The scientific method and the exploration of truth

Religion and science were formally inseparable. The natural phenomenon observed by our ancient ancestors were ascribed to the various activities of the gods.

Thunderstorms became the echos of divine battles, floods examples of god's wrath, dreams were the means by which man had contact with the supernatural.

Religion, for most of humanity's existence, was science. Ancient mythology were scientific text books and the beliefs which lay within these often sordid stories were not just ‘morality' tales but were tools of explanation.

Yet the supernatural became an increasingly unsatisfactory response to the very real questions which have plagued our species since the dawn of civilization.

The Egyptians needed to predict the annual floods of the Nile; accurate mathematical calculations were crucial to ensure that appropriate food supplies were gathered and stored; injuries and deadly illnesses necessitated the medical practice to develop methods which could be relied upon and repeated with precision.

These questions and others forced our ancestors to adopt new techniques in order to deal with the rapidly changing world they found themselves in. And so arose the empirical philosophers of the ancient world who sought after natural explanations for observed occurrences; the first scientists.

As early as 1,600 B.C.E., for instance, the Egyptians had begun to develop a science of medicine which relied upon experimentation and physical observation. The sun god Ra, they hypothesized, was probably not responsible for the spear in your back.

The scientific method which we know today describes a way of obtaining knowledge that is based on observation, repetition, transparency and correction.

Thousands of years of trial and error have gotten us to a refined technique of critiquing and improving upon theories which are used to explain the world we live in.

The basic formulation of the scientific method is as follows: observation, measurement and experimentation leading to the formulation, testing and modification of the hypothesis (Oxford English Dictionary). This method, or a primitive version, was what eventually forced the so-called split between religious belief and science (this split is unnatural and useless as we shall see later).

As the ancient Egyptians saw, there is likely a better explanation for physical ailments than imaginary deities. The scientific method has given us all the technological advancements which have made possible everything from advanced communications to atomic weapons, precise surgical techniques and genetically modified food.

As the comedian Tim Minchin put it, "You know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work? Medicine."

More importantly the scientific method can, and should, be applied to all aspects of life. Often grouped together with other "western" ways of thinking (why this has a negative connotation in certain circles I have no idea) the truth of the matter is that the scientific method has been refined through the ages as it has been passed along from the Egyptians to the Babylonians and Greeks, to the Romans, to the Islamic empires and then to the entire world.

Beyond the obvious fact that good ideas are good no matter their origins, the scientific method is the result of an unconscious but collective human endeavor to know truth.

The scientific method, as a means of determining the true nature of the environment in which we find ourselves, can be observed at work in the medieval world as it became apparent that the sun is indeed the center of the solar system.

Up until the astronomer Copernicus (in the 16th century), conventional wisdom and theological assertions both claimed that Earth was the center of both the universe and the solar system.

The Earth centered solar system was not, however, just the ruminations of religious fanatics. It was a hypothesis of the way the universe is.

Copernicus applied the scientific method when he tested the hypothesis, found it to be inaccurate and then published his findings for review.

Further scientific investigation has supported his initial theory, and while we have had to tweak his findings, we are relatively certain that Earth does in fact revolve around the sun (of course, the scientific community remains open to further evidence – that's the whole point).

The scientific method is a way to establish relative certainty about the nature of ‘things.'...

This is the first piece in a 3 part series. part two will appear in the 11/15/11 issue of the albany student pressReligion and science were formally inseparable. The natural phenomenon observed by our ancient ancestors were ascribed to the various activities of the gods.

Thunderstorms became the echos of divine battles, floods examples of god's wrath, dreams were the means by which man had contact with the supernatural.

Religion, for most of humanity's existence, was science. Ancient mythology were scientific text books and the beliefs which lay within these often sordid stories were not just ‘morality' tales but were tools of explanation.

Yet the supernatural became an increasingly unsatisfactory response to the very real questions which have plagued our species since the dawn of civilization.

The Egyptians needed to predict the annual floods of the Nile; accurate mathematical calculations were crucial to ensure that appropriate food supplies were gathered and stored; injuries and deadly illnesses necessitated the medical practice to develop methods which could be relied upon and repeated with precision.