Q)Highlight the characteristics of scientific knowledge.
Ans)Endeavors of science enrich the body of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is never at a standstill. It is a dynamic and an ongoing process. It is an ever growing enterprise which will never end. This is because, in science, there is no single ultimate truth to be achieved after which all scientists can retire. A remarkable feature of scientific knowledge is that it is never complete. The more we add to this knowledge the more questions arise about the unknown mysteries of nature. New information is thus continuously gathered, New theories arise if new facts cannot be explained by the existing ones. Practitioners of science can never lay claim to a complete or ultimate knowledge. We have seen that science is not static. Going a step further we may say that scientific knowledge is also not immutable. Nothing can remain unchallenged in science. In fact some of the most honored scientists are those, who try to alter modify or replace existing theories by providing revolutionary evidence or argument. In this sense science is a self correcting enterprise i.e. it is open to change. Many hypothesis proposed by scientists turned out to be wrong. Science is generated by and idea of free inquiry, the idea that any hypothesis no matter how strange, deserves to be considered on its merits. Thus science is not dogmatic.It does not unreasonably insist on standing by preconceived notions, concepts ideas that have been proved wrong through careful experimentation. Science progresses by disproving. It has no high priests who cannot be questioned. What would be considered highly undesirable in science is the unquestioned acceptance of things as they are. Last but not the least scientific knowledge is objective. That is, scientific results are verifiable and repeatable by anyone anywhere if proper facilities are available. This feature of science of science is related to the ultimate test of any scientific statement; that it should be in accord with the observations of the natural world. Science prefers hard facts to the dearest illusions of scientists. To be accepted, all new ideas must survive rigorous standard of evidence. Sometimes it takes years, or even hundreds of years, before the ideas are verified. Nonetheless in the long run, no brilliant arguments, high authority or aesthetic appeal can save a scientific theory which disagrees with experiment or observation of nature.
Ans)Endeavors of science enrich the body of scientific knowledge. Scientific knowledge is never at a standstill. It is a dynamic and an ongoing process. It is an ever growing enterprise which will never end. This is because, in science, there is no single ultimate truth to be achieved after which all scientists can retire. A remarkable feature of scientific knowledge is that it is never complete. The more we add to this knowledge the more questions arise about the unknown mysteries of nature. New information is thus continuously gathered, New theories arise if new facts cannot be explained by the existing ones. Practitioners of science can never lay claim to a complete or ultimate knowledge. We have seen that science is not static. Going a step further we may say that scientific knowledge is also not immutable. Nothing can remain unchallenged in science. In fact some of the most honored scientists are those, who try to alter modify or replace existing theories by providing revolutionary evidence or argument. In this sense science is a self correcting enterprise i.e. it is open to change. Many hypothesis proposed by scientists turned out to be wrong. Science is generated by and idea of free inquiry, the idea that any hypothesis no matter how strange, deserves to be considered on its merits. Thus science is not dogmatic.It does not unreasonably insist on standing by preconceived notions, concepts ideas that have been proved wrong through careful experimentation. Science progresses by disproving. It has no high priests who cannot be questioned. What would be considered highly undesirable in science is the unquestioned acceptance of things as they are. Last but not the least scientific knowledge is objective. That is, scientific results are verifiable and repeatable by anyone anywhere if proper facilities are available. This feature of science of science is related to the ultimate test of any scientific statement; that it should be in accord with the observations of the natural world. Science prefers hard facts to the dearest illusions of scientists. To be accepted, all new ideas must survive rigorous standard of evidence. Sometimes it takes years, or even hundreds of years, before the ideas are verified. Nonetheless in the long run, no brilliant arguments, high authority or aesthetic appeal can save a scientific theory which disagrees with experiment or observation of nature.
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