The Role and Purpose of Science Report (Assessment)

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

All the sciences were triggered by human curiosity (Tillery, Enger, & Ross 2011, p. 12). The main role of science is generation and theoretical systematization of knowledge. One can say that the purpose of science depends on whether science is natural or humanitarian. Natural sciences like physics or chemistry give the schematic representation of the physical world and its diversity. The humanities – philosophy, literature – are focused on the social knowledge about the man and society.

Thus, the humanities and natural sciences tend to the systematic understanding of the physical reality. The differences in these branches of science are more fundamental. The main purpose of natural sciences is to describe the physical world as it is, while humanities investigate the alternatively possible world. The purpose of any social science is to understand the possible tendencies in the social world improvement. One can generally say that the purpose of science is the attainment of truth, while the scientific research is the method of attainment of truth.

One knows that the consequences of scientific-technical progress can be serious and not always favorable for the humanity. A scientist should be aware of his social responsibility because their research always has the potential hazard. A scientist should foresee the possible undesirable effect from the discovered information and warn the public about it. The scientific-technical progress not only provokes but creates the contradictions in the modern world.

A scientist has to remember that the progress was created for the humanity rather than for itself. The power of knowledge can open the sources of unprecedented might for the human and every scientist must remember it.

Data validity is no less important than the aforementioned ethical issue (Tillery et al., 2011, p. 17). The data must be not only gathered and processed, but verified and tested as well. A scientist has to remember about the other people and the possibility of misleading them. For example, the investigator’s negligent work with the investigational drug can even lead to the fatal outcome.

One of the main important problems of the scientific ethics is the problem of plagiarism. With the development of information dissemination technologies, it is easy to copy the new idea or scientific discovery. The significance of some scientists can also be overstated. A scientist must understand the socio-cultural principles of science and society while considering the ethical maxims. The true researcher always implies the righteousness, equity, moral rectitude, and loyalty to the truth. They must view the truth even if their own opinion does not coincide with the opinion of their colleagues. The scientific thought must always be unbiased (Tillery et al., 2011, p. 21).

The construction of scientific knowledge is a complicated and long-term process. Every scientific statement begins with observing some kind of object or occurrence. The next steps are the explanation proposing, experimental investigation, and results estimation. If the experimental results coincide with the proposed theory, the statement is true. The important problem is the evaluation of the scientific character of knowledge and separation it from other kinds of knowledge. There are many criteria for making the distinctions between scientific knowledge and pseudo-scientific (Tillery et al., 2011, p. 18).

The methodology of science separating includes the principles of rationality, verification, and falsification. The principle of rationality is one of the main features of the knowledge validity; it orients the researcher towards the specified scientific guidelines. According to the verification principle, a certain judgment matters if it can be examined empirically. The falsification principle says that every theory becomes scientific when it can be disproved.

To draw the conclusion, one can say that the knowledge creation is the result of human activity. It is the multistage process which contains not only the scientific side but many issues concerning the ethics, social responsibility, and pseudo-science.

Reference List

Tillery, B.W., Enger E.D.,& Ross F.C. (2011). Integrated Science. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, January 30). The Role and Purpose of Science. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-and-purpose-of-science/

Work Cited

"The Role and Purpose of Science." IvyPanda, 30 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-and-purpose-of-science/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'The Role and Purpose of Science'. 30 January.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "The Role and Purpose of Science." January 30, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-and-purpose-of-science/.

1. IvyPanda. "The Role and Purpose of Science." January 30, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-and-purpose-of-science/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "The Role and Purpose of Science." January 30, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-role-and-purpose-of-science/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1