I think that what we could call the "scientific method" was born when
Thales of Milete, Anaximenes and Anaximander rejected religious myths
and looked for rational explanations for natural phenomena (such as
earthquakes) 2500 years ago. Not everybody was happy with this idea,
which was perceived as undermining the authority of the Greek city
states. Remember that Plato prescribed a religion based on myths to
keep the hoi polloi under control, while the intellectuals should turn
to his "astral" form of religion.
So what has changed? People still object to the idea of evolution, the
idea that certain viruses cause disease, the observation that CO2
released into the atmosphere causes climatic change, etc.
Alexander Hellemans
On Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:08 +0100, "Francis Sedgemore"
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Quite. It is one example among many of
I-like-what-I-know-positivism, and I would hazard from someone
who has never bothered to acquaint themselves with the tenets of
that antiquated and mind-numbingly dull philosophical school.
If philosophers of science have yet to come up with a single,
convincing, overarching definition of 'scientific method',
perhaps it is because there is no such thing. That much
Feyerabend taught us (a philosopher name-dropped by many and read
by few).
Francis
On 02/09/2011 13:44, Oli Usher wrote:
This is pretty poor even by the generally laughable
definitions of 'scientific method' that scientists tend to
come up with. I take major issue with all five points.
--
Dr Francis Sedgemore
journalist and science writer
[1]www.sedgemore.com
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