ABSTRACT
An examination of the nature of scientific knowledge shows that there are good reasons to expect a connection between science and evolution. The main objections against this position fail, thus strengthening the case for the evolutionary connection. If the mind can be said to be a product of evolution, and since science is a product of the mind, it is worth considering what connection, if any, exists between scientific knowledge and evolution. In the 19th century, thinkers like E. Mach, H. Spencer, and H. Poincare began what has been termed “evolutionary epistemology.” If Mach and Spencer are correct, furthermore, by adapting to the world the mind comes to reflect it. Karl Popper’s suggestion is rather that the theoretical adaptation he has in mind is adaptation to an “objective realm” separate from the world of things, that is, adaptation to what he calls the “Third World."
