PHS 100A, Environmental
Studies
Warner
Pacific University
December 29,
2011
The
Scientific Method in Western Culture
This
paper will define and give examples of what the scientific method is and how it
has influenced western culture.
This paper will also give a definition of western culture.
According to our text, the scientific method
is “the traditional experimental approach that scientists use to learn how the
world works” (Brennan, 2011, p. 11). To break this down a scientist is
interested in a subject and has an idea about it. The scientist begins with observing some kind of occurrence
that she would like to explicate, such as the germination of carrot and tomato
seeds, and then loads of what, when, how, and why questions are posed by the
scientist. This sets things up for
the scientist to develop a hypothesis which is a “statement that attempts to
explain a phenomenon or answer a scientific question” (Brennan, 2011) and a
prediction follows. An example would be posing a question
such as “Which seeds germinate quicker, carrot seeds or tomato
seeds? The hypothesis statement could be,” If I plant carrot seeds and
tomato seeds, then (the prediction) carrot seeds will germinate quicker” (Poore). The scientist then tests the predictions
“one at a time by gathering evidence that could refute and disprove the
prediction” (Brennan, 2011).
The
scientist will then test the predictions by performing experiments that
manipulates variables or conditions that can change. For example with our carrot and tomato seed hypothesis the
scientist could make a prediction that a warmer temperature would affect the
carrot seeds to germinate quicker.
The scientist would then grow the two pairs of seeds in two separate
greenhouses with one being warmer than the other or one set being grown inside
and one outside. The warmer
temperature would be the independent variable that is what the scientist
manipulates and the germinating seed would be the dependent variable. To
validate the hypothesis, the scientist will want to perform this experiment as
many times as possible obtaining the same results each time. The data from these tests is used to
“determine the strength and reliability of patterns they find” (Brennan, 2011, p. 12). There are also natural experiments in
the scientific method in which researchers test their hypothesis by searching
for correlations to validate their hypothesis. This type of experiment would happen with large interests
that could not be managed in a control setting. The last two pieces to the scientific method are the peer
review and conference presentations.
Peer reviewed work is when a scientists work is complete and the
researcher writes up their findings to be considered for submission to a
scientific journal for publication.
The editor of the journal will ask several other scientists (peers) to
review the manuscript and provide comments. Sometimes scientists present their work at professional
conferences which gives their peers a chance to interact with the information
being presented and give feedback and comments.
The
definition of western culture that I found most appealing states that:
Western culture is a body of knowledge
derived from reason. This foundation of reason has made
possible a vast accumulation of understanding related to reality or nature,
including human nature. This understanding is represented in several core
ideals and values, which include individualism,
happiness, rights, capitalism, science and technology. (What is Western Culture?, 2009)
This
definition appears to have many similarities with the scientific method in that
it is based on reason which has brought large amounts of data and understanding
of nature and human nature. The
scientific method seems to be interconnected with western culture and a perfect
fit for understanding how our western culture affects nature and ultimately
ourselves.
References
Brennan,
S. &. (2011). Environment The Science Behind the Stories. San
Francisco: Pearson Education, Inc.
Poore, S. (n.d.). Hypothesis.
Retrieved December 29, 2011, from Science Fair Projects:
http://spart5.k12.sc.us/techtraining/teacher/webpages/ScienceFairProjects/index.htm
What is Western
Culture?
(2009). Retrieved December 29, 2011, from Western Culture Global:
http://www.westerncultureglobal.org/what-is-western-culture.html
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