Scientific Method from science textbooks
From Wikinfo
Science is the “....systematic knowledge of the physical or material world that is gained through observation and experimentation.....”. In order to make sure that knowledge that is called “science” truly fits this definition, the following method was developed.
Scientific Method
1) Make observations
2) Use only those observations that are repeatable
3) Look for patterns in those observations, i.e. make hypotheses
4) Devise experiments to test hypotheses, the only valid experiments are those that contain and are based on steps 1 and 2
5) A hypothesis that survives step 4 can be called a theory
6) Repeat step 4.
The reasons for the steps are as follows:
Step 1 is to make sure we are dealing with the physical universe, not going off arguing how many angels can dance on a pin or something similar. Observation can, and should, be enhanced with tools wherever applicable, it is not limited to our unenhanced physical senses.
Step 2 is to make sure we are not dealing with a mistake, a fluke, or a one time event.
Step 3 is to systematize the observations, see definition of science listed above.
Step 4, question a hypothesis or theory, does it explain adequately what has been observed? Are there exceptions that need to be integrated? Are there flaws in the hypothesis or theory? Devise experiments to test those questions. In order to be valid, the answers to these questions need to be based on observation, not just thought experiments or mathematical models.
Step 5 is a recognition that a hypothesis has survived questioning and experimentation. There is a fuzzy line between hypothesis and theory, so don’t make a big issue of this terminology.
Step 6 is to deal with new observations that may force a revision, or possibly even replacement, of an already recognized theory.
The reality for most modern scientists upon graduation and the start of their careers is that they will deal with pre-existent theories, rather than creating new ones. Therefore they often will not see the scientific method played out step by step as laid out above.
Taking this method to its logical conclusion, it can deal only with present phenomena. Present phenomena can and does include artifacts from the past that still survive, examples include Biblical Hebrew language as preserved in Tanakh and artifacts found during archeological excavations. But science cannot deal with that which cannot be observed. For example, did the sun's shadow go backwards one time (2 Kings 20:11, Isaiah 38:8)? That was a non-repeatable observation, therefore science cannot touch it.
What confuses people is that many people, including many scientists, violate steps 1 and 2 that are central to scientific method, yet call their investigations "science". The rule is to ask at each step of the way, "Am I dealing with observable phenomena?" though often that is unnecessary as the scientist is in the act of making observations. What misleads people is that theories are proposed that are based somewhat on observations and the Scientific Method, somewhat on unobservable presuppositions, in other words faith, thereby invalidating the whole theory as a scientific theory. As a result, even a researcher, who works on only a part of a theory, may not recognize those areas of a theory that are not based on Scientific Method, but sees only those areas of the theory that are based on observation, therefore mistakenly considers the theory as scientific.
History of the Scientific Method
While there are examples even from ancient times of people who followed what we now would call the Scientific Method, such as Archimedes and Ptolemy, the systemization and widespread acceptance of the method came with the Protestant Reformation in Northern Europe. In particular, there were ideas contained within Reformation theology that nurtured the development of the Scientific Method. Those ideas include the classical ideas that there is an objective, physical universe, that it can be understood through the application of the human mind in its analysis through observation and logic, and in particular a method of thought called “Hebrew Thought” that gives observation precedence over theory and modeling, and gives precedence for analyzing function over form.
What does the future hold? Can the Scientific Method survive the neo-paganization of the West, the historical home of the Scientific Method? That there are many studies that have been published in peer reviewed science journals that violate the Scientific Method as listed above, yet are still called “science” is an indication that it cannot. Another indication is that in areas where the local cultures never accepted Reformation theology, that the local acceptance and application of the Scientific Method is more dependent on the individual scientist than the local scientific community, in the same manner as it was in the days of Archimedes and Ptolemy.
Sources:
Simpson, George Gaylord and Beck, William S. "Life: an introduction to biology" Second Edition, Harcourt Brace & World, Inc. New York, 1965, pp. 14–16
though many other textbooks were consulted to verify the definitions given in this textbook.
Harrison, Peter "The Bible, Protestantism, and the Rise of Natural Science" 2001->
