Of Science and Philosophy and Philosophy of Science

Of Science and Philosophy & Philosophy of Science



The Stage is set and all the egos assemble for another discussion. The Philosopher stands up to air his views.

The Philosopher comments=
A great mistake you all committed today by condemning philosophy to an old man's recreational activity having no relevance at all in today's world.
It is not an armchair bound man's calisthenics of the mind.
It is the basis of all human thought and embodies the basis human need to know.

At This Point The Physicist stands up to interject and in disgust he interjects-
I have no patience for philosophy and nor will I ever go beyond the first two pages of a voluminous book on philosophy.
It goes round and round in circles and never going anywhere or finding anything.
In fact it destroys The Physicist's basic habit of reaching precisely to an understanding using mathematics.
I don't deal myself in such delusional activity.

At this point the Philosopher can't stand this any longer and gives his piece of mind-

Believe It Or Not! Philosophy is the Ground Work of all the subjects of Man.
No matter what Man does or does not, he will forever be connected to Philosophy with an "Umbilical Cord" and it is this connection that is the basic human spirit of Enquiry.

Man can swim and dive in the pools of other fields but whatever "oxygen"[The necessary fuel for Pursuit of Knowledge] depends on two things-
1. The Umbilical Cord-
More developed is his Basic Spirit of Enquiry the more elastic and stronger is this Umbilical Cord. This allows him to explore other fields and pools with fewer constraints.
2. The Ground Work Body Called Philosophy-
It is this body that gives you the necessary "Oxygen" and gives you a much better view of the subject in consideration.
Without this "body" Man would have withered and died away.
But Man is Alive if not flourishing and it is because of this Mother of All Studies-Philosophy.

To The Physicist he says-
All Physicists with Great power of analysis have needed the thrust and direction of Philosophy to find "something."
Otherwise the Physicist would become headless and directionless!!!
Indeed the Physicist has the head of the Philosopher and the arms of the Mathematician.And Mathematics seem to be the hard cold Logic of Philosophy Axiomatic and Symbolized .Mathematics is also the arm of Philosophy.

Philosophy comes naturally to all Men and Women .All those who have experienced Life in some measure can philosophize .The minute you are born you become a Philosopher then why revel in degrading it?

Respect and Use Philosophy Well Because It will give you the Principles, From Life to the Universe!!!
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[Silence Falls onto the Stage of Mind and the Egos in Silence contemplate on what has been said and consciously and unconsciously start to philosophize!!!]



The above were my views on science and philosophy and now to put forward my views on the philosophy of science.

I believe that this very important part of science which forms the foundations of science and most importantly gives it directions ahead into the future for its progress has been of late been neglected and is increasingly falling into the domains of intellectual obscurity.
Also a great emphasis is laid on science and its general form in classrooms but absolutely no regard is given for this area of science which always lays the foundations of the magnificent towering edifice which we now know as modern day science.


This is what Einstein had to say on this matter-
"I fully agree with you about the significance and educational value of methodology as well as history and philosophy of science. So many people today - and even professional scientists - seem to me like somebody who has seen thousands of trees but has never seen a forest. A knowledge of the historic and philosophical background gives that kind of independence from prejudices of his generation from which most scientists are suffering. This independence created by philosophical insight is - in my opinion - the mark of distinction between a mere artisan or specialist and a real seeker after truth."
— Einstein to Robert A. Thornton, 7 December 1944

I also strongly believe that the scientists of today are living in nothing but darkness. They are nothing but as Einstein clearly pointed out mere artisans who are "blind" and continue to ignore the great riches of philosophical insights that could provide them with new insights.
The reason why I think the geniuses in the field of science like Sir Issac Newton and Albert Einstein are so "rare" is because all the other so-called seekers of 'scientific truth'
fail to grasp the importance of philosophy. The argument of intelligence is completely baseless because I am sure there are many scientists who are far more intelligent than the likes of these geniuses but they simply fail to get the proper direction which is so important for the progress of Science. To be a genius you have to do more than just have IQs of more than 140-150.

If you would notice that I had put the word 'scientific truth' under inverted commas is because I simply do not believe in this, in what I call nothing but an abomination to the word 'truth'.
There is only one 'truth' and the prefix used-'scientific', is going a step too far in trying to talk of Science as the ultimate path towards truth.

Most scientist would agree that 'there is more to what that meets the eye' but do not wish to proceed ahead. I think if they wish to find the truth then they would have to become more than mere peddlers of 'scientific truth'.

There are certain modern day debates like whether Intelligent Design and other such theories should be incorporated within the 'holier than thou' domain of Science. While this is a very contentious issue I would only say that such theories should not be discouraged and ignored by the large scientific fraternity. I do agree that it would be very difficult to enquire and investigate ahead in such areas with quintessential scientific methods but nevertheless one shouldn't junk them to the refuse of 'failed theories' because if not now then in the future it might possible to proceed ahead through scientific methods. Over here the prime example would be the Theory of Relativity whose story many know.

Over here I am not trying to prove the supremacy of Philosophy over Science or trying to undermine Science itself, but I am only trying to point out to what has been missing in Science and Scientists.

I definitely feel that a great revision is needed in not only how Science is being done all over the world but also on how it is being taught. These words that I write here might get lost among other voices but I do not think it is futile.