Systematicity: The Nature of Science
Paul Hoyningen-Huene
Abstract
The book addresses the question of what the nature of science is. Throughout the book, “science” is taken in a very wide sense, including not only the natural sciences, but also mathematics, the social sciences, and the humanities. The question “What is science?” is answered by the following thesis: Scientific knowledge is primarily distinguished from other forms of knowledge, especially from everyday knowledge, by being more systematic. This thesis is developed in nine dimensions in which it is claimed that science is more systematic than other forms of knowledge, especially everyday knowledg ... More
The book addresses the question of what the nature of science is. Throughout the book, “science” is taken in a very wide sense, including not only the natural sciences, but also mathematics, the social sciences, and the humanities. The question “What is science?” is answered by the following thesis: Scientific knowledge is primarily distinguished from other forms of knowledge, especially from everyday knowledge, by being more systematic. This thesis is developed in nine dimensions in which it is claimed that science is more systematic than other forms of knowledge, especially everyday knowledge: regarding descriptions, explanations, predictions, the defense of knowledge claims, critical discourse, epistemic connectedness, an ideal of completeness, knowledge generation, and the representation of knowledge. The thesis is argued by exemplifying it in its nine dimensions with numerous examples from very diverse disciplines. Furthermore, the thesis is compared with the most important positions in the philosophy of science regarding the question “What is science?” from antiquity to today. Finally, some consequences of the thesis are drawn, concerning the genesis and dynamics of science, the relationship of science and common sense, normative implications of the thesis, and the demarcation criterion between science and pseudo-science.
Keywords:
systematicity,
science,
social science,
humanities,
pseudo-science
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2013 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199985050 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: September 2013 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199985050.001.0001 |
