What is Scientific Thought?

He scientific thought Is the ability of people to formulate ideas and mental representations in a rational and objective way. It distinguishes this type of thinking from everyday thoughts, metaphysical and magical.

But, in order to understand what scientific thinking is, we must first understand what science is and thus decipher how thought can be nurtured from it. According to different academic portals, science is:

Scientific thought is universal and infinite

"A set of techniques and methods that allow to organize the knowledge about the structure of objective facts and accessible to different observers".

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Scientific thought: definition and origins

Scientific thinking is based on observations and experiences that generate questions or"methodical doubts"for Descartes. From these questions are developed systems of verification that approve or discard them. These testing methods are based on experience and measurement.

From the beginning of mankind, man has gradually developed the ability to think To act correctly in the different situations. However, not all man's thinking has ever been mediated by science.

In antiquity predominated magical or mythological thinking, in which man found the solutions to the great questions from the action of the gods and nature. Centuries later, in the Middle Ages Religious thought prevailed, whose premise was that nothing was possible without the will of God.

What is Scientific Thought?

Thanks to the progress of the Newton Y Galileo Galilei , The horizons of a more rational type of thought begin to open up and explain the phenomena of nature by unshakable laws in which God could not intervene.

In 1636, René Descartes writes The discourse of the method , The first modern work. The modern twist was not only to find universally valid methods for obtaining knowledge, but also to God as the center And placed man as the beginning and the end.

Since then, rational thought based on science has dominated the explanations of natural and human phenomena. A practical example of the application of scientific thought is that when it rains it is no longer thought that a god cries, but we know that there is a process of evaporation, condensation and precipitation.

The human being thinks to carry out simple and complex activities. But not always thought has to be scientific, authors pose everyday thinking as a stable set of scientific and magical aspects.

Premises of scientific thought

Objectivity

Close-up of a microscope.

It is based on undeniable elements. Objectivity is the adaptation of phenomena to reality. Only facts serve to support the objectivity of something. However, there is much debate about objectivity when it comes to being treated by subjects.

Rationality

Reason is one of the faculties that allows us to distinguish between good and bad. Rational thinking is subject to scientific principles and laws. Rationality makes possible the integration of concepts and logical laws.

Systematic

The systematicity is a series of elements that have been compiled in a harmonic way. But if we talk about science, we must define it more precisely. Scientific thoughts can not be without order. They are always framed in a set and relate to each other.

Characteristics of scientific thinking

For Mario Bunge scientific knowledge should have the following characteristics:

Tactical

It is factual because it starts from facts of reality and returns frequently to confirm it. Sensitive experience is elementary in order to grasp the facts of reality.

Analytical

What is Scientific Thought? Pollen seen through a microscope.

It comprises each of the parts that integrate a phenomenon and classifies it based on different criteria. The analytic character also consists of continually decomposing and describing objects more deeply.

Transcendent

Scientific knowledge does not die or never go out of fashion, once a phenomenon has acquired the character of scientist transcends the barriers of time.

Precise

Scientific knowledge must necessarily be precise. The best example of this is mathematics, in spite of speaking thousands of languages, mathematical language is understood and accurate throughout the world.

Symbolic

The symbolism in scientific thought appears in the capacity of abstraction that every person must have to generate mental representations that are real. Without the ability to symbolize and abstract, it would not be possible to think deeply and make analogies.

Communicable

It is available to anyone who makes the effort to understand and apply it. One of the necessary conditions to develop this type of thinking has been the ability to communicate data and reflect on them.

Verifiable

All knowledge that claims to be scientific has to be tested under different conditions. All that is not verifiable is pseudo-science and metaphysics.

Methodical

Thought and scientific knowledge can not be messed up, methodically plans the steps to follow. This serves to obtain particular and general conclusions, in addition to making analogies.

Predictive

Scientific thought accurately predicts future events that can trigger an event based on laws and principles that has the same science.

Useful

Scientific knowledge has been one of the main strongholds for the advancement of humanity when it has tried to understand great problems and seek solutions.

Scientific thought in history

Perhaps the first manifestation or attempt to seek more rational explanations happened in Greece. The Doxa It was a worldview that explained everything from myths and supernatural forces; The philosophers interposed the episteme as the true knowledge or knowledge that opposed the apparent knowledge.

Louis Pasteur's contributions to science

In the Egyptian Empire, important knowledge was developed in areas such as mathematics, medicine and biology. This helped to strengthen the new system of knowledge production.

But the period in which the definitive change takes place towards scientific notions of way of perceiving the world is in the rebirth. At this stage the scientific basis for the study of truth was laid and the scientific method .

Albert Einstein said:"Science without religion is lame, and religion without science is blind." Today we know that scientific thinking allows us to lay solid foundations for growth, acquiring the knowledge and basic tools to improve as human beings and as a society.

References

  1. Definition of (2017) Scientific Thought. Recovered from: definicion.de.
  2. Estela, S; Tagliabue, R. (1998) Scientific Thought. Editorial Byblos. Buenos Aires. Argentina.
  3. Pérez, A. (2016) The Importance of Scientific Thought and the Critical Spirit. Recovered from: nuecesyneuronas.com.
  4. Torres, A. (2017) Daily Thought and Scientific Thought. Recovered from: milenio.com.
  5. López, J. (2004) Scientific Thought. Recovered from: uv.mx.
  6. Marshall, W. (1974) Scientific Thought. Editorial Grijalbo. Mexico.
  7. Ruiz, R. (1989) History and Evolution of Scientific Thinking. Editorial Grupo Patria Cultural, S.A. Mexico.
  8. Yehoshua, B. (1983) Studies and History of Scientific Thought. Editorial Critic. Spain.


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