Objectivity, Reality and Truth

The history of science and philosophy in classical Greece shows that Aristotle and others, such as Eratosthenes and Hipparchus, were the first scholars to establish a scientific method, the pursuit of knowledge through systematic observation, measurement and experiment and the formulation, testing and modification of hypotheses.

Aristotle recognized that empirical input rather than pure reason is the only source of new knowledge. The basic steps of the scientific method have not changed much since Aristotle’s time. There are typically four steps: (1) Observation of a natural event. (2) Formulation of a hypothesis to explain the event. (3) Use of the hypothesis to predict the outcomes of new observations. (4) Performance of experiments to validate the predictions.

We can illustrate this with a simple example from everyday life: (1) We turn on a switch in the house and notice that the light does not come on. (2) A couple of thoughts come to mind. First, there may be a power outage. Second, the light bulb may be burned. It seems easier to investigate the first thought, so we make the hypothesis that there is a power outage. (3) We make a prediction that if we try to switch on another light, the light will not come on, as per our hypothesis. (4) Finally we perform the experiment by switching another light. The light fails to turn on and our hypothesis appears to be correct. We can then try more switches to get a full validation of our hypothesis.

Peer review and consensus

In real science, things are a bit more complicated. When a complex new scientific theory is published, peer review becomes an important aspect of the scientific method and we might say that it is a crucial fifth step. A new scientific theory will be scrutinized quite thoroughly before gaining wide acceptance. Present day scientific communities are so large and so open in their communications that peer review is extensive and comprehensive in scope and depth. In our day, peer review is dispersed among thousands of scientists worldwide who use every possible type of reasoning, inductive, deductive and everything else, in order to falsify or validate a theory before final acceptance.

The evolution of science, especially in modern times, shows that the specific method and reasoning used by the…