sciences, methods

Empirical evidence is evidence we have tested by observing something ourself via our senses. As we have seen in the different way we process sensory information, our perception is not always 100% reliable, so a way of testing empirical evidence is provided by following a scientific approach.


This week we have looked at 4 possible approaches to explain the true scientific method.

These are:

Inductivism.
Falsification.
Paradigms.
Anarchist.



The original scientific methods were best described perhaps as inductivism and is a simplistic approach discussed by David Hume amonst others. It means if you observe an event and a cause/ occurence many times then a general statement of likelihood of cause can be set up and either described as true or false. As we will discover when we study issues with reasoning, inductive logic leads to mistakes in assumptions and the occurence of the fallacy of induction. (A fallacy means an unexpected mistake).

Falsification is the usual and most respected idea about the scientific method. YOU MUST TRY TO REMEMBER THIS (!)idea. It was published by Karl Popper. It means in science you make an observation and suggest a theory. You then disprove all other possible explanations leaving your theory as the most trustworthy.

Paradigm theory refers to a belief put forward by Kuhn, that scientists in reality are guided in their viewpoints and by underlying belief systems. They are unwitting slaves to their deep held beliefs and therefore cling to much to personal hypothesis and are ego driven in defence of their theories. This is an interesting idea when you consider why it took so long for theories such as evolution to be generally accepted, and perhaps why counter theories to global warming are dismissed very quickly by most.
Anarchist theory published by Paul Feyeraband and in this Feyeraband argues that actually most scientific discoveries have been down to chance and serendipity, that anything useful has been found by initial mistakes and subsequent sagacity to spot an opportunity.