The first quote about the natural sciences that I found interesting was "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not 'Eureka!', (I found it) but 'That's funny...'". The quote was stated by Isaac Asimov, one of the defining writers of science fiction. This quote tells us a lot about The Natural Sciences; while they are often considered a rigid and structured area of knowledge, a lot of our breakthroughs are simply a result of curiosity. We observe something, we hypothesize about it's nature, and we test until we figure out what it is. Thus, the natural sciences aren't rigid so much as they are based on trial and error, and a desire to continually learn.
This also makes the purpose of the natural sciences quite clear: to expand our knowledge of the way the universe works until there is nothing left to learn. We have discovered so much, but even now we've probably only covered the slightest fraction of the amount of knowledge there is to be obtained about the whole universe. We don't even know what the bottoms of our oceans look like! The natural sciences exist to explain. They exist to explain why the sky is blue, or why some dogs are bigger than others, or why a stone would sink in water while a leaf would float.
The quotes vary in their interpretation of science as an area of knowledge. American satirist H.L. Mencken believes science is "anti-intellectual" in that "it distrusts pure reason" but instead relies on "objective fact", a perfectly valid and accurate interpretation. But one of the most revolutionary physicists of all time, Stephen Hawking, believes science is also a discipline of romance and passion. They could all be right. Science is a large field, and its role, as well as its relation to areas of knowledge like the human sciences and mathematics versus arts, ethics, and other knowledge systems vary based on the scientist and what he is trying to achieve. We can use science in more precisely forming our art, but we can also use mathematics to objectify our scientific discoveries.
Another quote about the natural sciences is American lawyer Robert Ingersoll's "Reason, Observation, and Experience - the Holy Trinity of Science". This quote highlights how the natural sciences relate to other areas and ways of knowledge. Most of science is based on reasoning and logic. We only form our scientific theories based on rigorous testing and data analysis, and try and remove all subjectivity and assumptions in our conclusions. Thus mathematics is the prerequisite for science. Intuition and perception also play a part in our observations of the world.
This also makes the purpose of the natural sciences quite clear: to expand our knowledge of the way the universe works until there is nothing left to learn. We have discovered so much, but even now we've probably only covered the slightest fraction of the amount of knowledge there is to be obtained about the whole universe. We don't even know what the bottoms of our oceans look like! The natural sciences exist to explain. They exist to explain why the sky is blue, or why some dogs are bigger than others, or why a stone would sink in water while a leaf would float.
The quotes vary in their interpretation of science as an area of knowledge. American satirist H.L. Mencken believes science is "anti-intellectual" in that "it distrusts pure reason" but instead relies on "objective fact", a perfectly valid and accurate interpretation. But one of the most revolutionary physicists of all time, Stephen Hawking, believes science is also a discipline of romance and passion. They could all be right. Science is a large field, and its role, as well as its relation to areas of knowledge like the human sciences and mathematics versus arts, ethics, and other knowledge systems vary based on the scientist and what he is trying to achieve. We can use science in more precisely forming our art, but we can also use mathematics to objectify our scientific discoveries.
Another quote about the natural sciences is American lawyer Robert Ingersoll's "Reason, Observation, and Experience - the Holy Trinity of Science". This quote highlights how the natural sciences relate to other areas and ways of knowledge. Most of science is based on reasoning and logic. We only form our scientific theories based on rigorous testing and data analysis, and try and remove all subjectivity and assumptions in our conclusions. Thus mathematics is the prerequisite for science. Intuition and perception also play a part in our observations of the world.
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