(March 22, 2022 at 11:39 am)Istvan Wrote: Please choose the statement you feel better describes scientific inquiry:
Statement #1: Science is a self-correcting construct through which we discover truths about the universe. Scientific inquiry is rigorously unbiased and applicable to any facet of human endeavor. Our scientific knowledge corresponds to the way objective reality is, independent of human existence.
Statement #2: Science is a human construct with all the biases and cultural influences that entails. Scientific inquiry is inextricably linked to war, politics and business. Our knowledge merely imposes order on the chaos of phenomena to make it comprehensible to humans.
Science is a self-correcting construct through which we try to approach accurate beliefs about the universe.
Science has a limited range in which it works, which is why it works so well. There are areas of human endeavor (e.g. the arts) in which it has little or nothing to say.
Scientific inquiry in the ideal is rigorously unbiased, but in practice is nearly always biased according to who's paying for it, what the desired outcomes are, how much the scientist needs tenure, and a hundred other factors. It's done by humans, so you can't expect better.
In practice, science is inextricably linked to war, politics, and business. It wouldn't have to be this way, but that's how things are set up now.
The order, or lack thereof, that exists independent of human observation, and the degree to which we impose order through our analysis, is a complex and ongoing question.
