Examine the ways empirical evidence should be used to make progress in different areas of knowledge

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Samuel Dennis                Word count : 1300 words

TOK Essay

Examine the ways empirical evidence should be used to make progress in different areas of knowledge.

        This essay will be investigating the ways in which empirical evidence, obtained from the empirical (or scientific) method, can be used in two different areas of knowledge. The empirical method is an elaborate method which, greatly simplified, is a scientific experiment. The areas that I have chosen to compare concerning the use of empirical evidence are the natural sciences and the human sciences where the former is much more based around empirical evidence for reasons that I will be exploring. It is interesting to note that both include the word “sciences” within their titles.

        Today, empirical evidence is used mainly in the areas in the knowledge of natural sciences. It is explored in academic subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics. The empirical, or scientific, method uses the following steps:

  1. Define the question
  2. Gather information and resources (observe)
  3. Form hypothesis
  4. Perform experiment and collect data
  5. Analyze data
  6. Interpret data and draw conclusions that serve as a starting point for new hypothesis
  7. Publish results
  8. Retest (frequently done by other scientists)

Evidently, the scientific method, the means by which empirical evidence is obtained, is a reliable and reviewed method that, if respected, allows a reliable means to conduct experiments. This is why, more often than not, it is used to draw conclusions in natural sciences and hence should be used to make progress in this area of science.

        Having taken Physics as an IB subject, I have had to employ the empirical method a number of times to carry out experiments and write up reports about them. In the write-ups, I have had to analyse, assess and criticise the methods and means I used to carry out the experiments. On one hand, through doing this, I have appreciated the values of the empirical method and its strengths because of its dependence on perception and reasoning. These ways of knowing tend to be the most reliable because, unlike emotion and language, they depend less on the knower. Using reasoning and perception, I was able to have a more objective view concerning my results. On the other hand, I have also learned to appreciate that, even the empirical method, is not perfect. We cannot be absolutely certain of anything whilst using it. It merely allows us to close the gap between hypothesis and reality so that, when it comes to forming the theory, the leap of faith is as small as possible.

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        There are also other cases where the phenomena in natural sciences cannot always be explained using the empirical method. This arises when the means available to scientists are limited. An example of this is the theory behind the Big Bang – impossible for scientists to test with the means currently available to them. However, as always, scientists are trying to find new methods to overcome obstacles and the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva (the world’s largest particle accelerator) is a good example of this, as an attempt to recreate conditions similar to those “at the beginning of time”. These ...

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