Lecture #2 Science As a Way of Knowing

Lecture #2—Science as a way of knowing

You need to be able to define the terms and concepts below. You must be able to explain what is meant by the term or concept and give a clear example. All definitions must be followed by an example to get full credit.

Define these Terms/Concepts:

Science Scientific Method = Hypothetico-Deductive Method Hypothesis Scientific Theory Law of Parsimony = Occam’s Razor Consilience John Watson & Francis Crick Rosalind Franklin Deductive Reasoning Inductive Reasoning Science is self-correcting

Can you answer the following questions?

1. The title of the lecture is called “Science as a Way of Knowing” what is meant by this?

2. Science is said to be self-correcting. What does this mean?

Explain your reasoning with a clear example.

3. Give examples where deductive and inductive reasoning were used in the development of the Asteroid Hypothesis.

4. Explain how the concept of consilience played a role in the development of the Asteroid Hypothesis. Please give examples.

5. Compare and contrast the concepts of hypothesis vs. scientific theory.

6. Describe the Asteroid Hypothesis. How we grade.

What makes a good definition? It is important to understand that a good definition for a student who is in the third grade is not the same as one we expect for a college student. It is not that a third grade answer is wrong, but it might not receive full credit in a Bio200 exam because we expect more sophistication from the college student. Be sure you answer with sufficient detail and use plenty of examples. Here is a typical question for a Bio200 exam and the grading of the answers.

Define the term science (5 pts. Notice that this is a 5 point question with a lot of space to answer indicating that significant detail and sophistication is required.) Look at these answers and the grading involved.

Answer #1= Science is the study of the world (Too vague. No examples. Zero points)

Answer # 2= Science is a way of knowing. (Too vague and limited. Art is also a way of knowing but it is not science. No examples provided. Zero points)

Answer # 3 = Science is the study of chemistry, physics and biology. (Too limited in scope. These are examples not a general definition. (2 points).

Answer #4 = Science is the study of the natural world and how it works using natural (not supernatural) explanations). (Good start but lacks examples. (3 points).

Answer #5 = Science is the study of the natural world and how it works using natural (not supernatural) explanations. For example, we explain how an enzyme functions using terms and principles of chemistry not the actions of ghosts or miracles. (Good job but there is more to it. Recall that science is not just facts and principles but also a way of attacking a problem. (4 points).

Answer #6 = Science is the study of the natural world and how it works using natural (not supernatural) explanations. For example, we explain how the heart functions in terms of physical principles of blood flow, muscle contraction, etc. and electrical depolarization of membranes, etc. not by invoking miracles and spirits of the flesh. Science is also a method of attacking and solving questions about the natural world by posing hypotheses, making predictions and testing them to determine their validity. (Good answer and deserves full credit—5 pts. But realize, if this were a course in philosophy of science, this answer would still need much more sophistication and detail.)

Answer # 7 There are two parts to defining science. The first is that it is a collection of natural facts about the world; this is the subject matter of chemistry, physics, geology, astronomy, and biology. The second is that it is a way of discovering these facts and principles using the so called scientific method where questions are posed, hypotheses suggested, predictions and tests are made to determine if the hypotheses appear to be correct. An example is the approach used by the investigators attacking the question of what killed the dinosaurs and the asteroid hypothesis. (This is another good answer and would receive full credit. 5 pts.)