Question #f8141
1 Answer
One Definition of science is the use of experimental methods to test the hypothesis formulated by theories.
Explanation:
The definition of science as the search for truth by experiment and direct observation works best in the hard sciences of physics, and chemistry.
Another definition is used in historical sciences. Historical sciences are often tested by the explanatory power, (Gould "Evolution and the Triumph of Homology". ) It is impossible to observe what happened in the past. Experiments about what happened in the past on based on models and speculations about what happened in the past.
The search for truth based on historical sciences is very different from empirical sciences. Testing the theories in historical sciences is based on internal consistence and explanatory power.
Scientism or material realism is often confused with science. Scientism is a philosophy based on the Enlightenment philosophy that everything could and should be explained only by natural cause. By extension it becomes a belief system that the material universe is all that there is was or ever could be. ( Carl Sagan)
True Science empirical or historical is an objective search for truth by any and all means, not limited to a philosophy or predetermined world view.
