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Science and the Ways of Knowing

Science and the Ways of Knowing. What do you think?. Which of the ways of knowing is most important in science Which do you think is least important Why. Sense Perception. Senses used to make observations In the initial observations that spark the enquiry

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Science and the Ways of Knowing

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  1. Science and the Ways of Knowing

  2. What do you think? • Which of the ways of knowing is most important in science • Which do you think is least important • Why

  3. Sense Perception • Senses used to make observations • In the initial observations that spark the enquiry • In the experiment to test the hypothesis • Senses often augmented – for example a microscope making improving our visual acuity • Task: • Are there any problems with relying on our senses so much?

  4. Language • Scientists need to communicate their findings with others • Words used are often complex with very specific meanings • This often includes words that have one meaning in everyday language and a different, more specific meaning in science • Writing style is emotionless and impersonal (and generally dull to read!) • Task: • Try to think of three words that have different meanings in everyday language and science, writing both meanings • Why must science use such complex and emotionless language? • What problems can be created by scientific language?

  5. Reason • Deductive reasoning, used to identify causal relationships: • Each time I increased the temperature, my reaction sped up. • Therefore increasing the temperature makes the reaction happen faster • Inductive reasoning, used to transfer understanding to a wider context: • Twenty different reactions that I have studied speed up when you heat them up • Therefore all reactions speed up when you heat them • Task: • Think about your science lessons, give examples of where you have to use deductive reasoning and where you use inductive reasoning • What problems (if any) are there of using deductive/inductive reasoning in science – is there any way around these problems?

  6. Emotion • Plays no role in science

  7. Emotion • Just kidding!!!!

  8. Emotion • Who fell for that? • Don’t worry if you did, you will be in good company!

  9. Emotion (for real this time) • Emotion has to be controlled • Can introduce bias • Can make people resistant to others’ ideas • Can hinder effective communication • But… • Emotion provides the motivation for scientists to investigate anything • Intuition (emotionally experienced knowledge) allows scientists to leap into the unknown • Task: • Can you think of any examples of emotion hindering your (or others) acceptance of scientific ideas? Is there any solution to this? • Why do scientists need to use intuition….shouldn’t it be possible just to reason your way there?

  10. Faith (no not the religious kind…although thinking about it that might be worth considering too)

  11. What do you think? • Revisit your answer to the questions from the beginning • Is this a question that can even be answered?

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