Rise of the science and the scientific method

• The Renaissance and Enlightenment periods saw a great change in scientific thinking
• Science became a discipline in itself, independent of religious ideas, based on:

  • an empirical approach: every scientific hypothesis arose out of evidence that came from experiments or observation
  • a rationalist approach: the use of reason was needed to interpret the evidence
• What are the two distinctive approaches to gaining knowledge in science today?

  The deductive and inductive approach
• The deductive approach works from the general (a theory) to the specific (the observations)

  If the premises that lead to the conclusion are true, then there is certainty that the theory is true
• The inductive approach works from the specific (observations) to the general (a theory)

  The more evidence there is to suggest that the observations are correct, the more likely it is that the theory will be true. This approach leads to probability, not absolute certainty
• Inductive approach involves:

  • observing and collective evidence
  • coming up with a hypothesis based on examination of the evidence
  • repeated testing and maybe modification of the hypothesis
  • developing a theory that explains both evidence and results
  • using deduction to predict what should be the case and setting up tests to verify or falsify the theory