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What status do you give science?

Posted by amrhima • 6/07/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: philosophy, philosophy of science, science

Does scientific data = truth? Or is it a way to interpret truth and there could be other alternativs? Others think that the belief in science is not even justified.

I myself think it is a complicated subject to see whether a scientific theory fails or succeeds, but for those that do succeed they are mere interpretations and approximations of truth and there could another interpretation.

What do you think?

User Comments

6/07/09

nothingprofound

Is science "true"? That depends on your definition of truth. What seems certain is that science "works." Its practical applications have been proven beyond any reasonable doubt. But when the scientists start theorizing about the origin of the universe and the nature of Time and Space and causality, they have entered the realm of myth. And I don't think their explanations will turn out to be any more provable than those one finds in the Bible or any other cosmological text.

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6/07/09

alexfreshalex

Well all I know is that data on its own does not equal truth by it self, its the information you draw from it that makes truths or facts.

And I personally think that we never know wat man has not discovered yet, so its good to believe that unbelievable things may exist.

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6/07/09

MissSuzie

I don't know for sure, but I do know if I think about it too hard, it makes my head hurt.

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6/07/09

Agit8r

the world is flat, right?

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1. 6/07/09
  
  MissSuzie
  
  For the most part, but there are slight bends and curves here and there.
6/07/09

nothingprofound

But there's nothing flat at the London escort service.

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1. 6/07/09
  
  MissSuzie
  
  Haha!
6/07/09

Rivy

I go with science. Provable knowledge. Usable facts that will get me there. True, after death I may find a spiritual universe. Awareness that transcends all. Or I may be zilch. Dead. Period.

But that's not now. Now I am here. And it is science, math, facts, technology that is allowing my to convey my opinion here.

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6/07/09

gerryPlanetEarth

Science is by far the best methodology to search for the truth...Extropolating and interpreting the data scientific methodology produces is difficult and often tragic wrong conclusions and predictions occur that have hurt the human race and Planet Earth...

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6/07/09

harveyavatar

I agree with nothingprofound here...

The scientist seeks the HOW whereas the (realist) philosopher seeks the WHY. Never will the scientist find the whys, only the hows of the whys.

Note: "Why" can have different meanings: the first, satisfies itself with a technical answer, but there is a second more metaphysical WHY : what is the radical reason (cause) it is so? Why are the laws of physics so?

This second WHY does not appear immediately, but you need only start with a simple question and ask yourself why for each answer for science to arrive at a dead end, at the threshold of metaphysics.

In the last analysis, science only describes the world...

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1. 6/07/09
  
  Rivy
  
  "Why" is not exclusive to philosophers. We all ask why? Why do stones fall? Why can birds fly? And animals can't? Why am I here? Why does the sun rise? Why? What? How? The questions come with consciousness.
  We all seek answers. Some are content to accept given answers. Lightning comes from angry gods. Rain can be produced by dancing. Some believe the answers are "out there" beyond knowledge, and can only be received by quiet and meditation. Some say, here's the question. Let's see what we can figure out.
  
  I have two friends with whom this question is debated often. Fortunately with some humor. One finds the answers in Zen and American Indian spiritualism. The other is a "cradle Catholic" (his term). A follower of one faith since birth. And my position is fairly obvious here. The skeptic and iconoclast.
  
  I proposed the following scenario: We three are wanders, travelers, and find ourselves very hungry. Across a wide river we see a healthy patch of natural corn. The problem: how to get there? One prays sincerely, asks God to part the waters as He did for Moses. Let us cross. The other goes into deep meditation. Searching for the Oneness of All. Space and Time do not exist. No need to cross the river. The corn is also Here. Me? I notice a floating log caught in a swirl near the bank. I think...hmmm?....maybe if I waded out to the log, held on and pushed by kicking my legs, I might make it across.
  
  My faith is I will have my ear of corn before either of my friend do.
  
  Oh, well...life wouldn't be fun if we knew all the answers.
2. 6/07/09
  
  harveyavatar
  
  @Rivy,
  
  Nice story and thoughts.
  
  The scientific WHY you speak of is not a radical WHY. Science focusses on matter and quantity, enlarging only what it knows, thus quantity, never quality.
  
  Becoming is only intelligible in the light of being. Becoming is the HOW and being is the WHY. It is not through becoming that one can hope to reach SUBSTANCE (the answer to the question what is being as being).
6/07/09

Qaisar

a big status in our world

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6/07/09

Agit8r

maybe they are really lying to us, to control our minds O_o

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6/07/09

dosox

Science is a concept constructed by individuals. So it is a mere thinking mixed with innovation.

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