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CRITICAL THINKING APPLIED TO SCIENCE

Here are some concepts that are worth to understand

  • What is science?
  • What is the scientific method?
  • What does it mean to say "scientifically proven"?
  • Lies, damn lies and statistics
  • Why do some people feel so thretaned by evolution theory?
  • Human Evolution
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  11. Education

 

One of the main goals of critical thinking is to assess whether a claim is true or false. But how are we going to do this and how can we be sure that something is true? The definition of truth has been debated by philosphers for centuries. If you check out this wikipedia page on truth, you will find that there are many theories which attempt to to asnwer the question. One of the basic requirements of truth is taht it corresponde to the facts and is supported by objective evidence. But how can we be sure that we are objective when we make a claim? So far the best method known to obtain objective answers is the scientific method. There is a small difference between the concepts of sceince and the scientific method.

1. WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Science is the body of knowldge accumulated through the application of teh scientific method to find answers to our questions about the world. It organises the knowledge and makes use of it. It seeks to explain the events of nature

2. WHAT IS THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD?

The scientific method is a process devised to seek objective answers to our questions. This method follows very specific processes and techniques which aim to ensure that the solutions are reproducible, and universal.

To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry is commonly based on empirical or measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning. Some methods require experiments, whereas others may rely on making conjectures through induction. For eaxmple, I cannot observe the foraging behaviour of the extict dynossaur T. rex, but by comparying the teeth of fossiles with modern living carnivorous reptilies, we could induce that T. rex was probably a carnivore.

One of th emost important rules of the scientic method is that when we create hipothesis to explain a particular phenomenon, the hypothesis should be falsifiable?

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What does it mean to say that an hipothesis is falsifiable?

If I say that all the cows stand on their back legs and walk upright when no human is watching, I need to find a way to determone if this claim is true or false. Before the invention of remote video cameras this hypothesis was unfalsifiable, becuase the simple fact that the cows were under observation of a human, would make them walk like normal cows. But presently thsi hypothesis is falsifiable, becuase I can place video cameras in the fields and if I never saw a cow staing on her hinde legs then can say taht the hypothesis is false.

Determning if an hypothesis is falsifiable or not depends very much one the availabilty of the methods to test it.

If I say that the tooth fairy only shows up when no humans or recording devices are present, is unfalsifiable, therefore this is not a scientific hypothesis.

Scientits seek to formulate hypothesis that can be falsifiable. The role of science it to seek instances taht falsify any hypothesis. If no falsification is found, then there is a good likelyhood that the hypothesis is true and therefore we can accept it. But the thing we science is taht we can only accept it until we find somehing that falsifies the hypothesis. Then we have to change it. This is what makes teh difference between science and dogmatic theories. A dogma is something that doesn't accept change.

For example pyschoanalysis includes a body of theories that are unfalsifiable. Therefoe they are not scientific theories. From this it follows that psychoanalysis is not a science.It is indeed s syetm of dogmatic beliefs taht find no evidential support in science.

 

3. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY "SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN"?

[coming soon]

 

4. LIES, DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS

[coming soon]

 

5. WHY DO SOME PEOPLE FEEL SO THREATNED BY EVOLUTION THEORY?

[coming soon]

 

6. HUMAN EVOLUTION

[coming soon]

10 Most Likely Ways Humans Will Evolve

7. SCIENCE BASED MEDICINE and the other "medicine"

[coming soon]