laws are universal statements, provisional until challenged.
- Laws are systematized into a theory, which unifies laws in a coherent manner.
Limits of Science
Science is limited by its own methodology. Scientists continually seek to refine knowledge, moving towards greater truth.
Falsifiability principle: A scientific statement must be capable of being proven false through experience. This principle opposes dogmatism.
Science is limited by the need for experience; there is no possibility of knowing something without it.
New theories often result from paradigm shifts within the scientific community, not just from further comparisons.
Scientific research should be free and responsible, with a commitment to truth.
The Former Scientific View
According to Aristotle, the universe had two levels: the sublunary world, composed of four elements, and the supralunar world, where stars were fixed in concentric spheres filled with ether.
Ptolemy adopted the Aristotelian geocentric model, attributing a double orbit to planets to explain their apparent retrograde motion.
Christianity incorporated the concept of creation, transforming the supralunar world into the heavens.
The New Science
The Renaissance brought a change in perspective. Copernicus challenged the geocentric model, placing the sun at the center of the universe, creating a homogeneous world where the Earth was no longer the center.
Ancient science focused on observing and contemplating the qualities of the world. The new science measures and uses laws to dominate it.
Newton’s System
Newton established the law of universal gravitation, conceiving the universe as a large clockwork mechanism. The universe is infinite, homogeneous, and governed by strict determinism.
A Dynamic Way of Thinking
Matter is not just a counterpoint to the senses, a mass of bodies, or an extension. It has an energetic nature. Subatomic particles are quanta of energy. Bodies are dynamic events of matter-energy.
Anthropic principle: Are the characteristics of the cosmos necessary for the emergence of humans, or are they the result of chance?