Science is the collection of knowledge of the physical world through making observations or conducting experiments. It can also be defined as the facts or principles obtained from carrying out a systematic study.
Science and Beliefs
The nature of belief distinguishes it from science. Science is the body of knowledge while a belief is an element of knowledge. An example of science is biology which is a body of knowledge regarding life and living organisms (Stretton, 2013) . On the other hand, an example of belief is the trust and conviction in God as the supreme being. For knowledge to exist there must be a belief. Regardless, such a belief must exhibit truthfulness and must be justified. A current problem is a fact that many beliefs are created by an individual’s personal experience and their judgments regarding those experiences. Such experiences which are subjective are considered unsystematic and unverified. They tend to be unreliable and often misleading. On the other hand, science is a systematic way of overcoming the drawbacks of personal experience. It is a collection of procedures created to prevent an individual from fooling themselves. The performance of controlled experiments by scientists is aimed at ensuring that the observations are not affected by the aforementioned limitations.
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Science and Faith
The degree of openness distinguishes science from faith. Faith is a significantly strong belief in a person or specific concept such as religious doctrines based on spiritual realization rather than truth (Sen, 2018). For this reason, it is an element of knowledge. Therefore, it is different from science since the latter is an accumulation of knowledge. In addition, science is an open system since data gathered by scientists are open to testing by other individuals. In this case, the body of knowledge can be criticized. The process of scrutinizing the propositions of other individuals is essential to the scientific method. The body of knowledge regarding energy and force has been obtained through the scrutiny of the findings of various scientists and researchers. Contrastingly, faith tends to have a closed system due to its sacred nature. In addition, faith should be accepted as it is, instead of being challenged. An example of faith is when an individual is faced with a serious disease. They tend to have faith that they will be healed by God. Their complete trust in God is sacred making it closed in nature.
Science and Feelings
The level of subjectivity distinguishes feelings from science. Feelings are created from an individual’s personal experience and their judgments regarding particular experiences. Such experiences are typically subjective. For instance, when an individual is faced with danger, they tend to feel scared. Such a feeling is formed from the individual’s personal experience in a dangerous situation. It is typically unsystematic and unverified. On the other hand, science is based on facts and does not exhibit subjectivity. As opposed to feelings, science does not exist simply in any individual’s mind. It is observable in the same manner to any individual at any time. Feelings emerge from personal experiences which cannot be duplicated in precisely the same manner by any individual at any time. On the contrary, in science, any individual can run the same experiment and obtain the same result.
Science and Guesswork
The use of factual evidence distinguishes science from guesswork. Science is a body of knowledge that is backed by factual evidence while guesswork is a prediction regarding a specific outcome and it is not backed by factual evidence. For instance, one can guess that it will rain on a specific day. Such a prediction is not backed by facts and, in this case, it is regarded as guesswork. Critical thinking is the intentional mental process of analyzing and evaluating a concept or idea with aim of improving it. It can also be defined as a broad range of cognitive skills required to efficiently recognize, analyze, and assess arguments and truth claims.
Importance of Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is essential in the progress of science since it assists scientists to overcome their personal beliefs while improving their chances of identifying and acknowledging the truth of the matter. Science is based on facts that can be viewed and measured by any individual globally (Cottrell, 2017) . In this case, it does incorporate subjective experiences, opinions, or perceptions. Critical thinking ensures that such subjective opinions and thoughts are avoided during the experimentation or observation process. In this case, accuracy in observation can be guaranteed. In effect, the chances of arriving at the truth of the matter significantly increase. Critical thinking ensures that the beliefs which come out on top are those that are backed by factual evidence. In this case, scientific concepts can be derived and later challenged. It also prevents individuals from fooling themselves and assists them to avoid ignoring and misinterpreting evidence that conflicts with their own personal beliefs. Personal beliefs cannot be verified, or measured, and are not agreed upon globally. Overcoming such a limitation through critical thinking ensures that evidence that challenges the individual personal belief is considered. Evidence forms the basis of scientific concepts and for this reason, its consideration guarantees the progress of science.
References
Cottrell, S. (2017). Critical thinking skills: Effective analysis, argument and reflection . London: Macmillan Education UK.
Sen, R. (2018). Articles of faith: religion, secularism, and the Indian Supreme Court . Oxford University Press.
Stretton, H. (2013). The political sciences: General principles of selection in social science and history . Routledge.
