What is Scientific Temper?

Soumitro Banerjee∗

FUNDAMENTAL DUTY of all Indian cit- society. That is why it has to be learned. Aizens, as enshrined in Article 51A(h) of And in that process one has to shake off the Constitution of India, is “to develop the the wrong ideas and prejudices that one scientific temper, humanism and the spirit inherits from the society. of inquiry and reform.” The ‘Science, Tech- Physics studies the general properties of nology, and Innovation Policy–2013’ also matter and the laws governing the inter- declares as one of its objectives “promoting action between bodies. Chemistry studies the spread of scientific temper amongst all the particular properties of matter and the sections of society.” Yet, we are currently laws governing interaction between specific seeing attempts from various quarters to atoms and molecules. Biology studies the promote and propagate ideas that run properties of and interactions among living counter to scientific temper. That is why matter. These are particular branches of one of the main demands of the ‘India science. If you leave out the particularities March for Science’ was to stop propagation studied by these branches of science, what of unscientific and obscurantist ideas and remains? It is that science asks questions to develop scientific temper, in conformance about different forms of matter and its mo- with the Article 51A of the Constitution. tion, and seeks answers to those questions But the problem is, most people do not following well defined procedures. have a proper understanding of the term. Everybody faces different questions in It is not taught at any stage of the edu- their lives. If one adopts the method cation system. Using this loophole, anti- followed by science to obtain the answers science forces are spreading various shades to his or her own questions, that reflects of unscientific beliefs, while at the same a scientific bent of mind. And then one time speaking eloquent about the need for has to conduct one’s life conscientiously scientific temper. The purpose of this article adhering to the truths found this way, and is therefore to clarify the issue, to explain by systematically weeding out the unscien- what constitutes a scientific bent of mind. tific notions and beliefs that one may have Going through our education system, inherited from the society. In fact, this most people get the impression that science can be taken as the process of developing is just a collection of different subjects like scientific temper. physics, chemistry, zoology, botany, etc. It Therefore, to develop scientific temper, is definitely not so. Science is a way of one has to understand how science teaches thinking—a way that is completely different us to think. from the prevalent modes of thinking in our The dominant mode of thinking prevailing in our society is to believe and not to ∗Dr. Banerjee is a professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Kolkata and is the question. Ideas and notions that have General Secretary of Breakthrough Science Society . been believed by people around us for

28 Breakthrough, Vol.19, No. 4, November 2017 General Article generations are generally believed without a theory passes such a test, scientists keep question. In contrast, science teaches us on checking and rechecking it in different to question everything and not to believe conditions. If one finds a situation where anything without evidence. This calls for a theory does not give satisfactory results, a drastic change in the way we are used to that indicates the need for a new theory. thinking. That is why, in science there is no plu- People naturally have questions in their rality of truths. On every question there minds. But what is the right way of is one correct answer. If many answers seeking answers to these questions? In are proposed by different scientists, the ancient times, each individual would think objective tests will eliminate the wrong and speculate on a question at hand and ones and the remaining one will be the would arrive at some answer. That would correct answer. It is also possible that the be the answer for him. Another person experimental or observational tests might could speculate on the same question and contradict all the theories proposed up to might arrive at a different answer. Thus, on that point of time. In that case scientists any question, there could be a number of would realize that an entirely new theory is possible answers. Most people would trust needed to explain the observations. When the wisdom of this or that man and tend to such a theory is proposed, scientists would believe in his view of the world or events. again perform tests to check if that one Thus, there would be plural answers to gives the correct answer. That is how sci- every question, and there would be several ence works: progressively approaching the schools of thought. Most importantly, correct answer to every question, checking nobody bothered to check if an idea was against objective reality at every step of the right or wrong. This mode of thinking is process. called ‘subjective’ thinking. What do we learn from all this? Scientific In contrast, Galileo introduced a new bent of mind implies thinking in an objec- method of thinking that considered the pos- tive way. Faced any question, a person with sibility that one’s ideas could be wrong, and scientific bent of mind would not believe therefore every idea has to be tested against outright in what other people say. He may reality. The way to test the correctness of speculate, let his imagination soar but even any idea, according to him, was through then would be inspired to seek evidence, observation and experiment. This way of and would believe in an idea only when thinking is called ‘objective thinking’. he or she finds evidence in support of it. Science believes in objective thinking. All the while he would keep his mind open That is why, in science every idea has to to the possibility that his own ideas may be tested. An idea is accepted only when be wrong, and would keep checking and it passes all the tests. In science nothing rechecking. is accepted without evidence. The role If one says that the Vedic rishis flew of the person who is doing the thinking— in aircraft seven thousand years back, a the subject—is secondary, while that of the person with scientific temper would simply material world—the object—is primary. demand evidence, possibly in the form of In science there is no infallible guru. some broken piece of such a craft in an However eminent a scientist may be, his or archaeological site. If one says that the her idea will not be accepted unless one can Mahabharata war was a historical fact, a obtain evidence in support of it. Even after scientifically minded person would simply

Breakthrough, Vol.19, No. 4, November 2017 29 General Article demand evidence, possibly the remains of with the fact that the material world exists a chariot or a weapon like a gada in the independent of our consciousness. Our archaeological excavations in Kurukshetra task is to try to know it as best as we can, (a town in the state of Haryana). One can following some well defined procedure that multiply examples, but the main point is avoids the pitfalls of subjective thinking. that a person with scientific temper would One of the basic stepping stones of demand evidence before believing anything. science is the law of causality: the un- Now let us come to another aspect. derstanding that behind every event there There are two major lines of philosophical must be a cause. Much of science is thought—idealism and materialism. Ma- directed towards trying to find the causes terialism says that the world is made of behind different events or phenomena. matter, and that there is nothing supra- Therefore, one of the stepping stones of matter in the material world. From that scientific temper is also the understanding perspective, a materialist directs all his that nothing happens without a cause. enquiries into the properties of different And a scientifically minded person tries to forms of matter and their interactions. On locate the causes of the events that happen the other hand, idealism believes in the around him. existence of some primordial idea from But where to look for the cause? Here which all matter is born. So an idealist’s comes a major difference between the two queries are directed at that supra-matter major philosophical lines of thought men- entity whose existence he supposes, and tioned earlier. Materialism demands that not at the material world. the cause of an event must be found in Materialists say that mind, thought, etc. the material processes and phenomena, are products of matter. Thought exists while an idealist contends that there may in the human brain, which is a material be a supernatural hand behind the event. entity—a very high form of organization of On this issue science strongly sides with matter. Therefore idea is a product of mat- materialism, because all the cause-and- ter. For the materialist, matter is primary effect relations found by science so far can and idea is secondary. In contrast, the be explained by material processes and idealist would contend that idea is primary phenomena. and matter is secondary. More importantly, Therefore, scientific temper demands that a materialist would maintain that matter whatever events one may encounter in one’s exists independent of our consciousness life, however strange these may appear to while an idealist would say that matter be, the causal explanation must be found exists in our consciousness. According to in material processes and phenomena, not the idealist, matter is what we perceive it to in supernatural intervention. be, while for a materialist, the character of Let us give an example. In the year 1996, matter does not depend on our perception. one day there was a rumour that Ganesha After much debate, science has become idols were drinking milk. Thousands of firmly rooted in the position of materialism. people queued up at temples with pots of All developments in science have resulted milk in hand, and spoonful of milk was from inquiries into the character of differ- found to be disappearing when the spoon ent forms of matter and their interaction. touched the idol’s mouth. For most people That is why a person wishing to acquire a it was a miracle, a chamatkar, which defied scientific bent of mind has to come to terms explanation. How would a person with

30 Breakthrough, Vol.19, No. 4, November 2017 General Article scientific temper approach the issue? he might have to perform some simple He would have to say, “even though I experiments. Through these, he would be cannot immediately figure out how this able to eliminate the wrong guesses and is happening, there must be a material would be able to home on to the correct process causing the disappearance of milk.” explanation. And then he would set about investigating Important is the fact that on the first what is really happening. day he may not be able to provide an explanation. But that should not deter him But how does he investigate? That also from insisting that there must be an ex- must be learned from the way a scientist planation based on material processes and approaches a question. Faced a question, a phenomena. That is the most important scientist first guesses what the underlying element of scientific temper. cause might be. A scientist’s guesses are Many babas and yogis often perform not wild guesses or fanciful imaginations. simple tricks to convince people of their They are firmly rooted in what is already supernatural powers. Mostly these are known regarding the properties of matter. sleight of hand that is difficult to see at Moreover, they must satisfy the initial clues the first go. Professional magicians do that are obtained by first-hand observa- the same thing. The only difference is tion. Such scientific guesses are called that the magician would plainly say that hypotheses. After having formed a few I have fooled you with a trick, while a such hypotheses, the scientist sets about charlatan posing as a god-man would claim testing these, so that the wrong ones can to have supernatural powers. But in both be eliminated. cases the viewer may not be able to catch A person with a scientific approach would the trick. A scientifically minded person also proceed in the same way, by guessing should nevertheless confidently say that at possible explanations. And the guesses there must be a materialistic explanation of would have to satisfy what he already the event. knows about the properties of matter. For example, he might know about the law of Thus, in a nutshell, scientific temper is conservation of matter. So he would argue, nothing but following the same thought if the milk is disappearing from the spoon, process in one’s daily life that a scientist it must be found somewhere else. He might is supposed to follow in his laboratory. One have learned about capillary action that has to practice thinking this way, to make causes liquid to rise in narrow tubes and it one natural style of thinking when faced causes sap to flow to the top of a tree. He with a problem. One acquires scientific might also know that liquids may travel temper when, through practice in daily upwards through porous substances, the life and thinking in a scientific way, it way chalk can absorb ink. So he might becomes part of one’s personality, so that guess some of these processes individually one behaves in a certain manner and one or together may be in action. Then he approaches every issue with a particular has to test his hypotheses. For example, outlook. Scientific temper is a way of life. to test his first guess, he might simply Unfortunately our education system does check if the water flowing into the drain has not train a student to think this way. That turned white, implying that the milk hasn’t is why the cultivation of scientific temper really disappeared; it is actually flowing out has to happen outside the classroom also, of the drain. To test the other guesses, in course of a science movement.2

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