\u201cLife lessons from the native tribe with the healthiest hearts in the world\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
But what is<\/em> \u201cscience,\u201d anyway?<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our English word\u00a0science<\/em>\u00a0derives, ultimately, from the Latin verb\u00a0scire<\/em>, which meant \u201cto know.\u201d \u00a0In modern English, though,\u00a0science\u00a0<\/em>doesn\u2019t refer simply to knowledge in general. \u00a0Rather, it denotes a certain\u00a0kind<\/em>\u00a0of knowledge \u2014 or, even, to be really precise, a certain methodology (or bundle of methodologies; after all, cosmology, botany, geology, particle physics, genetics, \u00a0astrophysics, and ecology employ quite distinct methods and styles of reasoning) for\u00a0attaining<\/em>\u00a0that certain kind of knowledge.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Very few if any people in the English-speaking world, for instance, would describe art history as a \u201cscience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is history, more generally, a \u201cscience\u201d? \u00a0Some historians have aspired to that status \u2014 Leopold von Ranke\u2019s famous goal of recording or writing history\u00a0wie es eigentlich gewesen<\/em>\u00a0(\u201cas it actually was\u201d) surely expresses some such ambition \u2014 but most today probably don\u2019t. \u00a0And, while history can be ranked among the \u201csocial sciences\u201d (as it is at BYU, for instance), it\u2019s often placed within colleges of \u201cArts and Letters\u201d). \u00a0And it\u2019s arguably at least as close to literature as it is to nuclear physics.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is \u201cpolitical science\u201d really a \u201cscience\u201d? \u00a0As practiced by some (e.g., by those who work with survey data), it may tend in a genuinely \u201cscientific\u201d direction. \u00a0But more than a few \u201cpolitical scientists\u201d are either uncomfortable with or irritated by the notion that they\u2019re doing \u201cscience.\u201d \u00a0Courses on political philosophy, for instance, don\u2019t seem \u201cscientific\u201d at all \u2014 though that doesn\u2019t even\u00a0begin<\/em>\u00a0to render without value the study of Plato\u2019s\u00a0Republic<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Laws<\/em>, Aristotle\u2019s\u00a0Politics<\/em>, or the work of John Rawls.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
There are valuable areas of scholarship, study, and thought that have nothing to do with \u201cscience\u201d as it is generally conceived in English.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In German, though, the word\u00a0Wissenschaft<\/em>\u00a0is quite a different matter.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 As I\u2019ve repeatedly pointed out, to howls of protest and irritation from certain quarters, science is a thoroughly human enterprise. \u00a0As this article well illustrates, the scientific topics that are pursued are chosen by humans, and the scientific questions that are asked are formulated by human minds: \u00a0 \u201c\u2018Invisible Women\u2019 spotlights a gaping […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
What is science, anyway?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" As I've repeatedly pointed out, to howls of protest and irritation from certain quarters, science is a thoroughly human enterprise. \u00a0As this\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is science, anyway?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" As I've repeatedly pointed out, to howls of protest and irritation from certain quarters, science is a thoroughly human enterprise. \u00a0As this\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-19T23:36:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/04\/800px-2009_07_02_-_Arctic_tern_on_Farne_Islands_-_The_blue_rope_demarcates_the_visitors_path.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html\",\"name\":\"What is science, anyway?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-19T23:36:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-04-19T23:36:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" As I've repeatedly pointed out, to howls of protest and irritation from certain quarters, science is a thoroughly human enterprise. \u00a0As this\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is science, anyway?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is science, anyway?","description":" As I've repeatedly pointed out, to howls of protest and irritation from certain quarters, science is a thoroughly human enterprise. \u00a0As this","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is science, anyway?","og_description":" As I've repeatedly pointed out, to howls of protest and irritation from certain quarters, science is a thoroughly human enterprise. \u00a0As this","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2019-04-19T23:36:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/04\/800px-2009_07_02_-_Arctic_tern_on_Farne_Islands_-_The_blue_rope_demarcates_the_visitors_path.jpg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html","name":"What is science, anyway?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-04-19T23:36:53+00:00","dateModified":"2019-04-19T23:36:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" As I've repeatedly pointed out, to howls of protest and irritation from certain quarters, science is a thoroughly human enterprise. \u00a0As this","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/04\/what-is-science-anyway.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is science, anyway?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73147\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2019\/04\/800px-2009_07_02_-_Arctic_tern_on_Farne_Islands_-_The_blue_rope_demarcates_the_visitors_path.jpg\")
<\/a>