The Tools of Integrated Apologetics Course 1.5.1
Analysis Of Scientific Truth
Dr. Johnson C. Philip Revised By Erick Venden
Chapter — I
Analysis Of Scientific Truth (What Is Science ?)
In the past one hundred years, attacks against the Christian faith have grown at an alarming rate. Critics have tried to use all possible fields of study and investigation to assault the Bible. "Science" has turned out to be their best weapon. This is the age of science. Scientific investigations have caused technology to grow explosively. Things which were considered a luxury yesterday have become commonplace today. Everyone is dazzled by the achievements and modern gadgets of science which have infiltrated present-day society. The education system is permeated with science, and unless people are able to obtain a high degree in science, technology, or medicine, they are kept out of the world of lucrative jobs. Science, has become an object of awe and worship.
The aura that surrounds science today is being used effectively to intimidate people with statements like "Science has disproved the Bible" or "Modern science has shown that Bible is an outdated book". Listeners often accept these statements as true because in their minds ’science’ stands for a staggering collection of knowledge against which no educated person can argue. Frequently this attitude gives rise to great mental conflict and anguish. These persons do not know what to do. On the one hand they accept the Bible to be the true word of God, but on the other hand they cannot reject science, which is the result of careful investigation. This kind of conflict produces serious hindrances in spiritual commitment and growth, and people live a life of constant uncertainty. This would not happen, however, if people had a proper understanding of what ’science’ is. Usually people use the word ’science’ to imply that it represents a single, absolute, and unified collection of truth. This is a completely erroneous idea because the scientific knowledge acquired by science is a collection of many categories of truth, all of which are NOT equally true or established. Actually science is a collection of different categories of information, some of which have high validity while others are yet to be tested or established. Some of it might even be false. This means that we must start with an overview of what science is.
Categories Of Truth In Science: The actual definition of science and its branches is an activity that requires a good background in philosophy. As not many people have this kind of academic preparation, and as it is not necessary to consider philosophical premises for our discussion, we will keep our discussion simple and straightforward, confined to the essential points to draw good and valid apologetical conclusions. "Science" is the name given to the knowledge that has accumulated as a result of humans’ quest to understand the world. "Science" is also the name given collectively to the methods used for gaining objective knowledge and insight about the Universe. The methods of obtaining this knowledge have been refined and made more objective and reliable in each generation. Technology is the name used to designate all the practical applications of scientific information. Thus the science of physics studies properties of matter (say silicon), while technology harvests these insights to make useful products (say computer chips) for commercial, industrial and utilitarian applications. Thus science and technology are two distinct activities, mutually dependent for growth. At the same time there are many areas where it is difficult to distinguish between these two enterprises. The branches of science can roughly be divided into two categories: Exact Sciences and Non-Exact Sciences. Exact sciences would include physics, chemistry, biology, etc. while the non exact sciences would include history, sociology and disciplines related to the humanities. In the exact sciences we have greater certainty of information, whereas in the non-exact sciences we do not have that degree of definiteness. For example, in physics one knows definitely that iron will float in mercury. On the other hand, in history one is not one hundred per cent sure of exactly who caused the Taj Mahal to be made into its final form!
Within the exact sciences some branches allow more exactness than the others. For example, physics and chemistry allow a better level of exactness than zoology or botany. Some of the exact sciences have an analytical function, while others are mostly descriptive. In some subjects it is easy to find a straightforward reason for why some behaviour is seen, while in other sciences it at present impossible to advance much beyond a detailed description of things as they stand. Within the non-exact sciences also, some branches allow more exactness than others. Some are easily influenced by personal subjectivity, while others are influenced to a lesser degree. As a consequence it is easy to recognize bias in some of these subjects while in others it is very difficult to do this.
The methods available for study and analysis differ from discipline to discipline, and many times the methods of investigation or analysis valid in one field are not valid or not applicable in another subject. For example, measurement of mass plays a great role in physics while it plays only a relatively insignificant role in historical analysis. Only one thing is common to the multitudes of these methods of investigation: Logic. It can be defined as that discipline of study which supplies the norms and standards to evaluate truth, and separate true conclusions from false ones. Thus the world of science is a collection of exact and non-exact branches of learning, each with its own different method of investigation and analysis, which are often incompatible with one another. Great care has to be taken when one talks of the Bible and Science. We are very much in favour of science and scientific activity. In fact the author has been actively involved in scientific research (in physics, information science, classification) for several decades. However, we are against the misuse of science and its name: all kind of misuse, including its wrong and unjustified use against the Bible.
To understand the issues involved, and to be able to oppose the biased attacks against the Bible, it will be helpful to understand in a little more detail the branches of sciences, and their interrelationship. It is difficult to do this comprehensively here, but the approximate picture given below is sufficient and accurate for the present purpose. The Branches Of Science We are using the word "science" to mean the "world of knowledge". This is its broadest meaning. The foundation of all scientific knowledge starts with Logic and Mathematics. They lay down the rules by which an objective interpretation of the world can be obtained and they are called the Normative Sciences. Based on the Normative Sciences we have the Physical Sciences, the Biological Sciences, the Historical Sciences, and the Sociological Sciences. A brief description of each is given below:
NORMATIVE SCIENCES: Logic and Mathematics give us the norms and standards by which any phenomena can be interpreted objectively and without bias. Valid deductions are possible only when everyone involved in acquiring knowledge follows sensible rules. Logic and mathematics provide these guidelines, and therefore these two are the foundation of all sciences. Every deduction has to conform to logical and mathematical stipulations before it can be accepted as true. PHYSICAL SCIENCES: the world around us is filled with physical phenomena. In fact a good amount of what happens around us can be explained in terms of these. The turning of milk into curd, the drying of wet clothes, the miracle of medicines, radio, TV and almost everything like that can be expressed in terms of physics and chemistry. Physics, Chemistry, and their numerous branches are usually called "physical sciences". Information obtained with the help of physical sciences tends to be more accurate and reliable than information obtained with the help of other sciences. Mathematics can be applied to them with greater ease, and therefore predictions can be made with more certainty. Physical sciences deal only with repeatable events, and therefore, if a particular phenomenon is non-repeatable or non-testable then it does not fall within the realm of the physical sciences.
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES: Biological sciences study living organisms : plants, animals, and human beings. Living organisms are very complex in nature and studying them is not always as straightforward as studying the physical or chemical properties of matter. Biologists use much help from physics, chemistry, and mathematics, but due to the higher amount of descriptive content biological sciences still remain less exact than the physical sciences.
HISTORICAL SCIENCES: Humans have left a great deal of history behind them in past millennia, and reconstructing it is a pleasure to many.In fact, understanding the past is very helpful to understanding our present, and this in turn helps us to plan our future wisely. People who lived in the past have left much material with the help of which past history can be reconstructed. This includes, ancient writings, pictures, statues, buildings, vessels and numerous other objects. Archaeologists unearth them, and others use them to tell us about the past. Historical sciences are descriptive in nature, not governed by the laws of mathematics. It is not possible to repeat them in a laboratory to test the validity of a particular claim, and therefore they are very different from physical sciences. At times there is a great deal of uncertainty. Archaeology is the only historical science that offers some form of exact description. However, this exactness represents only one aspect of the historical study of the past. To reconstruct the other side, many gaps have to be filled with the help of careful historical/legal reconstruction, and that introduces a measure of tentativeness to the whole field.
SOCIOLOGICAL SCIENCES: The collective and individual behaviour of people in society and related activities are studied in the Social Sciences. Humans are very complex beings, and therefore their behaviour cannot be predicted with the help of physics, chemistry or mathematical sciences. As a consequence, the social sciences tend to be less exact than the physical sciences. To obtain exact results, one should be able to study a subject repeatedly and preferably in a laboratory. Repetition is necessary to check the predictions, and a laboratory situation is necessary to keep an eye on the factors which influence the subject under study. Neither of these conditions is easily met in the sociological sciences and therefore these sciences have many limitations.
Relationship Among The Different Sciences
Ultimately all the branches of learning are interconnected with one another, so much so that some of them will cease to exist without the others. The Normative Sciences provide the foundation to all learning. The Physical Sciences, the Biological Sciences, the Historical Sciences, and the Social Sciences all depend upon the Normative Sciences (Logic and Mathematics). Without Logic and Mathematics all efforts to gain knowledge are futile. Each science has its own methodology and subject of interest. Each one is independent of the others, in some measure, but at the same time each one needs to borrow ideas and information from the others. The Normative Sciences are most independent while the Social and Historical sciences are most dependent upon the others. An investigator of physics might not need an historian but an historian definitely needs the physicist for radiocarbon dating. The actual picture is much more complex than the summary given above. Still, what is given above is sufficient to do justice to the needs of the average inquirer of Science and Faith. SUMMARY: It is very clear from the foregoing discussion that "science" does not represent a unified collection of homogeneous truths. Rather, the sciences are a varied collection of information, the reliability of which differs from subject to subject and also from time to time. Knowing this is essential before one can oppose those attacks against the Bible which are brought forth in the name of "Science".
Analysis Of Scientific Truth
comments
Leave a Reply
Powered by FireStats