USING SCIENTIFIC METHOD TO CHALLENGE OUR THINKING 7
Using the scientific method to challenge our thinking
Question 1.
Importance of the scientific method and how it helps humans in critical reasoning.
Science as a field tries to explain, predict as well as bringing control of the possible occurrences in a manner that takes along coherence and displays sanity. To achieve the above, science uses principles of reasoning to come up with a clear linkage of the methods employed by scientists and real human thinking (Lau & Chan, 2017). These principles are tied in specific fields to make a complete association of the scientific methods and reasoning, and they include experimentation, testing the hypothesis designed in the experimentation process and interpreting data obtained from the experiments under investigation.
Although scientists use theories which are special in their field which might not be used by a common man, for example, quantum physics, it is true that these rules of reasoning are paramount in the day to day reasoning. To prove these rules apply to common man, the rules of ascertaining the causes of phenomena are applicable in the daily activities of humankind. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that scientific principles are not only relevant in the areas of carrying studies, but the principles applied in researching are still the ones employed by human beings when it comes to the matters of reasoning (Hughes & Sharrock, 2016).
To classify science, it falls under four categories that are essential in providing proof to the outcome and decisions arrived by scientists, which are derived from research. They include theories which are realities, suppositions, and rules about the real world. These theories help us to understand the world and guide us on the properties and the characteristics of the world that we live in and tries to give an insight of why the world is the way it is.
The second classification is the world that we live in where there is a phenomenon that is happening daily which give the real reflection of the theories that are put forward by the scientists. The world also provides the actual properties, and it is used as the reference point while designing some hypothesis that scientists use to ascertain the study in question.
The third classification is the explanations, and following the explanations, scientists make some predictions of the future, and to predict what had taken place before the present day as it is used in geography and history. Using the theories in place, scientists can give an explanation of the events that take place in the world which facilitates the predictions made by the scientists.
The fourth classification is the data which acts as evidence and through which the foundations of our predictions are affirmed. Through experimentation and observing various phenomena, scientists can come up with data used as evidence and justification of the predictions. These predictions reflect the real world and what might take place in the future or what had taken place in the past to contribute to the present situation. The evidence provided can facilitate further exploration of the phenomena in question since the world consists of many phenomena which are yet to be proven and discoveries are made through carrying out research using data that was previously ascertained to be reliable.
Misconceptions exist that try to bring the science down as there are people who claim that the theories that scientists hold on cannot be proven. Although this is true since not all methods are valid, ignoring the ways is hard since ignoring them will lead to negative consequences that human beings try to avoid. Others will ignore the scientific principles because they are based on theories which in a layman’s language means that they are provisional suppositions with little evidence to support them. In the case of the scientists, these theories are supported by sufficient data, which acts as evidence of the theories developed by scientists. Scientific theories surpass the mere methods that have been devised like the evolution theory, since they have evidence, therefore, giving them a more concrete foundation (Dewey, 2018).
Knowing science, a look at the scientific method used by scientists is possible where a hypothetical-deductive analysis comes in place to test the suppositions by scientists (Gower, 2012). The method is the commonly used in many disciplines, and it falls under four divisions before the theory is proven. The first stage involves identifying a hypothesis that will be subjected to the test, then making predictions on the outcomes basing on the hypothesis. Thirdly there is the use of experiments which acts to check the viability of the predictions made. The final stage involves confirming if the predictions are correct and nullifying the predictions if the projections made did not conform to the observations made while carrying out experiments.
Human beings are capable of utilizing the scientific principles in various disciplines which are manifested in the daily activities, and they include decisions on investments and in areas like predicting the future of our health conditions (Lau & Chan, 2017). In these areas, we need to reason carefully to facilitate our explanation of the future, predict what might happen in case of a change in one or more factors affecting investment and come up with ways that can help curb the unforeseen circumstances. To do this, we need to gather information about the phenomena that we are embarking on which will help us decide as to whether we will carry out that activity. In the above circumstances, we require good reasoning skills that incorporate scientific methods to arrive at the best option.
Question 2.
How we arrive at making assumptions and why these hypotheses are essential.
A successful hypothesis testing informs scholars that some characteristics are evident about scientific theories. A hypothesis that has a scientific base is testable since there is data present that acts as evidence of the assumption derived from a certain phenomenon. Scientific theories have support which renders them viable and data that serves to offer the satisfaction of the deduction made, unlike the other non-scientific theories.
Confirming the presumption does not give the exact cause as there may be other factors that might be affecting a particular phenomenon. For example, if we presuppose that the car failed to start is as a result of gas depletion and confirm it, the next time it fails may not be as a result of gas depletion, but it might be as a result of engine failure. Affirming a late assumption does not result in the nullification of the previous test. For example, in our above case, if the engine is fixed and the car starts, it does not mean that the car will never fail to start due to gas depletion. Instead, it adds to the existing knowledge that a car can fail to start due to engine failure (Lau & Chan, 2017).
Human beings have been subjected to a various phenomenon which is still subject to study since there are some missing links to explaining these phenomena. They include precognition, telepathy among others which are psychic phenomena and these are beyond the five sensory abilities of human beings. To understand these phenomena, no scientific proof can be undertaken to show causality since these events take place within the human mind.
Scientific knowledge needs some approval with sufficient data to support the phenomenon under investigation (Giorgi, 2009). A happening in the minds means that it is impossible to translate the same into the practical world and it is also evident that anything that is not practical cannot be tested. To lack a way of verifying these assumptions does not mean these phenomena do not exist only that they are not present in the theoretical world (Dean, 2016).
The consequences to suffer are that science cannot confirm or nullify the existence of such phenomena as the only way to do so is through testing. Such incidences may be true or false since there are events that do occur but not with human knowledge but they are as a result of coincidence, and they are beyond human understanding.
While there have been several studies that have linked these phenomena with magnetized matters, the truth behind the occurrence of these events is yet to be found (Gyimesi, 2012). Such an area remains a field of study by the scientists and which may trigger a discovery since the essence of the existing knowledge is to act as the foundation of the subsequent studies that will be done (Mary, 2012). Using the insights that scientists have been able to associate with these occurrences, advanced research will be conducted in the future to establish the real causes of these incidents.
References
Dean, E. D. (2016). Precognition and retrocognition (Vol. 6). Cosimo, Inc.
Dewey, J. (2018). The influence of Darwinism on philosophy. Nóema, (9).
Giorgi, A. (2009). The descriptive phenomenological method in psychology: A modified Husserlian approach. Duquesne University Press.
Gower, B. (2012). Scientific method: A historical and philosophical introduction. Routledge.
Gyimesi, J. (2012). Sándor Ferenczi and the problem of telepathy. History of the Human Sciences, 25(2), 131-148.
Hughes, J. A., & Sharrock, W. W. (2016). The philosophy of social research. Routledge.
Lau, J., and Chan. J (2017). Scientific Method: Modules 1-9. Retrieved from http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/sci/
Mary Converse RN, M. N. (2012). Philosophy of phenomenology: How understanding aids research. Nurse Researcher (through 2013), 20(1), 28.