Why do I believe in science?

Philosophy of Science Series Part 2

The philosophy of science is a philosophy that deals with the justification and rationality of scientific knowledge. The philosophy of science may be approached from either a historical or philosophical perspective, but it is most often discussed as an integral part of epistemology. This paper will focus on this philosophy to provide insight into how we can justify our acceptance of science. I will specifically consider the implications of the philosophy of science on our understanding of science.

Evidence

Science is justified by reference to evidence. I will explore what constitutes good evidence and why it is important for justifying science.

Evidence is a tricky thing to define because there are many different types of evidence and what might be good evidence for one person might not be good evidence for another person. In general, though, we can say that evidence is anything that supports or justifies a claim. When it comes to justifying science, we need something more than just personal opinions or anecdotal evidence. We need something that can stand up to scrutiny and that everyone can agree on. This is where scientific evidence comes in.

Scientific evidence is data that has been collected and analyzed by scientists using the scientific method. This data can come from experiments, observations, or other sources such as medical records or surveys. The key thing that makes scientific data different from other types of data is the characteristics by which science operates.