The

Scientific
Method
 iSkylab
Went really well!
Data 10, Form 3, Questions 7, explain , wrt, etc.
Type and repeat questions!
Moon phases are NOT due to shadow of the Earth!
If you say we know that explain how you
know: from your data, from books,
No feelings, please!
Criticism is meant to be helpful; might sting
 Activity: Keplers 2nd law
Get out your worksheet books
Form a group of 3-4 people
Work on the questions on the sheet
Fill out the sheet and put your name on top
Hold on to the sheet until weve talked about
the correct answers
Hand in a sheet with the group members
names at the end of the lecture
Ill come around to help out !
 Activity: Keplers 3rd law
Get out your worksheet books
Form a group of 3-4 people
Work on the questions on the sheet
Fill out the sheet and put your name on top
Hold on to the sheet until weve talked about
the correct answers
Hand in a sheet with the group members
names at the end of the lecture
Ill come around to help out !
 The Scientific Method
Systematized by Francis
Bacon, Descartes and
Galileo in the 17th century
Not the only way of
knowing, but a very
successful one
A method to yield
conclusions that are
independent of the
individual
Conclusions are based on
observation
 Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Contemporary of Shakespeare,
Elizabeth I, Kepler and Galilei

Rejects Aristotelianism and

Scholasticism

Major Work:
Novum Organum (1620)
(New Tools, the old Organum was Aristotles)
 Francis Bacon
(1561-1626)
Novum Organum Title:
Allegory on the daring
mind: A Ship passes
through the pillars of
Hercules, beyond old
knowledge.
 Rene Descartes The Rationalist
Described the method to do science,
known for his mind-body dualism

Major Works:
Discourse (1637) [full title: Discours de
la mthode pour bien conduire sa
raison et chercher la vrit dans les
sciences]

Meditations on first Philosophy (1641)

[6 Meditations: Of the Things that we may doubt; Of
the Nature of the Human Mind; Of God: that He
exists; Of Truth and Error; Of the Essence of Material
Things; Of the Existence of Material Things; Of the
Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
Real Distinction between the Mind and the Body of
Man]
 Rene Descartes
Discourse
Describes the method to do science
in a straightforward way (see below)

Major points:
Science must be based on
correct reasoning (logic)
Science must be formulated in
mathematical language

Starting line:
Good sense is the most evenly distributed thing in the world, for all people suppose
themselves so well provided with it that even those who are the most difficult to satisfy
in every other respect never seem to desire more than they have.
WUP 02: Describe, in your own words, the four principal
rules of Descartes method of rightly conducting one's
reason and of seeking truth in the sciences.
Scooby-Doo: 1. Never believe something that you have not seen clearly
and without doubt for yourself. 2. Break problems down into parts so that
they can be solved as adequately as possible. 3. Start by working with the
simplest and easiest things and work your way up to the more difficult
and complex things. 4. Make reviews and summaries so complete and
general that it is not possible to leave something out.
Silver: Descartes' method of conducting one's reason and discovering actual truth
in the sciences first involves not accepting any bit of knowledge as fact unless it
is without a doubt accurate. Second, partition the issue under examination into as
many pieces as possible to best help reach a legitimate conclusion. Third, once an
issue is split into separate problems to investigate, a person must start with the
simplest and easiest to know truths and facts about the problem and build up from
there to reach complex conclusions. Fourth, based of the complex conclusions
come up with a theory that covers all possible situations related to that problem.
 WUP 01: Describe, in your own words, the four principal
rules of Descartes method of rightly conducting one's
reason and of seeking truth in the sciences.
science rules! descartes thought he knew everything
Tjfrifdhjj: Not sure
Happy Gilmore: 1. Accept as true only what has no doubts. 2. Break
each question into manageable parts. 3. Start with the easiest issues,
and work towards the more difficult ones. 4. Occasionally review topic,
to be able to retain the whole argument at once.
TK 1) to never believe anything unless he can prove it himself 2) to
reduce every problem to its simplest parts 3) to always be orderly in his
thoughts and proceed from the simplest part to the most difficult 4) to
always, when solving a problem, create a long chain of reasoning and
leave nothing out
 A Classical Example
Aristotle observes that during lunar eclipses the Earths
shadow on the moon is curved
He assumes it will be curved for all eclipses
A hypothesis that explains this: the earth is a sphere
A prediction of this theory is that the location of the
stars in the sky should be different for observers at
different latitudes
This is confirmed by additional observations
E.g. Canopus is visible in Egypt but not further north
It is applied by Eratosthenes to determine the size of Earth
HOMEWORK QUESTIONS?