Group+5

=** The Invention of The Scientific Method **= = = **Done by : Anar, Jodie, Lisa, Michelle, Yi Yun**

 **What is the Scientific Method?**
The Scientific Method refers to a body of techniques for investigating a phenomenon, acquiring new knowledge or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. The Scientific Method is the basis of the modern science, which has been invented to minimize the influence of bias during an experiment to test a hypothesis or a theory. It involves the collection of real data and thus, the results collated are more accurate as compared to explaining the world using Philosophy. Through this data collection as a form of evidence, the implementation of the Scientific Method helps to diminish the ambiguities over the reason why a certain phenomenon is observed. Instead, it helps to reinforce the reason behind a phenomena. The scientific method is a combination of two theories of knowledge namely, Empiricism (Induction) and Rationalism (Deduction).

 The Scientific Method has been refined over the centuries to become what we do in our experiments today. The way a scientific problem is approached is as follows:
 * 1) State the Problem.
 * 2) Formulate a Hypothesis to explain the results of the experiment.
 * 3) Experiment and record observations from the experiment.
 * 4) Generalization from the experiment.
 * 5) Conclusions.

A more detailed and modified Scientific Method plan is as follows:
 * 1) Define the question
 * 2) Gather information and resources (observe)
 * 3) Form hypothesis
 * 4) Perform experiment and collect data
 * 5) Analyze data
 * 6) Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis
 * 7) Publish results
 * 8) Retest (frequently done by other scientists)

**Difference between the Inductive (Empiricism) and Deductive (Rationalism) Thinking Processes**
Deductive reasoning works from the more general to the more specific. It begins with thinking up a theory about the topic of interest that the researcher is keen to pursue. He then narrows it down even further when he collects //observations// to address the hypotheses. This ultimately leads the scientist to be able to test the hypotheses with specific data -- a //confirmation// or not of his original theories.
 * Deductive Thinking :**



**Inductive Thinking:** Inductive reasoning works in the opposite direction of the steps taken in deductive thinking, moving from specific observations to broader generalizations and theories. In inductive reasoning, a scientists begins with specific observations and measures, begins to detect patterns and regularities, formulates some tentative hypotheses that he can explore, and finally ends up developing some general conclusions or theories.

**Comparison:** Inductive reasoning, by its very nature, is more open-ended and exploratory, especially at the beginning. Deductive reasoning is more narrow in nature and is concerned with testing or confirming hypotheses.

**The Time-line of Major Events in the Development of the Scientific Method**
He had used Empiricism instead of Rationalism.
 * 2000 BC ** — First text indexes
 * 200 BC ** — Cataloged library (at Alexandria)
 * 1000 AD ** — Yongle Encyclopedia, the 1st collaborative encyclopedia
 * 1265 ** — Roger Bacon described a scientific method (probably one of the first), which was a repeating cycle of observation, hypothesis, experimentation, and the need for independent verification. He recorded the manner in which he conducted his experiments in precise detail so that others could reproduce and independently test his results.
 * 1590 ** — Controlled experiments (Sir Francis Bacon)
 * 1595 ** — Microscope invented in Holland
 * 1600 ** — First dedicated laboratory
 * 1608 ** — Telescopes invented in Holland allow for observations in the field of Astronomy
 * 1620 ** — Novum Organum published (Sir Francis Bacon)
 * 1637 ** — First Scientific Method (René Descartes)
 * 1638 ** — Two New Sciences published (Galileo Galilei)
 * 1650 ** — Society of experts (The Royal Society)
 * 1650 ** — Experimental evidence established as the arbiter of truth (the Royal Society)
 * 1665 ** — Repeatability (Robert Boyle)
 * 1665 ** — Scholarly journals established
 * 1675 ** — Peer review initiated
 * 1687 ** — Hypothesis/prediction (Isaac Newton)

Sir Francis Bacon
 Sir Francis Bacon (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was born in London. He was one of the greatest philosophers during the Scientific Revolution, an English lawyer, statesman, essayist, historian and intellectual reformer. Being influential in the England Politics, he had been appointed for many leadership positions and in 1618, he was appointed the Lord Chancellor, the most powerful position in England. He had also invented and helped in the development of the Scientific Method. During the 1500s, Sir Francis Bacon helped in the development of the scientific method, which was to follow a fixed routine of research. Bacon attempted to describe a rational procedure for establishing causation between phenomena based on induction. He had urged the scientists back then to follow this method to allow better experiment results. The first step was careful experimentation and observation, next step was to interpret the experiment’s results with reasoning. From here, scientists could draw valid conclusions. His scientific method was reasoned from specific observations to generalizations, a process called inductive reasoning. Inductive Reasoning means inferring a principal/general law from observations, thus proof and observations are important in inductive reasoning. His thoughts on logic and ethics in science and his ideas on the cooperation and interaction of the various fields of science, presented in his work //Novum Organum//, have remained influential in the scientific world to this day. ** Novum Organum ** It is a philosophical work done by Francis Bacon which was a reference to Aristotle’s work, Organon. Now known as the Baconian Method, it is an account of the correct method of acquiring natural knowledge. Sir Francis Bacon had challenged Aristotle’s methodology of “the truth would eventually be discovered” with his, “truth required evidence from the real world”.
 * A Brief Biography on Sir Francis Bacon **
 * His Significance to the Scientific Method **

=**Sir Isaac Newton**= Sir Isaac Newton (1643 –1727) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian who is considered by many scholars and members of the general public to be one of the most influential men in human history. His 1687 publication of the //Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica// (usually called the //Principia//) is considered to be among the most influential books in the history of science, laying the groundwork for most of classical mechanics. Newton also built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into the many colours that form the visible spectrum. He also formulated an empirical law of cooling and studied the speed of sound.
 * A Brief Biography of Sir Isaac Newton **

Both Bacon and Descartes wanted to provide a firm foundation for scientific thought that avoided the deceptions of the mind and senses. Bacon envisaged that foundation as fundamentally empirical, whereas Descartes' provides a metaphysical foundation for knowledge. If there were any doubts about the direction in which scientific method would develop, they were set to rest by the accomplishment of Isaac Newton. Wholly rejecting Descartes' emphasis on rationalism in favor of Bacon's empirical approach, he outlines his four "rules of reasoning" in the publication //Principia//: But Newton also left an admonition about a theory of everything: // "To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.’Tis much better to do a little with certainty, and leave the rest for others that come after you, than to explain all things." // Therefore, Sir Isaac Newton was a staunch believer of the empirical approach and was explicit in sharing his views on how the study of science should be based on observations and not simply by thinking about the possible causes of a phenomenon. He believed that evidence was essential in ensuring the accuracy of a theory or causal factor. Newton's work became a model that other sciences sought to emulate, and his inductive approach formed the basis for much of natural philosophy through the 18th and early nineteenth centuries.
 * Contribution towards the development of the Scientific Method **
 * 1) //We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.//
 * 2) //Therefore to the same natural effects we must, as far as possible, assign the same causes.//
 * 3) //The qualities of bodies, which admit neither intension nor remission of degrees, and which are found to belong to all bodies within the reach of our experiments, are to be esteemed the universal qualities of all bodies whatsoever.//
 * 4) //In experimental philosophy we are to look upon propositions collected by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses that may be imagined, till such time as other phenomena occur, by which they may either be made more accurate, or liable to exceptions.//

Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was born in Pisa, Italy. He was an Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. His work in the 17th century was instrumental in the development of astronomy and natural motion. During the period of religious conservativism brought about by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, Galileo Galilei revealed his new science of motion. Neither the contents of Galileo’s science, nor the methods of study he selected were in line with Aristotelian teachings. Whilst Aristotle thought that a science should be demonstrated from first principles, Galileo had used experiments as a research tool. Galileo built the first high-powered astronomical telescope, invented a horse-powered pump to raise water, observed and analysed sun spots, disproved Aristotle’s theory that the velocities of falling bodies are proportional to their weights, described the true parabolic paths of projectiles, came up with the ideas that led to Newton’s laws of motion and eventually to the relativity theory, and also confirmed the Copernican theory of the solar system.
 * A Brief Biography on Galileo Galilei **

Through the use of the telescope, he discovered in 1609 - 1610 that the surface of the moon is irregular, that the Milky Way is composed of stars, and the Jupiter has moons. His most famous works include ‘//The Starry Messenger//’, which he published on March 12, 1610, as well as ‘//Dialogue on Two New Sciences//’ which was published on February 21, 1632. He was tried by the Roman Inquisition because he openly supported the heliocentric view, which opposed the Church. He was forced to publicly renounce his beliefs as he was found guilty of heresy, and hence spent the rest of his life under house arrest. Nevertheless, Galileo is widely considered as the first scientist of the Scientific Revolution.

Galileo made contributions to the science of motion through a combination of experimentation and mathematics. He stated that the laws of nature are mathematical.


 * René Descartes **

René Descartes (1596-1650) was born on March 31st, 1596 in the town of La Haye in the south of France. In 1606, at the age of 8, René attended the Jesuit college of Henri IV in La Flèche, where he studied literature, grammar, science, and mathematics. In 1614, he left La Flèche to study civil and cannon Law at Poitiers. In 1616, he received his baccalaureate and licentiate degrees in Law. Aside from his Law degrees, Descartes also spent time studying philosophy, theology, and medicine.
 * A Brief Biography on René Descartes **

In 1619, René Descartes began writing his first major treatise on proper scientific and philosophical thinking, the unfinished //Rules for the Direction of the Mind//. His aim was to create a complete science that he hoped would overthrow the Aristotelian system and establish himself as the sole architect of a new system of guiding principles for scientific research. Descartes describes the intriguing and disciplined thought experiments he used to arrive at, the idea we instantly associate with him: //I think therefore I am// (//cogito ergo sum//).

From this foundational thought, Descartes finds proof of the existence of a God who, possessing all possible perfections, will not deceive him provided he resolves //"[…] never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of methodic doubt.//

This rule allowed Descartes to progress beyond his own thoughts and judge that there exist extended bodies outside of his own thoughts. Despite his apparent departure from the Aristotelian system, a number of his critics felt that Descartes had done little more than replace the primary premises of Aristotle with those of his own.

His most important contribution was his philosophical writings. He perceived the world as a giant mathematically designed engine that can be explained using Science and Math. Some of his most important texts are: - “Geometry” in which a combination of algebra and geometry gave birth to Cartesian Geometry. //(Published 1637)// - Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting the Reason and Seeking the truth in the Sciences //(Published 1637)// - Meditations //(Published 1641)// - Principles of Philosophy //(Published 1644)//

Why is the discovery of the Scientific Method important?
It is not all that unknown that our beliefs can alter our perspectives about an issue. Similarly, in scientists too may hold particular beliefs and views which may affect the way they see a certain phenomena. For example, Ptolemy’s notion of a geocentric universe was in line with certain sections of the Bible. Western Christian biblical references Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and 1 Chronicles 16:30 include text stating that "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved." In the same tradition, Psalm 104:5 says, "the LORD set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved." Further, Ecclesiastes 1:5 states that "And the sun rises and sets and returns to its place". Despite that, his theory did not seem accurate for too long as by the early 16th Century, the old Roman calendar was significantly out of alignment with the movement of heavenly bodies. Many holy days such as Easter were more than a week off from where they should have been according to the stars. Copernicus came up with the theory of Heliocentrism which disproved Ptolemy’s theory and one that accounted for the misalignment of the Roman calendar. Galileo, who had a keen interest in Astronomy, defended the idea of Heliocentrism, which states that the planets and the Earth revolve around the Sun, which is in a stationary position, contrary to the theory on Geocentrism. He claimed that the theory proposed by Ptolemy was contrary to what was stated in the Scriptures. His claims were taken as an open challenge to the Church authorities and his ideas were banned. Thus, in conclusion, this example provides for a comparison on how beliefs could and can influence a scientist’s analysis and interpretation of the world around him. Eventually, it has a high possibility of influencing the outcome as well which could lead to numerous misinterpretations. The discovery of the Scientific Method has been crucial to the development of Science. Since the discovery of the Scientific Method, it has been the basis of Modern Science. A method is a means or manner of procedure, especially a regular and systematic way of accomplishing something. It guides a person in solving a problem and without it; one would be left in a disorganized state of work. A method aids in guiding our thoughts and in the same way, the Scientific Method has guided the scientific fraternity since its conception. Accordingly, the Scientific Method has proven to be the same. It has given scientists some direction in conducting their research and not relying solely on logic and deduction. Through the development of this method, scientists have a somewhat of a basic structure to guide them in their research. With the introduction to the world of experimentation, many ancient theories have been disproved such as that of Geocentrism. It has minimized the chances of bias on the part of a scientist and has increased the need for evidence to support a theory, phenomenon or observation. By eliminating the chance of bias, it has decreased the possibility that a scientist may observe what he thinks he will observe. The experimentation process has given way for results that may contradict the hypothesis and this in turn, will pave the way for new knowledge. All in all, the invention of the Scientific Method has been a boon to society due to its structured process and compelling nature in which scientist are somewhat forced to experiment and gather evidence to support or disprove of their theories. Through this, more accurate theories have been developed and thus, have given us a better understanding of the world around us.
 * Some advantages of methodology are stated as follows:**
 * Organizes our thoughts
 * Clarifies our thoughts
 * Ends aimless wandering
 * Helps ideas gather a sensible shape
 * Encourages conceptual thinking
 * Avoids relying solely on intuition
 * Keeps us pointed in the right direction
 * Are routes to new knowledge

 **About the Scientific Method:** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei] http://www.renedescartes.com/Default.htm
 * Timeline of the Scientific Method:** []
 * Sir Francis Bacon's Biography**: []
 * Galileo Galilei's Biography:** [] ,
 * Rene Descartes Biography:** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Descartes
 * Sir Isaac Newton's Biography and Contributions:** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
 * Galileo's Image:** http://www.famous-scientists.net/Galileo-Galilei.htm
 * Definition of method:** http://www.thefreedictionary.com/method
 * Importance of the Scientific Method:** http://www.scientificmethod.com
 * Scientists' Picture Montage:** http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Science--Technology--and-Society/STS-002Toward-the-Scientific-RevolutionFall2003/CourseHome/
 * Comparison between Inductive and Deductive thinking:** http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.htm
 * RGS History Handout on the Scientific Revolution**