Abstract
The Greek word for science is “episteme” (ἐπιστήμη) which derives from the verb ἐπίσταμαι (epistamai, Ι know very well). So, science is not merely knowing but knowing well. Knowledge is the ultimate goal of all scientific inquiry and this explains why all scientific research should state beforehand its significance and value.
For, after all, what is man in nature? A nothing in comparison with the infinite, an absolute in comparison with nothing, a central point between nothing and all. Infinitely far from understanding these extremes, the end of things and their beginning are hopelessly hidden from him in an impenetrable secret.
Pensées 1660
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
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Notes
- 1.
The Bayesian update of beliefs is the most known probabilistic approach, whereas Belief Revision as suggested by Peter Gärdenfors and fellow researchers is the most widespread non-probabilistic one (see Gärdenfors 1992). With regard to the descriptive approach, belief revision is studied mainly in the areas of cognitive and clinical psychology, communication, etc. (see also Stelios 2016).
- 2.
A “thing in itself” is one half of the appearance/thing in itself distinction, which Kant originally defined at A491/B519 in terms of their existence: appearances have no existence “grounded in themselves” while things in themselves do (see Stang 2016).
- 3.
According to Quine (1951) Kant’s conception should be restated as “a statement is analytic when it is true by virtue of meanings and independently of fact”. Based on that, a priori analytic statements are thought to be true in virtue of their meaning, while a posteriori analytic propositions are thought to be true in virtue of both their meaning and certain facts about the world.
- 4.
Though Kant discusses issues relevant to scientific knowledge and especially Physics in the Critique, his views on this topic are developed most explicitly in the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science (1786).
- 5.
The 1934 German title Logik der Forschung. Zur Erkenntnistheorie der modernen Naturwissenschaft (Heidelberg: Mohr Siebeck) literally translates as Logic of Research: On the Epistemology of Modern Natural Science.
- 6.
Also available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theory (accessed on 21.4.2017).
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Theologou, K., Stelios, S., Kanavouras, A. (2018). Unveiling Scientific Knowledge for an Engineering Model. In: Experimentation Methodology for Engineers. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72191-0_2
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