What Is Science?

Philosophy of Science Series

We always ask the same question, what is science? In the past, science was known as “natural philosophy”. Natural philosophy was the philosophical inquiry into the natural world.

Many of the first scientist were philosophers or also studied philosophy such as Sir Francis Bacon, Rene Decartes, and Isaac Newton. Somewhere along the line during the enlightenment science became its own distinct discipline.

We could talk about the history of science and the philosophical underpinnings of it but we first need to confront the fundamental issue… what is science? This is an issue philosophers are still debating to this day but an effective way to distinguish science from other disciplines would be to talk about what it isn’t.

This is a fancy way of discussing the problem of demarcation or the separation of science from pseudoscience.

The Problem of Demarcation

Why is it important to separate science from pseudoscience? Pseudoscience can hinder humanities progress on a number of issues such as climate change, vaccination efforts, and the acceptance of evolution.

The belief in pseudoscience is not a private affair as we have politicians who do not believe in climate change, vaccinations, and or the biological sciences. This can definitely impact policy which in the case of climate change could mean the deaths of millions and the destruction of the earth.

We know climate change denial stifles legislation aimed at addressing the issue. So, it the denial of science and acceptance of pseudoscience is not merely a factor of personal belief, but a general concern. If we cannot differentiate fact from fiction we will make uniformed choices that could lead to millions of deaths and the destruction of the planet as we know it.