TEXT

As the author points out below, the success of science has less to do with a particular method than with an essential attitude of the scientist. This attitude is essentially one of inquiry, experimentation and humility before the facts. Therefore, a good scientist is an honest one. True scientists do not bow to any authority but they are ever ready to modify or even abandon their ideas if adequate evidence is found contradicting them. Scientists, they do place a high value on honesty.

Science and the Scientific Attitude by Paul G. Hewitt

Science is the body of knowledge about nature that represents the collective efforts, insights, findings, and wisdom of the human race. Science is not something new but had its beginnings before recorded history when humans first discovered reoccurring relationships around them. Through careful observations of these relationships, they began to know nature and, because of nature's dependability, found they could make predictions to enable some control over their surroundings.

Science made its greatest headway in the sixteenth century when people began asking answerable questions about nature — when they began replacing superstition by a systematic search for order — when experiment in addition to logic was used to test ideas. Where people once tried to influence natural events with magic and supernatural forces, they now had science to guide them. Advance was slow, however, because of the powerful opposition to scientific methods and ideas.

In about 1510 Copernicus suggested that the sun was stationary and that the earth revolved about the sun. He refuted the idea that the earth was the center of the universe. After years of hesitation, he published his findings but died before his book was circulated. His book was considered heretical and dangerous and was banned by the Church for 200 years. A century after Copernicus, the mathematician Bruno was burned at the stake — largely for supporting Copernicus, suggesting the sun to be a star, and suggesting that space was infinite. Galileo was imprisoned for popularizing the Copernican theory and for his other contributions to scientific thought. Yet a couple of centuries later, Copernican advocates seemed harmless.

This happens age after age. In the early 1800s geologists met with violent condemnation because they differed with the Genesis account of creation. Later in the same century, geology was safe, but theories of evolution were condemned and the teaching of them forbidden. This most likely continues. "At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past." Every age has one or more groups of intellectual rebels who are persecuted, condemned, or suppressed at the time; but to a later age, they seem harmless and often essential to the elevation of human conditions.

The enormous success of science has led to the general belief that scientists have developed and ate employing a "method" — a method that is extremely effective in gaining, organizing, and applying new knowledge. Galileo, famous scientist of the 1600s, is usually credited with being the "Father of the Scientific Method." His method is essentially as follows:

1. Recognize a problem.

2. Guess an answer.

3. Predict the consequences of the guess.

4. Perform experiments to test predictions.

5. Formulate the simplest theory organizes the three main ingredients: guess, prediction, experimental outcome.

Although this cookbook method has a certain appeal, to has not been the key to most of the breakthroughs and discoveries in science. Trial and error, experimentation without guessing, accidental discovery, and other methods account for much of the progress in science. Rather than a particular method, the success of science has more to do with an attitude common to scientists. This attitude is essentially one of inquiry, experimentation, and humility before the facts. If a scientist holds an idea to be true and finds any counterevidence whatever, the idea is either modified or abandoned. In the scientific spirit, the idea must be modified or abandoned in spite of the reputation of the person advocating it. As an example, the greatly respected Greek philosopher Aristotle said that falling bodies fall at a speed proportional to their weight. This false idea was held to be true for more than 2,000 years because of Aristotle's immense authority. In the scientific spirit, however, a single verifiable experiment to the contrary outweighs any authority, regardless of reputation or the number of followers and advocates.

Scientists must accept facts even when they would like them to be different. They must strive to distinguish between what they see and what they wish to see — for humanity's capacity for self-deception is vast. People have traditionally tended to adopt general rules, beliefs, creeds, theories, and ideas without thoroughly questioning their validity and to retain them long after they have been shown to be meaningless, false, or at least questionable. The most widespread assumptions are the least questioned. Most often, when an idea is adopted, particular attention is given to cases that seem to support it, while cases that seem to refute it are distorted, belittled, or ignored. We feel deeply that it is a sign of weakness to "change out minds." Competent scientists, however, must be expert at changing their minds. This is because science seeks not to defend our beliefs but to improve them. Better theories are made by those who are not hung up on prevailing ones.

Away from their profession, scientists are inherently no more honest or ethical than other people. But in their profession they work in an arena that puts a high premium on honesty. The cardinal rule in science is that all claims must be testable — they must be capable, at least in principle, of being proved wrong. For example, if someone claims that a certain procedure has a certain result, it must in principle be possible to perform a procedure that will either confirm or contradict the claim. If confirmed, then the claim is regarded as useful and a stepping-stone to further knowledge. None of us has the time or energy or resources to test every claim, so most of the time we must take somebody's word. However, we must have some criterion for deciding whether one person's word is as good as another's and whether one claim is as good as another. The criterion, again, is that the claim must be testable. To reduce the likelihood of error, scientists accept the word only of those whose ideas, theories, and findings are testable — if not in practice then at least in principle. Speculations that cannot be tested are regarded as "unscientific." This has the long-run effect of compelling honesty — findings widely publicized among fellow scientists are generally subjected to further testing. Sooner or later, mistake (and lies) are bound to be found out; wishful thinking is bound to be exposed. The honesty so important to the progress of science thus becomes a matter of self-interest to scientists.

New Words

represent

vt. be a sign or symbol of; act for 代表

collective

a. of or shared by a group of people 集体的

insight

n. the power of using one's mind to see or understand the true nature of a situation 洞察力

wisdom

n. intelligence and good judgment 智慧

reoccur

vi. occur again

dependability

n. reliability, trustworthiness

prediction

n. the act of predicting or sth. predicted 预测

headway

n. motion forward; progress

answerable

n. able to be answered

replace

vt. take or fill the place of

superstition

n. a belief or practice based on ignorance, faith in magic or chance 迷信

systematic

a. of, having or using a system; carried out according to a system

supernatural

n. outside of or beyond the natural world 超自然的

opposition

n. the act or condition of opposing; resistance

stationary

a. not moving or changing; not capable of being moved

hesitation

n. the act of hesitating

publish

vt. print and offer for sale

circulate

v. (cause to) spread widely; move or send around 传播，（使）流传，（使）循环

heretical

a. (of opinion) opposed to established beliefs or standards 异端的

ban

vt. forbid by law or decree

largely

ad. for the most part; mainly

infinite

a. having or seeming to have no limits; endless; very large

imprison

vt. put in prison

popularize

v. cause to be well know and generally liked or used; make (a difficult subject) easily understandable to ordinary people 使普及；推广

geologist

n. a person who knows much about geology 地质学家

violent

a. having, showing, or resulting from great physical force; showing or having strong feelings 强暴的；猛烈的

condemnation

n. express strong disapproval of, pronounce guilty of crime or wrong 谴责；宣告...有罪

condemnation n.

genesis

n. the beginning or origin: (G-) the first book of the Old Testament 起源;(《旧约全书》第一卷)《创世纪》

geology

n. the study of origin, structure, and history of the earth 地质学

evolution

n. slow, gradual development; the scientific theory that all living things developed very slowly over millions of years from simpler forms of life 进化（论）

crossway

n. crossroad; a road that crosses another

progressive

a. moving forward step by step; favoring or promoting improvement or reform

appoint

vt. name for an office, duty or position 指定，任命

rebel

n. a person who resists or opposes authority 反叛者

persecute

vt. treat continually in a cruel way, esp. because of political or religious beliefs 迫害

suppress

vt. stop or put down by force; keep in, hold back 镇压；抑制

essential

a. very important; vital

elevation

n. the act of raising to a higher place or position

elevate vt.

effective

a. able to bring about a desired result; being in force or operation

credit

vt. (with) believe that (sb.) has (a quality, or has done sth. good) 认为（某人）有（某种优点或成就等）

formulate

vt. express in an exact way 精确地阐述

ingredient

n. a substance that is part of a mixture or compound 成分

experimental

a. used for or connected with experiments

outcome

n. a final result

cookbook

n. a book of directions and recipes for cooking

breakthrough

n. an important advance or discovery, often after earlier failures

trial and error

process of solving a problem by trying various solutions and learning from one's failures 反复试验

experimentation

n. the making of experiments

accidental

a. happening by chance, not by plan or intention

countere idence

n. opposing evidence

modify

vt. change, esp. slightly

abandon

vt. give up completely; leave for good, desert

reputation

n. the general worth or quality of sb. or sth. as judged by others

Greek

n. sb. who was born in or is a citizen of Greece; the language of the Greeks 希腊人（语）

a. of Greece, its people, or their language

proportional

a. in proportion 成比例的

immense

a. of great size, extent or degree

verifiable

a. that can be checked or tested and proved to be true

outweigh

vt. weigh more than; exceed in value, importance or influence

follower

n. a person who follows or supports a particular person, belief, or cause, etc.

strive

vt. try hard

distinguish

v. know or see clearly the difference between two things; to hear or see clearly 区分，辨别

humanity

n. human beings as a group; people

adopt

vt. take and use as one's own

creed

n. a statement of the beliefs of principles held by a person or group 信条

retain

vt. continue to have; keep; hold in the mind or memory

questionable

a. perhaps not true, right or honest; not certain

assumption

n. sth. that is taken as a fact or believed to be true without proof

belittle

vt. cause to seem small or unimportant

weakness

n. the condition or quality of being weak; a weak point; fault

inherent

a. of or being a basic quality or characteristic of a person or thing 内在的，固有的

inherently ad.

ethical

a. agreeing with the rules or standards of right behavior

ethics

n. moral rules or principles of behavior governing a person or group 伦理，道德

arena

n. an enclosed area used for sports events and entertainments; any place of activity 竞技场；活动场所

premium

n. an unusual or high value

cardinal

a. chief, main, most important

testable

a. capable of being tested

procedure

n. a set of actions necessary for doing sth.; the method and order of directing business in an official meeting, law case, etc. 程序

contradict

vt. say the opposite of; disagree with 反驳；同...矛盾

stepping-stone

n. a means of advancing or rising; a way of improvement or gaining success 进身之阶；垫脚石

criterion

n. an established standard or principle on which a judgment or decision is based 标准

likelihood

n. the fact or degree of being likely; probability

speculation

n. careful thought, reflection; the act or process of guessing 沉思;推测

speculate

v. reflect; guess

unscientific

a. not scientific

long-run

a. happening or continuing over a long period of time

publicize

vt. bring to public notice 宣传,公布

publicity

n. (the business of bringing sb. or sth. to) public notice or attention

wishful

a. having or expressing a wish

wishful thinking

the false belier that sth. is true of will happen simply because one wishes it 如意算盘

Phrasrs & Expressions

meet with

experience or suffer

credit sb. with sth.

believe sb. has sth. or is responsible for sth.

account for

be responsible for, explain

have (...) to do with

have a (...)connection with

to the contrary

to the opposite effect, in disagreement

distinguish between

tell the difference between, separate (one) from (the other)

be hung up on / about

(infml.) be infatuated with or enthusiastic about 迷恋；热衷于

put a (high) premium on

regard as (very) important

in principle

as regards the general truth or rule, as fat as the overall idea is concerned

take sb.'s word (for it)

believe sb.; accept what sb. says as correct

in practice

in the actual doing of sth.

subject to

cause to experience or undergo

Proper Names

Paul G. Hewitt 保罗·G·休伊特

Copernicus 哥白尼

Bruno 布鲁诺

Galileo 伽利略