Does science tell us true things?

Question

Does it define ..truth? Or does it continually change?

Answer 1

In science, there are rarely absolutes. They observe something, and draw conclusions that have varying degrees of certainty.

For over 1000 years, the "scientists" of the world believed the sun revolved around the earth. That was the observation, and they were absolutely sure they were right.

For decades scientists believed nothing traveled faster than the speed of light. Now they know this is false.

God declares that His word is truth. Only in Him do we find truth as an absolute.

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Answer 2

The only thing that continually changes is people, science never changes, it stays the same, it is there to make sense of things that were so falsely put into our heads that were untrue (IE: creation theory of the bible where it says the world is only a few thousand years old where just a year ago, there was a human skull that carbon dated back 7,000,000 years ago) it also proved the bible theory that world was flat out of the ball park since it is obviously NOT flat, oh wait, that was taken OUT of the bible and RE-WRITTEN to be "caught up" in terms of the world which is so rightfully round, as is the world NOT the center of the universe but the SUN the center of the galaxy of which the Earth is part of.

If anything changes, the bible has changes SO MANY times it is far from believable anymore. Someone mentioned god staying the same yesterday and today? What malarkey! Back in the day, he was a god that would toss you in hell without a second thought, remember those days? Of course not, because everyone who was told of the bible has had the soft version of the loving, caring god that forgives and forgets, no one ever remembers how he used to be in those days where he'd smite you to hell in the second you did something "wrong"

Answer 3

Science is just another way to understand the world. The goal of science is to predict future phenomena based on data gathered from previous events. For example: Based on observations, scientist created a formula to calculate speed S=d/t (speed=distance/time).
However, this is not an absolute truth, it is only a model. Many times scientific theories and models have become outdated and replaced by more accurate models and theories. For example, a few hundred years ago, scientists didn't know if light was a particle or a wave (it had properties for both). Both models became obsolete when a model that proposed that light was a particle, that moves in wave patterns was proposed.
Science is continually changing to more accurate models and theories, but think of it as an upgrade, not a complete change.

Answer 4

Ok... let me put this out there - i believe in evolution, and i do genuinely love science. I thing it is truly the most useful discipline and tool that mankind has come up with during its stay on this mudball we call Earth.

With that said, it doesn't define truth. Not in the least. Niehls Bohr and Werner Heisenberg gave us the Copenhagen statement regarding quantumn mechanics.

"There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about nature."

Read As: When we "do" science, were not really accurately describing Reality, but about our means of structuring knowledge about reality.

We're never totally sure/absolutely certain that the natural laws we come up with aren't subsections that occur within a greater bandwidth of possibility.

But then again, Science never demanded Certainty - Descartes did. One of the places where Philosophers and Scientists part ways...

Answer 5

Science does not define truth. That job is for the philosophers. But science does give us plenty of facts, and does a lot of interpreting from those facts, which they call theories.

A theory is not just a speculation, although it may start from that. A theory is the scientist's best attempt to fit together the various facts at his command and predict those he doesn't have. Then he will perform research to determine whether his prediction of those missing facts are accurate. It's a long process involving lots of scientists, and so they review and read one another's work constantly. Anyone with a Ph.D. in a research-oriented science (that is, science rather than technology or therapy) is constantly being asked to give peer reviews of other people's work and submit reports of his studies for peer review. And they do check out the tiniest details, believe me!

It is a process that works remarkably well, and gives us the best chance to see a gradually emerging truth.

Answer 6

Well, if people with a certain worldview can define what science means, then science might not always be the truth. For instance there may be two hypothesis which are not ever able to be truly falsifiable, and therefore not science, but one is accepted simply because of the current definition. But people who are in favor of that current definition have a really hard time seeing outside of that box.

Answer 7

Science provides understanding of facts, which are things existing or proven. Unlike religion, science is willing to change when evidence proves that current theories are incorrect. The truth, whatever it is, does not change. Our understanding of what it is can change.
It must also be understood that the word "theory," when used in science, does not just mean, "hey, I've got an idea."

Answer 8

It doesn't define truth. That's not really necessary is it? Truth is what's real though, I'm afraid it does go that far and if that contradicts someone's heartfelt beliefs, well tough luck.

Yes science changes, many theists come on here and say it can't be trusted because it does, but if you have a body of knowledge that is altered, corrected and improved constantly it is bound to change.

I asked a question about it yesterday.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjpLndRKomS7no9mR0I3OKTsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071002103627AALLBLj

Answer 9

Science evolves our knowledge of the truth in an organic process of building continually upon previous knowledge about physical existence. Truth is one and unlimited, and we cannot know it in its entirety at one time ever. Science is limited by human ability to conceive and perceive and by the technology it invents to aid its conceptions and perceptions. Science will always be a process in the works and not a finished product. Anyone who thinks science now knows all there is to know lives in delusion. Ideally science evolves truth as an end in itself. However, the reality is that research is expensive and is therefore is mostly commercially funded and serves the interests of those who fund it.

Answer 10

Most of the time discovery of one scientist in unknown field of science is rejected by the later scientists.

They tell truth when they dicover the real truth.

Newton discovered Laws of Motion, Fraday discovered how to produce electricity. Some one discovered that water keeps its level perfect. Earth has gravity that helps people build walls of houses perpendicular to the center of earth.
Job of Heart is to supply blood to every cell of body.