The Nature of Science - (Adapted from Arkansas Science Framework 1999)

People have many ways of knowing about their world including scientific knowledge, societal knowledge, religious knowledge and cultural knowledge. Science differs from these other ways of knowing in important ways (see: Comparison of Ways of Knowing).

Science is a system of exploring the natural universe through data collected by observation, experimentation and peer verification. This data must be reviewed by many scientists before it is accepted as valid evidence. Based on evidence from collected data, theories are advanced to explain and account for observations. Science must limit itself to explanation about the natural world.

The success and credibility of science are anchored in the willingness of scientists to:

• Expose their ideas and results to independent testing and replication by other scientists. This requires the complete and open exchange of data, procedures and materials.

• Abandon or modify accepted conclusions when confronted with more complete or reliable experimental evidence.

Science definitions for the following terms are specific:

Fact: In science, an observation that has been repeatedly confirmed

Hypothesis: A testable statement or prediction about the natural world which can be supported by experiment or observation

Law: A descriptive generalization or pattern about how some aspect of the natural world behaves under stated circumstances; often stated in a form of a mathematical equation

Theory: In science, a well-substantiated explanation of how the natural world works that explains facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses

Before a theory can be included in the system of science, it must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be able to explain what has been observed;

• Be able to predict what has not yet been observed; and

• Be able to be tested by further experimentation and to be modified as required by the acquisition of new data.

People often use the word theory to mean a hunch or a guess; but as these criteria show, that is not correct. A scientific theory is held with a high degree of confidence and is supported by enough evidence to make its abandonment unlikely. As new evidence is found, a theory may be modified but only with compelling evidence, verification and peer review. The business of science is to build theories that explain how the natural world works and predict how it might work in the future. Science is not a matter of belief; rather, it is a matter of conclusive evidence that can be subjected to the test of observation, reasoning and peer review. The open competition of ideas in published papers is a major part of scientific work.

The goal of science is an understanding of the general principles underlying the functioning of the universe. Such understanding is achieved by means of four components:

• Observation of specific facts or phenomena

• Formulation of generalizations about such phenomena

• Production of causal hypotheses relating the phenomena

• Test of the causal hypotheses by means of further observation and experimentation

The science is based on two fundamental assumptions:

• A naturalistic explanation is sufficient to account for the functioning of the universe.

• The universe can be understood using logic and rational thinking.

Two types of evidence are accepted by practicing scientists:

• Confirmation of hypothesis by data strengthens their validity.

• Repeated inconsistency of data with a hypothesis eventually leads to the rejection of the hypothesis.

Science can only deal with events or things that can be measured, observed or detected. It cannot be used to investigate all questions. There are beliefs that cannot be proved or disproved by their very nature (e.g., the meaning of life or the existence of supernatural powers and beings). In other cases, a scientific approach that may be valid is likely to be rejected as irrelevant by people who hold certain beliefs (e.g., astrology, fortune-telling, and superstition). Scientists do not have the means to settle issues concerning good and evil. Answers to these questions must be found in religion, philosophy, cultural ideals and other systems of beliefs.