Philosophy of Science

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

The scientific method is ordinarily defined as objective hypothesis testing through experiment. Open discussion and the replication of findings enhance researchers' confidence. The result of this process is expected to be the reliable prediction of natural phenomena. The advance of science promises further precision and greater reliability in prediction as well as progress in technology and problem solving. The scientist seeks objectivity, to question preconceptions, to follow the evidence. According to the idealized view, he or she must choose reason over emotion, observation over assumption, fact over faith. However, scientists themselves acknowledge that these principles are sometimes honored in that scientists may suffer from bias and presumption. Autonomous reason is a difficult, if not impossible, standard. For example, physicist Albert Einstein has been faulted for his reluctance to abandon his preconceptions to embrace quantum theory.

On the other hand, there are multiple paths to useful knowledge. Even misconceptions can yield novel theories. The imagination can contribute to the development of hypotheses. Insights may come from fantasy and even religious conceptions. Fred Hoyle's steady-state theory of the universe reputedly was inspired by a circular subplot in the 1946 movie “Dead of Night.” Although astronomers have found that the existence of dark matter in the universe contradicts steady-state theory, Hoyle's speculation spurred productive investigation of the origins of the universe. Scientific insight can come from disparate sources, even from the application of metaphor. The source of insight is less important than the next steps: the development and evaluation of hypotheses.

Science sometimes appears to be a linear and cumulative process of discovery; at other times, it is driven by conflict and shaken by radical shifts in understanding. As scientific knowledge expands its domain of reliable prediction, questions previously considered within the jurisdiction of philosophy or theology are claimed by science. For example, Charles Darwin's discoveries helped generate an evolutionary science from the womb of philosophy and theology. However, wide consensus among scientists does not persuade those who insist on the primacy or sufficiency of revelation. Fundamentalists of many religions continue to deny the evidence that human beings evolved from other mammals.

Despite the centrality of quantitative data analysis and hypothesis testing to scientific research, the case study provides a substantial contribution. A rich and detailed examination of a particular case—for example, the behavior of an animal species, the practices of an ethnic community, or the history of a social institution—may illustrate associations and imply causal relations. The case study may serve as an aid to hypothesis construction. One searches for preliminary evidence of patterns. A case study that represents an apparent exception may stimulate refinement of the hypothesis. A contradictory case may undermine the leading hypothesis and require a radical shift in perspective.

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