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- 1. Chapter 12
Science
The aim of this tutorial is to help you learn to
identify and evaluate scientific methods and
assumptions.
Copyright © 2021 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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© McGraw-Hill.
What Is This Scientist Thinking as She
Evaluates the Glass Flask?
ERproductions Ltd./Blend Images/Getty Images
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© McGraw-Hill.
What Is Science? 1
• Science rests upon reasoning that moves from
observable, measurable facts to testable explanations
for these facts.
• Scientists discover, observe, and collect facts in a
systematic manner and to explain data relationships
among them.
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© McGraw-Hill.
What Is Science? 2
Modern science has a profound impact on our lives, and
because it is so pervasive, we tend to perceive it as the
natural method for obtaining and testing knowledge about
the world.
• However, we must examine the development of modern science, as
well as the assumptions underlying science.
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Assumptions Underlying Science
Science is the primary way in which the Western culture
perceives and interprets reality.
• However, it is important to keep in mind that science is a system
created by humans and, as such, is based on a particular set of
assumptions.
• These assumptions include empiricism, objectivity, materialism,
predictability, and unity.
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Empiricism, Objectivity, Materialism,
Predictability, and Unity
• Empiricism: Physical senses are the primary source of
knowledge.
• Objectivity: We can observe and study the physical
world without any observer bias.
• Materialism: Everything in the universe is made up of
physical matter.
• Predictability: The universe is composed of
interconnected causal relationships.
• Unity: The universe has an underlying, unified dynamic
structure.
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Limitations of Science
• Despite its obvious strengths, scientific reasoning has
some limitations.
• Empiricism and the use of sensory experience as the
foundation of science limits science to observable,
shared phenomena. Additionally, the basis of science
and the existence of the physical world, cannot be
empirically proven.
• Some philosophers argue that observation alone, no
matter how many times we observe one event to follow
another, cannot logically establish a necessary causal
connectedness between two events
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Belief That There Were Canals on
Mars
World History/Topham/The Image Works StockTrek/Getty Images
Our brain's tendency to impose order on
random data contributed to the belief that
there were canals on Mars.
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© McGraw-Hill.
Religious Belief That Humans Are a
Special Creation
Jim Zuckerman/Corbis/Getty Images
The religious belief that humans are qualitatively different
from other animals is one of the underlying assumptions of
modern science.
Access the text alternative for slide images.
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© McGraw-Hill.
The Scientific Method
The scientific method is a process involving the rigorous,
systematic application of observation and experimentation.
• It involves a series of steps:
• Identifying the problem.
• Developing an initial hypothesis.
• Gathering additional information and refining the hypothesis.
• Testing the hypothesis.
• Evaluating the hypothesis based on the results of testing or
experimentation.
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Drawings of Beaks of Finches
Mary Evans Picture Library/The Image Works
Darwin’s Drawings of Galapagos
Island Finch Beaks.
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© McGraw-Hill.
Evaluating a Scientific Hypothesis
When evaluating a scientific hypothesis, the following
criteria are appropriate:
• Is it relevant to the problem under investigation?
• Is it consistent with well-established theories?
• Is it the simplest explanation for the problem?
• Does it provide a testable and falsifiable explanation of the
problem?
• Can it be used to predict the outcome of similar events?
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Albert Einstein
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
Division [LC-DIG-ggbain-32094]
Albert Einstein raised the
question of whether scientists
should refuse to engage in
potentially destructive
research.
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Distinguishing between Science and
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a body of explanations or hypotheses
that, in an attempt to gain legitimacy, masquerades as
science.
• Unlike science, which uses systematic observation, reasoning, and
testing, pseudoscience is based on emotional appeals, superstition,
and rhetoric.
• Astrology is an example of pseudoscience.
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© McGraw-Hill.
Research Methodology
Research methodology is a systematic approach to
gathering and analyzing information based on established
scientific procedures and techniques.
• One of these methodologies is experimentation.
• Three common types of experimentation are field experiments,
controlled experiments, and single-group (pretest-posttest) experiments.
• These experiments include elements such as independent variables,
dependent variables, and confounding variables and all use
experimental material, the group or class of objects or subjects under
study.
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Evaluating Experimental Designs
Well-designed experiments use the following criteria:
• Unbiased: The experiment has checks or controls to minimize
experimental error.
• Measurement: The measurements used are appropriate and
reliable as well as accurate and precise.
• Replicable: The experiment can be reproduced by other scientists.
• Generalizability: The experimental results can be generalized from
the sample used in the experiment.
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Interpreting Experimental Results
• The results section in a scientific paper provides
information on how the data were analyzed and which
findings were statistically significant.
• Each time an experiment is replicated with a new
sample and significant results are obtained, the
confidence level becomes higher, since the total sample
size tested becomes larger.
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© McGraw-Hill.
Ethical Concerns in Scientific
Experimentation 1
Although scientific experiments may be well designed
and produce significant results, they may be inappropriate
due to their violation of moral and ethical principles and
guidelines.
• Ethical considerations of informed consent, rights, and
nonmaleficence (no harm) are particularly important when dealing
with human subjects.
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Ethical Concerns in Scientific
Experimentation 2
During World War II, Nazi doctors performed unethical
experiments on Jews, prisoners of war, and other
prisoners.
• These activities have also occurred in the United States, such as in
the Tuskegee study.
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Hot or Not? 3
Should pregnant women, or women
who might become pregnant, be
allowed to participate in drug tests?
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Hot or Not? 4
Is it desirable, or even possible,
for science to become value-
neutral?
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Thomas Kuhn and Scientific
Paradigms
In his work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962),
American physicist and science historian Thomas Kuhn
(1922 to 1996) challenged the idea that science is
progressive and objective.
• Instead he argued that science, like other human enterprises, is a
social construct—a product of its society.
• As such, it is biased by social expectations and professional norms that
determine what is acceptable in terms of hypotheses.
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Normal Science and Paradigms
Thomas Kuhn argued in favor of three key concepts:
normal science, paradigms, and scientific revolutions.
• Normal science refers to "research based upon one or more past
achievements," while paradigms, building on normal science,
provide an accepted view of the world.
• A scientific revolution, or paradigm shift, occurs when a new
scientific theory is developed to replace a problematic paradigm.
• Einstein’s theory of relativity is an example of a paradigm shift.
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Continental-Drift Theory
D’Arco Editori/De Agostini Picture Library/Getty Images
It wasn’t until years later that
continental-drift theory, which
had been proposed as early as
1912 by Alfred Wegener,
became accepted by the
scientific community.
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Conclusions
Science and scientific thinking has generated enormous
benefit to humanity. However, as critical thinkers we must
be aware of its limitations, the temptations of
pseudoscience, and the possibilities of other explanations
for phenomena. We must use evaluative criteria when
considering scientific reasoning and recognize that new
ideas may hold answers to questions that existing
paradigms cannot resolve.
