THE Philosophy of Science it is the branch that reflects and questions science and scientific knowledge.
Science is concerned with specific problems of natural phenomena while philosophy is in charge of studying general problems.
However, in the final analysis, the study of both is not contradictory but complementary.
Among the main issues that occupy the Philosophy of Science we can highlight:
- What is the specificity of Science?
- what is your price?
- What is science for?
- What are the limits of science?
What is Science?
The word Science comes from the Latin, scientia, which can be translated into knowledge, wisdom.
Science would be the search for knowledge in a systematic way, formulating its explanations through scientific and mathematical laws.
Scientific research often generates more questions than answers. As noted English playwright Bernard Shaw:
Science never solves a problem without creating at least ten others.
Scientific Field
Science limits its field of study to regular phenomena and seeks to classify them. In this way, it is able to formulate generalizing statements – scientific laws – that explain these same phenomena.
Example: rain.
The rain phenomenon can be observed in almost all parts of the globe. The scientist questions how rain is formed through observation, its regularity and characteristics.
Thus, it elaborates theories about its origin, seeking explanations in nature itself and without attributing the occurrence of rain to some outside being - god, myths.
After the research, he is able to describe the rain phenomenon with physical, chemical and mathematical data: evaporation, condensation and precipitation. Classify the types of clouds, also rain and draw up a scientific law on the subject.
Transience of Scientific Theories
Scientific laws, however, are neither immutable nor eternal. With advances in scientific research itself, the laws that were formulated in a given period can be revised and discredited in another.
Example: Creationism.
For centuries, in the Western world, the only possible explanation for the universe's appearance was that it was created by God.
With the emergence of the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin (1809-1892) this theory began to be questioned. New possibilities were raised: the creation of the cosmos would have taken billions of years and not days. The creation of man itself was revised when the theory of kinship between humans and apes was elaborated.
Scientific Method
For a phenomenon to be scientifically accepted, it must be submitted to the scientific method.
The systematization of scientific knowledge as we define it today emerged with René Descartes (1596-1650). He elaborated the scientific or Cartesian method. Read more about the Scientific Method.
This methodology served so that natural phenomena could be explained in a language other than theological.
In this way, starting from Galileo Galilei (1564-1654), a specific and quantitative knowledge is intended. In other words, science would only accept what can be proven through repetition of experiments and mathematical calculations.
See too: Scientific Method
Origin of the Philosophy of Science
The Philosophy of Science emerged as a distinct branch of knowledge in the late 18th century and consolidated itself in the 19th century.
We are in the context of the Industrial Revolution, of scientific expeditions in America, in the quest to understand how nature works.
Thus, two propositions arise on how human beings should approach nature. Nietzsche (1844-1900) argued that it is only possible to know nature through force and domination. All knowledge would imply power.
However, the philosopher J. Bronowski (1908-1974) argued the opposite:
Man dominates nature not by force, but by understanding.
In this way, we move on to an extremely relevant issue that scientists face in their daily lives. What is scientific knowledge for? How should it be used? Below we will reflect on these questions.
Limits of Science
The Philosophy of Science also questions the usefulness of Science. We know that some scientific research can lead to both improved quality of life and destruction. This field of philosophy of science is called scientific ethics.
Example: DNA
With the decoding of DNA and genes in the 1950s, a vast field in Biology and Medicine opened up. Incurable diseases could be avoided from conception. However, this same information can lead to a kind of natural selection when genetic diseases are discovered that are still incurable.
Conclusion
The Philosophy of Science is concerned with questioning all aspects of scientific work: from research to its usefulness.
What distinguishes Science from other fields of knowledge is the scientific method that must be conducted in a rigorous and impartial manner.
Far from being a static field, Science questions its foundations and already elaborated laws.
Main Philosophers of Science
Read here about the life and ideas of leading scholars who have reflected on the Philosophy of Science.
- Rene Descartes
- Galileo Galilei
- Isaac Newton
- Nietszche
- Charles Darwin
- Albert Einstein
- Karl Popper