What is science or the scientific method?

“Science consists of some specific aims to arrive at a knowledge of some specific kind, methods for arriving at those aims together with the standards for judging the extent to which they have been met, and specific facts and theories that represent the current state of play as far as the realization of the aim is concerned” (Chalmers, 1999, p. 168). Science or the scientific method is the preferred way of acquiring and correcting reliable, valid, and practical knowledge about our world. The method, in the scientific method, describes a systematic way or sequence of actions that constitute a strategy, a kind of orderliness to achieve the stated goals. The method is a central element to science, as much of what we know has been acquired by following specific methods.

What is science – Assumptions

The fundamental assumption in science is that there are law-like regularities in nature that are real and are discoverable. That is, science is “a search for uniformity, for lawful relations among nature” (Skinner, 1953, p. 13). It relies not only on thought (rationalism or reasoning), but also on observation (empiricism) to define these laws. The key feature of the scientific method is that scientific statements do not need to be the ultimate truth. In science, knowledge is always hypothetical and believed to be true until we find counter-evidence. It shows an iterative and adversarial nature of generating knowledge. Since the method is the central element of science, it needs to have some specific characteristics.

Essential characteristics of the scientific methods

Scientific method is objective, (free from personal bias or prejudice and capable of being verified), logical (where research and the researcher is guided by logical reasoning), and systematic (investigation process that is orderly and should have internal consistency) in nature. In addition, it is specific. That is, it implies formation and testing of hypotheses and theories, in a documented manner that facilitates replication for independent verification. Scientific method is the means through with goals of science such as knowledge, prediction, and control can be achieved.

Limitations of science

While science and scientific progress has led to enormous growth for humans, it is still not perfect. For one, science does not look for the absolute truth. Knowledge is always hypothetical and taken to be true until we find counter-evidence. But to be fair, this is also one of the strongest points of science, as it allows itself to improve. Symbolic Interactionism and Postmodernist provide a strong critique of science and how faith in just one approach to gain and improve knowledge can have devastating effects (see progress myth and bureaucratization of social order due to extreme reliance on formal rationality, or the enlightenment project). Second, the scientific method cannot test the validity of the claim if it is not testable and falsifiable (cannot be disproved). For example, science cannot test questions like, “Does a person’s life flash before them right before they die?”, as this claim is not testable. Or questions like, “What is love?”, “What is the best way to learn?” or a statement like, ‘There are heaven and hell somewhere.” These statements are not falsifiable. The third limitation of scientific methods is that a focus only on falsification, implies a rejection of inductive research.

Bibliography

Andersen, H., & Hepburn, B. (Winter 2020 Edition). Scientific method. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. URL https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/scientific-method/

Chalmers, A. F. (1999). What is this thing called science? (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.

Skinner, B. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York, NY: Macmillan.

Skinner, B. F. (1956). A case history in scientific method. American Psychologist, 11, 221–223.