GE 7 Midterms

• Acquiring and validating information


  1. Systematic body of knowledge

  2. Solve Problems
• Why do we have problems? What is the bottom line (root) of us having problems? iMPeRfEctiOn. More often we make wrong choices, wrong decisions...
• Genesis 1:1: '"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."'
• Genesis 1:25: '"And God saw that it was good."'
• It was perfect in every way, for God does not make any mistakes.
• Genesis 3 (The Fall): 'Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;'
• Alternative ways in solving problems

  • Tradition
  • Logic
  • Consulting Authorities
  • Trial and Error
  • Experience
• Tradition


  • Not validated or too sensitive to be validated. More often associated with religion.
• Logic


  Proper or reasonable way of thinking about something
• Logic


  • General → Specific Case :Deductive
  • Inductive: General ← Specific Case
  • Logic is considered to be a precursor of science. It has given science the ability to sequentially organize the "thought" processes.
  • For logic to "work", it will need to have valid premises for a solution to be thought of.
  • False premises will lead to a FALLACY
  • Science goes beyond logic by validating the premises.
• Consulting Authorities


  • The solutions of given by authorities are influenced by their personal biases.
• Trial and Error


  • Science when facing a blank wall uses trial and error hoping to get the solution by chance.
  • Example: DNA Model by Watson and Crick
  • High element of chance or uncertainty. The solution may take some time to be discovered.
• Experience


  • Experience is case specific. The solution based on experience may not work in a different time or situation.
  • Science moves from a specific case to something that can be generalized.
• Scientific Method


  1. Observation and experimentation

  2. Instrumentation and instrumental techniques

  3. Theoretical analysis and model building

  4. Theory construction and validation

  5. Paradigm development and integration
• Aristotle, regarded as the father of science, was the first to realize the importance of empirical measurement, believing that knowledge could only be gained by building upon what is already known.
• Measurement and observation, the foundations upon which science is built, were Aristotle's contribution. He proposed the idea of induction as a tool for gaining knowledge, and and understood that abstract thought and reasoning must be supported by real world findings.
• Comparison of Alchemy and Modern Chemistry/Physics

  • Alchemy (medieval Europe): Confusion of practices and ungrounded theory
  • Modern Chemistry and Physics (Europe): Empirically grounded theory of nature
• Science can only achieve "near truths" but NEVER the ABSOLUTE TRUTHS
• Silliman University believes that there is an ABSOLUTE TRUTH
• John 14:6: 'Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."'
• Scientific Method Stages


  1. Observation

  2. Problem

  3. Hypothesis

  4. Hypothesis Testing/Validation

  5. Conclusion

  6. Further Testing

  7. Generalization
• We ACCEPT the HYPOTHESIS as VALID IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO INVALIDATE IT
• Limitations of Science: It CANNOT be used to prove the existence of God, Limited by instrumentation or the ability to make observations/measurements, Limited by practicality, Limited by ethics, Science cannot be used to make moral and aesthetic judgement
• Moral Judgement


  Determining what is right or wrong. Making judgement is "subjective" - dependent on the appreciation of information by the "judge". Science can be used to provide validated information for an individual to pass moral judgement.
• Aesthetics Judgement


  Determining what is beautiful or ugly. Making aesthetics judgement is "subjective" - beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
• Science grows vertically, new sciences will build upon previous sciences. If we limit science on what it can pursue... new sciences may not have a good foundation to build upon.
• Who can pursue science, How one can pursue science, Who can use the products of science should be limited.
• Types of Research


  • Basic Research - to determine or establish fundamental facts and relationships within a discipline or field of study.
  • Taxonomic studies & Genome studies
  • Applied Research - undertaken specifically for the purpose of obtaining information to help resolve a particular problem.
  • Pollution monitoring studies & Sensitivity/Efficacy studies
• The main distinction between BASIC and APPLIED research is the immediate and practical application. It is also important to note that both BASIC and APPLIED research CANNOT immediately solve problems.
• Technology


  The application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life or, to the change and manipulation of the human environment.
• Technology is the application of knowledge for achieving practical goals in a reproducible way.
• Creativity is what helps us think beyond limits; limits that are often self-imposed. There are specific skills like assumption busting, assumption reversals, problem reframing, and more to help you learn to think outside the box.
• Francis Bacon: '"He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator."'
• Albert Einstein: '"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."'
• Technology


  The word technology comes from two Greek words, transliterated techne and logos. Techne means art, skill, craft, or the way, manner, or means by which a thing is gained. Logos means word, the utterance by which inward thought is expressed, a saying, or an expression.
• Technology is about taking action to meet a human need rather than merely understanding the workings of the natural world, which is the goal of science. It uses much more than scientific knowledge and includes values as much as facts, practical craft knowledge as much as theoretical knowledge.
• Nicolaus Copernicus ("theoretician", natural philosopher)
• Tycho Brahe - Precise instrumental observations to verify the model.
• Galileo Galilei (pioneered quantitative experiments whose results could be generalized in mathematical expression); Scientific laws generalized from experiment
• 1. Galileo Galilei (pioneered quantitative experiments whose results could be generalized in mathematical expression)

  • Scientific laws generalized from experiment