Theories in the natural sciences are considered convincing because the formulation of these theories is derived from mathematical equations. “Mathematics is the language of science [and] science probably derives its reliability from mathematical equations.” Sensory perception is required in experiments to formulate a scientific theory but ultimately, everything boils down to mathematical equations. (Lau) Mathematical equations are used in all science disciplines. In a biology experiment to investigate the rate of enzymatic reaction, calculations are required to calculate the rate from raw data collected. In chemistry, mathematics is needed to calculate the concentrations of solutions in moles. Even in ancient Greek, “many sophisticated understandings of our Solar System were based on the Greeks’ strong grasp of geometry”. (e-education.psu.edu) Mathematics is deemed as the most certain area of knowledge to many. Although not necessarily true, it is believed to provide absolute truth and since it is the basis of scientific theories, people tend to be convinced by them. For example, the scientific community did not accept Michael Faraday’s electromagnetic field theory because no mathematical terms were able to provide any convincing explanation at that time. James Maxwell later provided the necessary mathematical equations to justify Faraday’s theory, which was then accepted (Lau). Thus, theories in the natural sciences are convincing because mathematics is the foundation of it.
While theories in natural sciences are convincing due to the nature of the scientific method and procedure, theories in human sciences are much more complex. The human sciences are the study of the human behavior. Though both the natural and human sciences require the same methodology, i.e. observation and experimentation, theories about the way humans behave tend to be less consistent as every individual is different. The individual behavior is unique to our experiences and personality - not all humans act the same way when put under the same circumstances. It is therefore not possible to generalize a theory that applies to all individuals, as it is in the case for the natural sciences where the theory could be applied to different occurring natural phenomenon. For example, the law of demand in economics suggests that when the price of a good increases, the demand for that good decreases. Generally, this law holds true with the exception of a Giffen good where demand increases as price increases in the case of the poverty-stricken individuals. It is evident from the above example that theories in the human sciences do not necessarily rely on the same criteria as the natural sciences do to make it convincing. Nonetheless, this happens only in exceptional cases. Comparable to the natural sciences, theories in the human sciences also go through a vigorous process of replication and reproduction of results. Thus, these theories can be convincing on a certain level.
Despite idiosyncratic differences in human behavior, human scientists can make and obtain seemingly accurate predictions and evidence about the human phenomenon, thus making theories convincing. This is possible because of the law of large numbers, which says that “the larger the sample population used in a test, the more accurate the predictions of the behavior of that sample, and smaller the expected deviation in comparisons of outcomes.” (businessdictionary.com) Repeatability naturally comes into play and a broad range test subjects are used to support a proposed theory. The law of large numbers enables us to predict group rather than individual behavior. This is an important point because the average behavior of a group is more predictable than that of an individual, which is subjected to distinctive differences and biasness. Hence, many laws and theories in the human sciences are probabilistic in nature. Human scientists cannot predict with absolute certainty the exact cause of a phenomenon, unlike cases in the natural sciences, but is able to predict the probability of it happening. (Van de Lagemaat 270-71) The higher the probability of a phenomenon in a large test population, the greater confidence that a theory is widely applicable and therefore more convincing.
Additionally, theories in human sciences often attempt to describe or predict a human behavior. Hence, a theory is more acceptable if people can find common trends or patterns they can relate to in terms of personal experiences, reactions or behaviors to certain situations or what they intuitively feel to be true and logical. This may be one of the main reasons why theories in the human sciences are believed by communities to be true. In economics, the theory states that the price of a specific product in a market is expected to rise in a tight supply situation. Under such situations, consumers will find cheaper viable alternatives. For example, with a tightening supply of COE quotas, car dealers believe that the bid prices of COE will increase and will bid at higher prices in an attempt to secure more COEs. As a result, the selling prices for new cars will increase significantly, making them more expensive to potential buyers (todayonline.com). Consumer reaction is to seek cheaper alternatives, i.e. used car market, driving the demand for used cars and prices up. In this example, buyers used past COE supply and price trends to anticipate prices of new cars and have responded as predicted by the market theory by seeking cheaper alternatives in the used car market. Although the above point generally applies to other areas of knowledge (AoKs) such as ethics, art and religion, the key characteristic that separates scientific theories from theories in other AoKs is the process of rigorous proofing and falsification, thus arriving at fairly coherent results. No other AoK shares this unique feature: history cannot be proven; mathematical axioms cannot be proven invalid. Due to this characteristic, scientific theories have that persuasive ability. Hence, when a theory corresponds to the society’s experiences or actions, the theory naturally becomes even more convincing.
In summary, repeatability and reproducibility of the scientific method makes theories in the natural sciences convincing. Also, mathematics as the foundation provides greater persuasive power to scientific theories. While theories in the human sciences are much more complicated, the same set of criteria can be applied to them as well.
Word count: 1589
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