ABSTRACT
Science is a way of acquiring testable knowledge about the world. The knowledge which science provides is always provisional and probabilistic. All theories are approximations to the truth, with a certain domain of validity. Science has a number of defining characteristics. Of these, three are particularly important. These are as follows:
Replicability. Scientific knowledge must be as objective as possible. This means that different observers must be able to replicate results and thereby verify the observations.
Refutability. It is impossible to carry out all possible experiments, as there is not enough time in the lifetime of this universe. It is therefore important to decide which experiments to do. Good experiments are those that help to decide between competing hypotheses. Although many scientists, being human, tend to prefer to have their theories corroborated, good scientific technique consists of trying to refute explanations. This is because, while a conclusive refutation is decisive, corroboration is not. The fact that the sun has risen every morning so far does not prove that it will rise tomorrow, whereas one convincing failure to rise does prove that the sun does not invariably rise in the morning.
Reductionism. For a number of reasons, science is generally reductionist. First, and most important, the real world is vast and complex, while humans are finite beings. This means that complexity must be mapped onto a relatively simple model that humans can encompass and comprehend. A second reason, which is directly related to the first, is that people generally find minimal and economic explanations more coherent and convincing. A third reason is that reductionist analysis has been, so far, the most successful explanatory technique available. 7
