Is science merely just another philosophy?

Question

In my humble opinion I think that science is merely a social construct theory, in that it is created by humans in our attempts to understand the meaning of life.

Science relys so much on theory and is NOT based in fact, nor does it explain what the 'truth' really is. It could be said that Science is just another branch of philosophy...

What do you think?

I am not a left wing nutcase. I was philosophising...!

I am not anti-intellectual either!

Answer 1

I would tend to agree. Science or the scientific method is a way of looking at things, a way to categorise and catalogue. The aim of science is to analyse things according to their physical, empirical characteristics in order to better be able to manipulate and predict the properties of matter and energy, and thus the physical world around us.

But while science can provide us with causal explanations about why things operate according to certain patterns, it can't provide humans with the value of things. That's where things like poetry, music, art, literature, myth, etc. come into play. Science can't provide you with the 'truth' about human relationships, or about society, or about the human experience.

Answer 2

No, but the application of scientific method may have elements of philosophy in it. Science is a discipline with a method of constantly reviewing itself. I describe science as a process that never ends because what we know now can and will change based upon superior instrumentation that was not available before - a perfect example of this is the Hubble Space Telescope. And when you say "theory" in science it has an entirely different meaning than that from common language usage. In science "theory" means a set of ideas that has been extensively tested. This misunderstanding is commonly used as an argument against evolution when people say that it is "only a theory" - they are completely misunderstanding the meaning of a SCIENTIFIC theory. If you think science is based on theory and not fact, then clearly you also do not understand the meaning of the word "theory" when it comes to science. Without modern science there would be no vaccinations, no brain surgery, no computers, no rocket ships to outer space. Science is very dependent on fact and for you to say otherwise is to show that you do not understand what science is.

Answer 3

Philosophy as a concept and a subject encompasses all of knowledge and all that can be known including the means by which such knowledge can be acquired. The ancient Greeks after the Persians organised the subject into five basic categories: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, politics and aesthetics. This organisation of the subject is still largely in use in philosophy today. So yes science does or can form part of philosophy.

Science works to prove by way or repeatable experimentation, thus it is fact. It does not however profess to explain truth, if in fact it can be explained, because that is down to philosophical bias.

In brief, science is measurable, Philosophy is not necessarily.

Answer 4

Well, I think this is an extreme view. Science has without a doubt taught us more facts about the world around us. That said, science can't occur in a vacuum and is affected by whatever society is transpires in.

So I'd say it is both in and out of the objective, real world.

Stephen Jay Gould:

"Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome."

"In science, fact can only mean confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent"

There are 2 schools of thought:
Realists who argue that science learns progressivel more about an objective external reality.
Relatvists who argue that they history of theories is like the vagaries of fashion and wholly subject to whim and circumstance.

Each side has an essential insight and their marriage provides a workable solution.

Answer 5

Well science and philosophy started as one and then diveged; hence why some physics courses are still called 'natural philosophy'. It's more philosophy having evolved than anything else. At the frontiers of science we often find ourselfs asking deeply philosical questions.

Lastly science IS largely based on fact e.g. Darwin looked at differn't finches on the Galapogas (which are still there if you wana go and check) or consider wave-particle duality: go and use a light bulb and a piece of card with a double slit in it yourself

Answer 6

Your opinion is not too humble and is extraneous to this debate. Science is a method, not an institution and this method, through evolutionary biology, has totally refuted the " social constructionist " position. So, what position is left for you to argue from? I suggest you stop reading those post-modern, relativistic fools and start getting a true education. That is what truth really is.

Answer 7

Science is based on fact, a scientific theory has to be proven and documented. Science is not a Philosophy.

Answer 8

I think you are totally WRONG.

It's extremely important to western civilization that we don't allow anti intellectual left wing nutcases to undermine the good work of the scientific enlightenment by relegating science to just another social construct.

Science is empirical. It is centred on factual observation and relies on logic and reason, not opinion, emotion or political bias.

Edit: Alison let me elaborate on my left wing nut case point....there are people who want to claim that all beliefs are equally valid and that if a culture wants to believe that the universe came out of a donkey's bottom then that is as equally valid as a scientific explanantion. I think it's anti intellectual to put science in the same category as religions or other philosophies.

Answer 9

looks such as you're being fed a %. of lies approximately technology by making use of somebody or some team. we ought to have sturdy strategies of determining what's actual and the scientific approach does that by making use of requiring that any theory, concept, hypothesis, concept, in spite of be ordinary by making use of checks, by making use of many human beings and multiple situations. If the hypothesis survives the checks it may grow to be an theory, it relatively is a real looking rationalization of why issues behave the way they do. If it fails then the hypothesis must be revised and/or extra observations must be made. ordinary hypothesis could additionally grow to be a scientific regulation, it relatively is a fashion of predicting what's going to take place. maximum regulations tend to be mathematical formulation, while theories tend to be expressed in a scientific language. Now the way the observe "concept" is utilized in technology is the comparable way which you employ the observe "fact". Darwin's concept of Evolution is a fact, for example. All theories are fashions of actuality and on no account at a loss for words with actuality. you're at a loss for words to think of that fact is approximately some ultimate actuality or that know-how and information are some ultimate actuality. the fee of the scientific approach is that it particularly is clever. ideals that would no longer be ordinary are valueless as a source of fact or information.

Answer 10

I think you are correct.

Science is defined as:
1. a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws.

or

2. systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.

Philosphy is:
1. the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.

or

2. the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, esp. with a view to improving or reconstituting them.

Both science and philosophy are the same in that they study facts, truths, and principles in order to find a greater meaning. What makes science a branch of philosopy is that science stresses the observation and experimentation of the physical and material world, where philosphy is a broader search for knowledge in all areas.