We explain what scientific knowledge is and what its characteristics are. Also, differences with empirical knowledge.
What is scientific knowledge?
Scientific knowledge is the organized set of knowledge obtained through scientific method that is, through the rigorous and methodical observation of natural phenomena and the subsequent formulation of an empirically verifiable hypothesis.
Scientific knowledge is the set of all scientific theories, that is, the explanations that human beings have formulated regarding the world through science. These theories are supported by evidence and are made up of verifiable propositions and deductions.
Unlike religious knowledge or pseudosciences, scientific knowledge does not depend on faith in the interpretation of facts but on the verifiability and universality of its assessments. For this reproduces natural phenomena in a controlled environment that is, perform experiments that can be verified and refuted by other scientists.
Scientific theories can be renewed, modified or even completely replaced by others that better respond to reality and are compatible with other scientific postulates demonstrated to be true. In this way, science updates itself and remains continually verified.
What are scientific theories? Contrary to what its name suggests, a scientific theory is not equivalent to a hypothesis (“one theory among others”), but rather a complex and complete formulation that gives meaning to the evidence obtained experimentally. Thus, when scientific laws are demonstrated and integrated into a larger perspective, they then acquire the rank of theory.
Characteristics of scientific knowledge
Scientific knowledge is characterized by the following:
- Use the scientific method to study the phenomena of reality in a rigorous and orderly manner.
- It does not depend on belief or of faith, but of the empirical demonstration of its precepts.
- It is based on the investigation : collects data from previous scientific experiences, on the one hand, and carries out its own experimental procedures.
- Updates itself as it is acquired, which allows verification, modification and even replacement of previous theories.
- It is rational, objective and systematic that is, it does not depend on personal opinions or appreciations, and constitutes an organized set of interrelated knowledge.
- It is critical and grounded that is, it questions reality logically and obtains evidence and proof from it.
- It is universal, unified and verifiable that is, it is always the same anywhere in the world and, under the same conditions, it can be demonstrated anywhere with the same exact results.
Examples of scientific knowledge
Some examples of scientific knowledge can be:
- The mathematical theorems of Pythagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher, which more than 2000 years later are still valid.
- The biochemical understanding of antibiotics from the discovery of penicillin in the 20th century and its medical administration to combat infections.
- Isaac Newton's formulations about motion, which today have the status of laws.
- The description of the respiration and photosynthesis processes carried out by animal and plant beings respectively.
- The study of human anatomy for centuries, thanks to which complex surgeries, such as transplants, are performed today.
- The development of optics that allows studying the solar system and the movements of planet Earth.
- The discovery of electricity and the ability to transmit, accumulate and take advantage of current, which gave rise to a true industrial and technological revolution starting in the 19th century.
- The understanding of the atom and the forces it contains, set in motion in peaceful atomic energy and in the atomic bombs of the 20th century.
- The discovery of microscopic life that led to the long-term pasteurization and preservation of food, and forever changed the way humans eat.
Elements of scientific knowledge
There are different elements that make up scientific knowledge, such as:
- The scientific hypotheses . They are the approximations and speculations that are made to explain a phenomenon of nature, and that are sought to be demonstrated (or refuted) through scientific research.
- The scientific formulas . They are the formal (mathematical) representations that allow us to express the relationships and proportions observed in nature and perform calculations with them.
- The scientific laws . They are the proven and universal principles that describe a natural phenomenon or a certain aspect in scientific and conditional terms.
- scientific theories . They are the sets of ideas through which the observed and verified phenomena are explained in a logical, formal and comprehensive way.
- scientific experiments . They are the reproductions of the studied phenomena that are carried out in a controlled environment, to verify the hypotheses, deductions and explanations that support a theory.
Scientific knowledge and empirical knowledge
Unlike scientific knowledge, which is the result of research, experimentation and verification, Empirical knowledge is that which is obtained through direct experience with the world and is, therefore, limited to the senses and perceptions.
For this reason, empirical knowledge is not enough to understand the universe, since the senses have clear limitations. For example, the human eye perceives an area of land as a plain, when in reality it is a spherical surface.
However, empirical knowledge is an important ingredient of scientific knowledge: all scientific knowledge is, at the same time, empirical, but not all empirical knowledge is necessarily scientific.
Other types of knowledge
Other forms of knowledge are:
- Philosophical knowledge. It is one that emerges from thought, in the abstract, and that uses various logical or formal reasoning methods that do not always arise directly from reality, but from the imaginary representation of what is real.
- Intuitive knowledge. It is one that is acquired without formal reasoning, quickly and unconsciously, as a result of intuition or subconscious perceptions.
- Religious knowledge. It is that which is linked to the mystical and religious experience, that is, to the knowledge that studies the link between the human being and the divine.
References
- Carbonelli, M., Esquivel Cruz, J. and Irrazábal, G. (2011). Introduction to scientific knowledge and the research methodology. Arturo Jauretche National University.
- Niiniluoto, I. (2024). “Scientific Progress”. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/
- Sánchez Segundo, G. (2005). Introduction to the study of scientific knowledge. Plaza and Valdes.
