Reference: Essays on Substance
The Scientific Method
The curiosity to know has progressed from religious speculations about life to extroverted philosophical inquiry of the universe. This inquiry then gave birth to the systematic approach of science.
The modern scientific approach is based on observing more closely to formulate a hypothesis, and then using that hypothesis to arrive at some new conclusions. The next step is to verify those conclusions through further observations.
Consistency is extremely important in such verifications. If the new conclusions cannot be shown to be consistent with life experiences, then one has to go back and work more on improving the hypothesis. If the conclusions are consistent with life experiences, then the hypothesis is accepted as a new theory. However, such acceptance is provisional because the verification can never be absolute. For the future may present observations that are not entirely consistent with the theory.
In today’s science, mathematics has become an important part of formulating and verifying a hypothesis. The scientist makes a mathematical model of the hypothesis. He, then, checks that model for mathematical consistency. This has become an important step in the scientific development. But, the mathematical consistency is not the same as consistency with life experiences.
In the past, consistency of a hypothesis was tested in the live environment of the laboratory. The scientist devised experiments that could be conducted using lab equipment. This was closer to life than mathematics and provided live verification. However, science has advanced to a point that such lab experimentation is not always possible, especially in the case of sub-atomic and cosmic phenomena.
Einstein’s theory of relativity could not be verified until the Solar eclipse of 1920. Still many doubts exist regarding this theory. In fact, the theory of relativity was not even considered when the Nobel Prize was awarded to Einstein. But Einstein also advanced a novel idea of conducting thought experiments to verify a hypothesis beyond the mathematical logic. Such thought experiments were closer to the logic of life experiences. They only need to be devised carefully.
Once again the criterion of thought experiments had to be consistency; only that consistency was in terms of ideas. In addition, it was expected that the logical train of ideas would have no gaps. Also, there would be no arbitrary ideas that do not fit in the overall picture. In short, the criterion of a thought experiment would be continuity, consistency and overall harmony of ideas.
But, if we look carefully, the criterion of continuity, consistency and harmony applies to all experimentation, whether it is mathematical or lab oriented, and it even defines the Scientific Method itself. The basis of the scientific method may be stated as the following twelve aspects of mindfulness.
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