Scientific Thinking Meaning: We explain what scientific thinking is, what its origin is and what its characteristics are. Also, some examples.
What is scientific thinking?
Scientific thinking is a type of reasoning that is based on skepticism, observation and experimentation to support its conclusions about reality. It depends on the demonstrable verification of its interpretations of the world and the laws that govern it.
It is a way of reasoning alien to the methods and reasoning of religion, magic and medieval scholasticism, whose knowledge is neither explainable nor verifiable. On the contrary, science embraces critical thinking and the rationalist spirit of Renaissance philosophers. You must read about Grammar once.
Thus, modern scientific thought is based especially on the application of the scientific method, proposed by the British philosopher and writer Francis Bacon (1561-1626) in his work On the Dignity and Progress of Science.
This type of thinking is vital to understanding the modern world. It has proven highly effective in translating the observable universe into systematic, demonstrable and reproducible theories, completely independent of individual subjectivities. Furthermore, its conjunction with techniques has given rise to technology, the source of the tools that today make human life easier.
Origin of scientific thought
The concern to know and understand the universe is the germ of scientific thought and has existed in the human species since its beginning. Already in ancient times there were great practitioners of what was then known as philosophy or natural philosophy. Unlike modern science, it was based both on the contemplation of nature and on its mythical or religious interpretation.
This did not prevent the great thinkers of the ancient and later medieval world from dedicating themselves to the meticulous and systematic observation of natural phenomena and, as new knowledge was acquired and new tools were manufactured, the laws that govern the world became much better known.
However, scientific thought itself appeared after the Renaissance, the result of the philosophical and cultural change that occurred after the end of the Middle Ages and the replacement of religious faith by human reason as the supreme value of humanity. This paradigm shift, which rescued the classical legacy and challenged the conventions of religious thought, is known as the Scientific Revolution. Maybe you should definitely read about Gastronomy once.
Characteristics of scientific thought
Scientific thought consists of four essential characteristics:
Objectivity and rationality
Scientific thought must be independent of the feelings, interests and opinions of the person who formulates it, since it attempts to obtain valid and universal conclusions regarding the laws that govern nature. For this reason, its assessments do not leave room for opinion or creativity, but must be neutral, transparent and impartial.
Demonstrability and verifiability
Scientific conclusions must be universal and, to do so, they must be able to be demonstrated empirically, that is, through direct experience and appreciation of the senses. For this reason, science is often based on the interpretation of the results obtained through the replication of a natural phenomenon under controlled conditions, that is, through experiments.
However, not all sciences are experimental. Those that do not admit verification through experience must be supported by valid, logical and irrefutable arguments.
Systematicity and methodicality
Scientific thought is formulated and structured through ordered, methodical procedures, which step by step constitute a rational, empirical procedure that can be analyzed in any of its stages and elements. Thus, for example, an experiment must be able to be replicated as many times as necessary and always obtain the same result in order to be considered true.
On the other hand, scientific knowledge is organized and compartmentalized so that proven and demonstrated knowledge serves to understand other more complex realities, which in turn generates new knowledge, and so on.
Precision and communicability
Scientific thought must be exact, concrete, and must be able to be communicated, both to other members of the scientific community, responsible for submitting its results to verification and validation, and to the general community, through specialized or popular publications, respectively.
Thus, under no circumstances can scientific thought be incoherent, inexplicable or untranslatable into more or less simple terms.
Examples of scientific thinking
There are many possible examples of the application of scientific thinking. For example, the appreciation of the universe allowed by the so-called exact or hard sciences, such as chemistry, astronomy or physics, are evidence of how science allows humans to understand the surrounding reality. This is the case of the laws of mechanics, the chemical transformations of matter and the understanding of human anatomy and biochemical processes.
At the same time, this understanding allows humans to influence reality and develop increasingly powerful tools, such as electricity, computing or engineering.
