The nature of science: what is science?

The epistemology, ontology and praxis of science

Learning objectives

Define science
Explain the epistemology, ontology and praxis of science, with
examples
Describe the development of a key scientific theory (evolution,
germ theory, plate tectonics, atomic theory, big bang etc.)
Describe, with examples, the scientific methods
Define and differentiate, with examples: hypothesis, law and
theory
But first some definitions...

Epistemology - theory of knowledge, what counts as knowledge/facts

Ontology - theory of Reality, what is the nature of reality

Praxis - accepted practices within a field

I remember it as EKOR, epistemology=knowledge, ontology=reality

What is science?
Discuss for one minute with your neighbour
 The Australian Curriculum, Science v9.0
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10

Explain how new evidence or different Explain how scientific knowledge is

perspectives can lead to changes in validated and refined, including the role of
scientific knowledge publication and peer review

Investigate how cultural perspectives and Investigate how advances in technologies

world views influence the development of enable advances in science, and how
scientific knowledge science has contributed to developments
in technologies and engineering
 The University of
Queensland coat of
arms and motto

Loose translation:
knowledge through [hard] work
Science = knowledge
Object Role Function
Piano Pianist One who plays the piano William Whewell
Flute Flautist One who plays the flute
Dente (teeth) Dentist One who works with teeth

Science Scientist One who seeks knowledge

Mary Somerville
 the body of reliable knowledge
itself, of the type that can be
logically and rationally explained

Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)

Knowledge is tentative and is updated in the
light of better evidence (self-correcting)
 Knowledge is tentative and is updated in the
light of better evidence

Copernicus

Ptolemy

Galileo
Science produces knowledge that is...

▪ Replicable ▪ Testable
▪ Convergent ▪ Falsifiable
▪ Universal
▪ Cumulative

Sciences seeks to be more:

▪ comprehensive
▪ accurate
▪ precise over time
Science seeks to remove human bias

Instrumentalism - the use of objective scientific instruments for the

gathering of data

subjective objective

Dipping your finger into a Using a thermometer to

cup of water to measure measure temperature
temperature
Scientific knowledge is cumulative
Scientific knowledge is beautiful
 Science seeks universal truths

Newton’s theory of gravitational attraction showed, the Newton

force that makes the apple fall to the Earth, is the same
force that makes the planets orbit the sun.
 Science relies on testable statements

Predicted the effect of Predicted the existence of Predicted the existence of

gravitational lensing scandium, gallium, a mechanism of
before it was observed. technetium, germanium. heritability. DNA and genes
Observed 50 years after Discovered in his lifetime. discovered 100 years after
the theory. his death.
Science investigates the natural world

Angels

Ghosts, ghouls and goblins

Examples of the The afterlife

supernatural
Witches,
wizards
and magic

Voodoo
 Science is evidence-based (these are not)

Tarot card reading

Chinese astrology
Astrology

Crystal
healing Palmistry Vaccines causing autism Reading entrails
 “A single swallow does not a summer make”

▪ Scientific knowledge (on a particular topic) must

be considered as a whole
▪ You must consider everything that is known, the
‘corpus of knowledge’
▪ Rely on…
▪ Meta analyses (combination of many smaller
studies)
▪ Scientific consensus (the combined opinions
of hundreds of scientists in that field)
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
Scientific literacy fails: COVID-19, a case study
 The theory is the pinnacle of scientific
knowledge

Einstein - Special Darwin - Theory of Lemaitre - Big Wegener - Dalton et al. -

and General evolution by bang theory theory of plate particle theory
theories of natural selection tectonics
relativity

Physics Biology Cosmology Geology Chemistry

Theory

An interconnected system of ideas, with internal and external logical

consistency, and supported by multiple lines of evidence, that has
explanatory and predictive powers

Explanatory power: can explain established phenomena, what we

already know
Predictive power: generates (testable) hypotheses, based on what
we know, we predict the following
The predictive powers of
theories
Describe, with
examples, the scientific
methods
 Descriptive

Geologists describing
landforms

A botanist describing
new plant species
Banks was the botanist
charged with collecting
The science vessel sent out to and describing any new
discover new plants and animals plants
 Modeling

Atmospheric scientists use models

to study hurricane formation
Physicist use wind tunnels to
model the impact of wind on Mice are used to model
vehicles a human diseases

Fruit flies are used to

model genetic disorders Meteorologists use models to predict
the path of cyclones
 Theoretical (mathematical)

Hawking: used maths to Higgs et al.: used maths to predict

Sheldon Cooper: the predict Hawking the existence of the Higgs boson
radiation (The type of (one of the particles created when
theoretical physicist on
radiation produced by you ping the Higgs field)
the ‘Big Bang Theory’ black holes)
Experimental - to be a science, a
field must conduct experimental inquiry
Rank in order of
importance in science:

Theory
Law
Hypothesis
hypothesis (noun)

a testable statement that explicitly

predicts the causal link between
two or more variables

NOT A GUESS!
Hypothesis testing: It’s all about establishing
cause and effect
C4
Lifestyle factors
C1 (smoking, drinking)
Genetics

E1
C2 Body mass
Diet

C3
Amount of
C5
exercise
Stress
 The hypothesis

▪ Originally comes from logic (the branch of philosophy/mathematics)

▪ You are constructing a conditional statement of the form

A→B
▪ IF “statement A” is True, THEN “ statement B” is also True
▪ The experiment is designed to test the validity of this statement
 light is needed for
photosynthesis and
plant A is put in plant A will grow this is how plants
the sun and plant more than plant B make their ‘food’
B is put in the dark
for growth
IF _______________ THEN _______________ BECAUSE ___________
IV: amount of light DV: plant growth

Laboratory experiment
 boys are more into more boys will go well d’uh! Isn’t it
cars than girls to GC Indy like totally obvious
IF ______________ THEN ________________ BECAUSE ___________
IV: sex DV: Indy attendance

this is not a good

explanation...ever!
Natural experiment
Newton’s 3 laws of motion Dalton’s law
PV=nRT
Avogadro’s law
law (noun) Bernoulli’s principle

a statement of a relationship between variables, but is

not explanatory
laws of Mendelian
inheritance laws of
Hooke’s law thermodynamics

P1V1=P2V2
Ohm’s law Snell’s law
law of conservation of mass
Learning objectives

Define science
Explain the epistemology, ontology and praxis of science, with
examples
Describe the development of a key scientific theory (evolution,
plate tectonics, particle theory, Big bang etc.)
Describe, with examples, the scientific methods
Define and differentiate, with examples: hypothesis, law and
theory