Ronald N. Giere

Chapter 1. Why study scientific reasoning

Science and technology have become an unignorable part of everyday life. “Information age” – much of the info concerns science or tech. To understand that we need some knowledge.

Scientific subjects range from purely intellectual to very practical: expanding universe, global warming, smoking and heart diseases.

How to learn: don’t need to understand what’s happening in labs. Enough if you can read reports. No need for new hardware or information, need to upgrade our ‘program’. Tactics: general ideas, examples, exercises.

Scientific reasoning is a skill and thus needs practice.

Chapter 2. Understanding and evaluating theoretical hypotheses

The example of discovering DNA structure by Watson and Crick. Further reading: The Double Helix by James Watson. This book was criticized for being too personal and not showing the scientific process ‘objective’ and ‘rational’ enough.

There is no ‘scientific method’ because different subjects need different methods. Scientists construct models. Then evaluate if the model fits. Then convince others and spread the word.

Models or maps represent the area mapped. They cannot be mistaken with the real thing. However, with theoretical models it happens. A theoretical model is part of an imagined world. A theoretical hypothesis is a statement about a relationship between a theoretical model and some aspect of the world.

A scientific theory has two components: a family of models and a set of theoretical hypotheses.

Need data to determine whether a model fits. Data has to be obtained by a physical interaction with differences reliably detected. All information is not relevant data.

A program for evaluating theoretical hypotheses:

1. Real world. Identify the aspect of world that is the focus of the study.
2. Model. Identify a theoretical model whose fit is an issue.
3. Prediction. What data should be obtained?
4. Data.
5. Negative evidence?
6. Positive evidence?

Exercises follow to practice the program.