Unit 1 for the "Values in Science and Technology" module of the "Systems of Knowledge" course. This unit covers the following topics: - Ancient science - The empirical approach in modern science - Types of sciences - natural and social sciences, pure and applied sciences) - Core characteristics of science - The importance of scientific literacy

1. What Is Science?

2. What is Science?
Science is usually seen by most people as an organized body of
knowledge.
“Science is more than a body of knowledge. It is a way of thinking;
a way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine
understanding of human fallibility”
– Carl Sagan.

3. What is Science?
 Dictionary Definition:
 “Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and
organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and
predictions about the universe.”

4. Ancient Science and
Modern Science
 Science emerged from philosophy. In the past, science was known
as “natural philosophy”.
 “Ancient Science” - Pre-1600s
 “Modern Science” 1600s+

5. Ancient Science and
Modern Science
 Example of Science in Antiquity – Eratosthenes measures the
circumference of the Earth, 200BC
 Video: Cosmos - Eratosthenes

6. Ancient Science
 Ancient Greece, 500 BC
 Argued the concept of “Cosmos” (order) in favour of “Chaos”
(disorder)
Antikythera Mechanism

7. Ancient Science
 Socrates and Plato distrusted the senses as reliable sources of
knowledge since our senses could easily be fooled.
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
“The Matrix” 1999

8. When did “Modern Science”
begin?
 Galileo Galilei
 Known as the “father of modern science”
 Emphasis on empirical evidence – knowledge must be
verified by observation or experience rather than theory
or pure logic.
 He combined sensory experience with technological
instruments – extensions of our senses.

9. When did “Modern Science”
begin?
 Galileo developed the telescope in 1609 and used it to
observe the moon, the planets and the stars.

10. When did “Modern Science”
begin?
 He discovered 4 moons orbiting the planet Jupiter.
Jupiter and its moons
as viewed through
Galileo’s telescope

12. When did “Modern Science”
begin?
 Most importantly, he gathered
observational evidence that overturned
widely-held beliefs.

13. The Different Fields of Science
 The Sciences are often divided into “Natural Sciences” and “Social
Sciences” (aka “hard” and “soft” sciences)
 Should all sciences be conducted in the same way?
 How do we determine what counts as a “real science”?

14. Pure Science and Applied Science
 The Sciences can also be categorized as “pure” or “applied”
sciences.
 Pure Science research is done for knowledge’s own sake.
 Applied Science results in useful applications of that knowledge.
 It is important to recognize that although most members of the
public recognize the usefulness of the applied sciences, many of
the technologies we use today would not have been developed
without investing in pure science research.

16. Pure Science and Applied Science
Case Study: From antimatter research to fighting cancer
 In 1928, the theoretical physicist Paul Dirac predicted that every
particle in nature has a corresponding antiparticle – antimatter.
 Experiments using particle accelerators throughout the 20th
century confirmed the existence of antimatter.
 When an antimatter particle meets its matter counterpart, they
are both annihilated, becoming gamma rays.

17. Pure Science and Applied Science
Case Study: From antimatter research to
fighting cancer
 It was discovered that certain types of
radioactive decay produce antimatter particles.
 An application of this knowledge involves
producing a radioactive form of glucose, which
when injected into cancer patients would tend
to accumulate in cancer cells.
 As the antimatter is produced and instantly
annihilated, small amounts of gamma rays are
emitted from the cancer cells.

18. Pure Science and Applied Science
Case Study: From antimatter research to fighting
cancer
 Positron-Emission Tomography (PET) is a sophisticated
scanning technique which maps the emissions of the
gamma rays and builds a 3D image of the tumour.
 Precise knowledge of the position and shape of the
tumour helps surgeons operate on cancer patients with
minimal damage.
 Through early detection of cancer, this technology has
saved countless lives.
 Such a useful and sophisticated application would not
have been possible without the curiosity-driven research
in particle physics.

19. What about Mathematics?
 Math is a tool that is vital to science.
 Pure mathematics is not a science in
itself since it is not based in experiment
and therefore not bound by reality. It
may describe objects or processes that
do not occur in nature.
 The relationship between physics and
mathematics is especially tight.
 “Math is the language of the Universe”
– Neil deGrasse Tyson

20. Characteristics of Science
Scientific conclusions are reliable, though tentative.
 Science does not assume it knows the truth about
the world by deduction alone.
 It must discover this knowledge through hard work;
experimentation.
 Scientists never claim absolute knowledge.

21. Characteristics of Science
Science is not democratic
 If everybody believed the Sun revolved
around the Earth, would that make it
true?
 Scientific knowledge must be testable
and repeatable by other scientists; a
single experiment is not enough.
 Intense scrutiny and criticism within the
scientific community.

22. Characteristics of Science
Science is non-dogmatic
 “Dogma” – principle laid down by an authority as
incontrovertibly true. There are no dogmas in
Science. Everything can be questioned.
 Theories are frequently challenged and improved.
 Nothing in Science needs to be accepted on
Faith.
 Science only needs one assumption:
 Nature has order and works according to fixed laws
 Is this a reasonable assumption ?

24. Characteristics of Science
Science cannot make moral decisions
 No scientific experiment can tell you whether
something is morally right or wrong.
“Scientific knowledge is an enabling power to do
either good or bad — but it does not carry
instructions on how to use it.”
– Richard Feynman
“Science can only ascertain what is, but not
what should be, and outside of its domain value
judgments of all kinds remain necessary.”
– Albert Einstein

25. Characteristics of Science
Science cannot make moral decisions
 Science, however, has a profound influence on our morality; it can
provide us with the necessary information for us to make an informed
decision.
 Some aspects of morality can be studied in a scientific way (e.g.
studying cooperation and altruism in humans and animals).

26. Science and Beauty
“Unweaving the Rainbow”?
 Science is often accused of removing the beauty in nature.
 Poets such as John Keats and William Blake accused Isaac Newton
of destroying the poetry of the rainbow by “reducing it to the
prismatic colours”.
 Famous scientists have responded to this common accusation by
pointing out that discovering true knowledge about the way nature
works only ADDS beauty and wonder to the phenomena of nature.
 Video: Richard Feynman - Beauty

27. “Far more marvellous is
the truth than any artists
of the past imagined it”
– Richard Feynman

28. Science and the Public
The Importance of Scientific Literacy
 Our civilization and culture is based in science and technology.
 Scientific literacy involves having knowledge of basic scientific facts
but more importantly knowing how science works, as well as the
ability to think scientifically.
 Why is it important to ensure that members of the public are
scientifically literate?
 What can be done to increase scientific literacy in the public?

29. Science and the Public