Science is a methodical approach to the study of the natural world. Most of the questions related to the existence of the world, the past, and future are answered using the observational methods ("The nature if science and the scientific method", 2016). Science not only reflects the truth, but it allows understanding what the most correct fact with the evidence itself is.
Scientists test all their nature explanations using experiments, observations, and mathematical models; though the scientific methods tend to change and the confirmation is done through observations and experiments only ("The nature if science and the scientific method", 2016). When the scientists get new experimental evidence, they change their ideas about nature and this is a repetitive cycle. Different scientists conclude different experiments and draw different conclusions as well. Scientists always acknowledge the conflict and try to find the evidence that can resolve the disagreement.
The observations and the experiments must be verified from the other individuals. Scientists use the scientific methods or experiments in order to collect the evidence in that. Any experiment or scientific method needs a proper observation of the event or problem. Clear observations always lead to the curiosity to know more answers of the questions. The observation and the experimentation are the part of a complete scientific method. In other words, a scientific method can be performed as follows –
Observation of a subject
Making the hypothesis based on the observation
Making predictions about the hypothesis
Testing the predictions through experiments
Summarizing the conclusion based on the experimental results
The traditions of science are a contribution of a number of individuals. They are being practiced by different individuals in varied cultures. It was difficult for scientists in earlier times to reach the conclusions that we presently take for granted.
A scientific revolution occurred in the beginning of the 17th century (Shuttleworth, 2016). Some drastic changes were seen in science that was evidenced in the European approach. The ideas in the world completely changed to the new era of revolution. During this period, the scientific philosophy was demolished as they are replaced by the new methods of Newton, Galileo and some of the other well-known researchers and scientists. According to Francis Bacon, the theory of empiricism was invalid and he preferred to use inductive reasoning. It is the method where common procedures are used to explain similar procedures and principles. On the other hand, Galileo said that performing experiments should not only result in information, but they should also form a basis of theory to test the success of the testing method.
The methods of experimentation and observation were validated properly and the importance of God was invalidated for science. Science itself gained its own validation. The old idea of science was changed as the scientists and researchers of the 17th century were able to collaborate with the astronomical and mathematical community members, and they also realized that their current methods of experimentation were invalid, so a need to revise their methods was needed. Another reason was that science was validated by the British Royal Society as an area for the work done by the scientists.
The changes in the medieval period were not implemented immediately and they did not create the experimental methods that are used today. All the new changes and the ideas was a step forward to the era of today’s time and it was a revolution in its own.
There were only a few European academics that considered themselves as scientists at the beginning of the scientific revolution. They were casually known as the natural philosopher and this was the reason that most of the experiments and observations were carried out in terms of philosophy and not in terms of science.
Teleology and empiricism existed in the past and were used by the natural philosophers. Empiricism theory refers to the fact that reality is what one experiences, whereas, teleology is the study that describes things in terms of their purpose. Teleology was based on the terms of God that if something is happening, then it is the God’s will. This concept did not allow the philosophers to gather facts and write hypothesis based on them though these concepts became the building stones of the experimentation and observations at the beginning of the 17th century which was the start of the new scientific revolution. There were some of the philosophers that felt the need of a controlled observation and experimentation for a conclusion that is theoretical. But these philosophers were unable to use the correct experimental methods to prove their work.
Aristotle contributed the concept of experiments and observations to science. He applied his methods to everything and he observed over 500 species to study the natural world. The methods suggested by him were based on the findings of others on a particular subject.
The Muslim philosophers of Al-Andalus and Baghdad have also contributed a great part to the history of science. They used the knowledge of the Greeks and Aristotle to make their own study more powerful. One of the great Islamic scholars, Ibn al-Haytham said that controlled experimentation and observation is necessary to discover a new knowledge.
Gregor Mendel started his observations on plant genetics in the 1800s and he was the only middle-aged European monk working on this in the abbey garden. After 150 years, the laboratories related to the plant genetics were much more diverse and advanced with latest techniques equipped.
When J.J. Thomson started working and discovered the electron – the new particle of matter, his lab consisted of simple wiring and few vacuum tubes only. And 100 years later, the scientists who researched upon the new particles like Higgs boson used a 17-mile long machine that costs millions of dollars and the output was to be analyzed by the most powerful computer. Science has seen great innovations in the past several decades. Now the scientists have more advanced equipment and machines to do their experiment, which was not possible 150 years back. The breadth and depth of knowledge have increased among the scientists than the past.
The methods of experimentation and observation developed by Bacon and Newton are the main drivers of the scientific history. Science started to move slowly from their ideas and developed into a separate form of study for the scientists of the present world. The scientific methods began to split between different categories of physics, chemistry and biology.
In the past, the knowledge and advice were passed from generation to generation using an oral method of tradition. Many civilizations in the past collected the information related to the astronomy through simple methods of observation as they do not have knowledge of the real structure of the universe. For example, the evidence of archeology shows the development of astronomical knowledge in the societies of the preliterate. But today, the internet has enabled the results of the scientific experiments to be published more easily in the form of journals. This quick distribution of work has sped up the scientific research as well. The flow of information is more easily and quickly captured by the journalists as they publicize the information to the public as quickly as possible. This has made the information related to science to be quickly available on the internet which was not possible in the past.
The scientists of today try to narrow their research and finding, unlike Charles Darwin, a great researcher of the 1800s who studied every concept related to the geology, to the emotions of humans, to botany and to ecology. It does not mean that the scientists of today do not want to take an interest in a wide range of areas; it’s only that they have vast knowledge and want to use this to expertise in a particular research area. Due to this, the present scientists are more specialized than their predecessors.
Unlike the past, scientists are more interested in working in larger teams rather than working alone. Even the data of the larger projects are published on the internet for anyone to use that for further investigation and observation.
Another major difference between the past and the present methods of experimentation and observation is that the scientists in the past did not use any safety precautions before testing or before making an experiment. They were not limited by any environmental impact on their experiments. The radiation study by Marie and Pierre Curie performed in the 1890s was carried out without any safety precaution and even if the scientists of today want to study the research notes of that time, they must sign a risk document. There are regulations and policies of the government of such studies today, but there were no rules in the past for the safety of any scientific research.
The nature of methods of experiments and observation from the 18th century to the 20th century has changed by replacing the false beliefs by true theories. The scientific methods are considered to be fundamental to the present science and the scientists consider the earlier research to nature as pre-scientific.
The main feature of the scientific revolution is that how much of the scientific research has changed over the past and how easily and quickly the various thoughts of different researchers and philosophers have formed to an experimental method in order to be used by the scientists, researchers, and philosophers of today. The current methods of experiments have used the Francis Bacon’s experiments in a controlled environment, Galileo’s focus on the integration of laws from various disciplines in order to reach the conclusion and Newton’s theory that concludes that the success of current method validates the next in queue.
It is true that the Greeks were the first to start the methods of experimentation and observation, but their results were not valid as they did not follow their own advice. Even Bacon failed once in controlling his experiments and using less mathematical proof. The ideas of the scientists of the past are more prone to invalid logics and an uncontrolled environment for experiments.
There is no doubt that science has done immensely great and proven work in the 21st century. The scientific methods performed today in large laboratories are completely different than the research done in the past.
The history of scientific revolution has established science as a growth of knowledge. A number of advances in knowledge and technology have complemented each other in different ways. The scientific methods have evolved over the years using the advances in the technology. The major role in the success of scientists in sharing their information with the outside world is played by the Internet. The vast knowledge of the scientists of today has made them specialize in the varied disciplines by keeping in mind the safety and the protection of the environment, including the protection of the participants of the scientific research as well. This has led to new opportunities and new concerns for the scientific research.
References
The nature of science and the scientific method. (2016). Retrieved 2 April 2016, from
http://www.geosociety.org/educate/NatureScience.pdf
Shuttleworth, M. (2016). History of the Scientific Method - How Science Became
Important. Explorable.com. Retrieved 2 April 2016, from https://explorable.com/history-of-the-scientific-method
