as discoveries in astronomy, mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, logic and ... in the under-standing of the world, modern science is formed and the human civi- ... ched; Science rapidly doubles; for some sectors 2 - 3 years, and in some ...
Three Essays on Science
Albert E Osijek Elektrotehnički fakultet Osijek Osijek, 2008. ISBN 978-953-6032-55-6 Recenzenti Prof. dr. sc. Ines Drenjavčević-Perić Prof. dr. sc. Nikola Klem Prof. dr. sc. Ante Lauc Prof. dr. sc. Slobodan Popov
Summary 210
Three Essays on Science In Croatia there is a small number of books referring to science or introducing (future) scientists into this most important civilisation activity. Through three essays presented in this book the author refers to the notion and structure of science developing, as well as scientific paradigms as conceptions of the worldview. ► The first essay Science and Cognition explains what science is, points to purposes and aims of science and the differences between science and every-day experience, explains the position of truth As indicated by the American anthropo-logist in science, shows the structure of scien- Leslie White: „Science is one of the two basic ce, points to the dichotomy of theory and ways of the human treatment of experience; practice, emphasises the processes in second is the art. Science and art have the contemporary science and finally disting- same goal: to make the human experience intelligible, help the human being adjust to uishes dilemmas about science. their environment in order to survive.“ The ► The second essay Laws of the World and the Scientific Paradigm explains what law is (from the point of view of scientific cognition), explains world laws considers the logic of science, explains the scientific paradigm. Also there is a brief review of science developing through the scientific paradigm and ethical questions on modern science are discussed here. From the very beginning human beings have craved certainty which can be regarded as one of the basic if not one of the greatest needs of the human being – closely following the biological needs – food and reproduction. The result of this aspiration was the creation of the idea of order (in the sense of arrangement of certainties). The occurrence of myths, religions, philosophies and the mere science - expresses this need for order; the need of introducing certainty into a human being’s life. Myths as integral perceiving of the world and the human being in it, were the first form in creating a meaningful order in a human being’s life and the things that determine him/her; which explains the scientific perception of the world which pursues the reliable establishing of the objective certainty or order.
study of this book shows the first ways of human dealing with experience, composing a mosaic of answers which should enable as to understand the term science in its full range. The liberal capitalism is over the science would im-pose the exaggerated consumerism and the unnecessary speed living; in all sectors of life of modern man get lost roles of experience, and learns does not come down to gulping the express information which only particular sends in the reality so is not the miracle that highly educated experts become intellectual disabled persons. Therefore here builds the mosaic, and has not offered the instant knowledge.
► The third essay Scientific Paradigms and Entropy briefly explains the thermodynamics and its laws; presents the entropy paradigm by Jeremy Rifkin in the draft; gives the critique entropy paradigm which presents the concept of entropy and metamorphoses of science with regard to the book “New Coalition” by I. Prigogin and I. Stengers. At the end of this essay the author's view on the problem of Energy and the development of civilisation is conceptualised and the Millennium intervention as is the solution for climate change is proposed. 211
► In the Conclusion, the author's concept of scientific paradigm development through human history is presented and a change from the actual science paradigm to Millennium paradigm is proposed.
The epistemological paradigm and the development of civilization Science as a human epistemological process of reaching out to reliable knowledge of the world was developing at several time stages. Its structure was changing and its concept was building up, Science is creation, having crewhereas the epistemological paradigm deveativity as its basis; strictly defined loped spirally in correlation with the human cumethodological procedures followed by the verification of results by lture - from the earliest beginnings. (fig. 42). experi-ments/practice which are obligatory in science, and our pointing to creation is just to show that in scientific research there is no room for a mere stereotyped pproach.
The Primal-science (Evolutional primal-cognitive proto-paradigm)
Primal-science was determined as the process of creating primal-science hominines which occur by non-instinctive usage of objects and natural phenomenon in their struggle for survival in the evolutionary process. This paradigm acted objectively (given externally by Primal-consciousness detects biological laws) with a minimal - but crucial contrionly non useful objects/ evidenbution of primal-experiences and primal-imagice for the survival in the natural environment; primal-knowledge nation of hominines. is carried by genes and by vivid learning.
The Proto-science
The proto-science was determined as a process of empirical exploring and proto-conceiving of the world without considering the whole and without the theoretical proving of the conceived. Magic proto-cognitive paradigm In the struggle for survival the early humans create terms for objects/ – with the use of their imagination based on experience in the natural surrounding; primal-consciousness so develops into a magic-awareness of the nature, community and oneself. The results are terms and symbols; a visual/speech communication develops while objects/phenomenon are interpreted as supernatural forces. That empirically-cognitive scope is caThe magic-consciousness learns lled the magic proto-cognitive paradigm which about the nature, community and oneself; the process of the biological less and less acts in the biological context, anthropomorphization comes to an end. while the influence of the magic-awareness of The experience is transferred using a people and their communities is growing. phenomenon
hands on approach within the community; communication and the transfer of experience among communities are random.
Mythical proto-cognitive paradigms
The second stage of proto-science is characterized by the mythical-consciousness which is expanded by mythical reason; nature, society and human beings are interpreted supernatural anthropomorphic beings/gods, but real life (production and consumption) are gradually moving away from the supernatural context. Nature is explored through experience, one gets acquain-ted with the most important natural laws (cultivation of 212
The social division of labor is made, religion arises and so do towns and cities, literature occurs, first written laws which regulate the relations within the society are introduced The mythical-reason learns about and medicine is developed. This process some of the natural laws, but people don’t takes place in the context of the mythical yet disitnguish between natural laws and proto-cognitive paradigm which does not social relations. The scriprt and calculation act in biological context any more but are invented. The knowledge is passed by under the influence of the mythical-conword of mouth within the society. Commusciousness, the experience of people, nication and the exchange of knowledge their imagination, reason as well as local among communities is initiated, but it is still poorly organised. communities. soil, constructions, irrigations and metal).
The Antique science (Antique cognitive paradigm)
In the antique time people started to rationally reflect upon the world; the search for basic principles of nature left out mythical beings/gods and for the first time was looking for motives in the nature alone. This approach marks the beginning of the philosophical and scientific thought; philosophy occurs and develops and the antique science is established. Reflexions, cognition, understan-ding and awareness as well as discoveries in astronomy, mathematics, physics, biology, medicine, logic and social relations are developed. Supernatural beings still play a significant role in the society – but they are gradually reduced to being The antique thought provides causes of natural and social phenomenon. This the first rational image of the type of cognition is called the antique cognitive world; first axioms, laws and theories are formulated; social paradigm; there is rational thinking, awareness of relations differ from natural laws. the unity of the world and theories which are Knowledge is transferred by raised by reflexion and verified by observation. organized learning and by The antique science acts in the context of the socommunication among commucially accepted and stimulated cognition. nities. The purpose of the search of knowledge is wisdom - the understanding of the natural order and living in harmony.
The Medieval-science (Theological paradigm )
In the Medieval times there were no socially directed attempts for the objective-cognition, only supernatural divine laws were accepted. The life of a human being was pereceived as being only a preparation for the 'other' world. Much of the perceived knowledge (philosophy, mathematics and science) was forgotten and theologists took over the comprehension of the world. This kind of cognitive context is called theological paradigm; it does not act in the conAccording to the medieval reason, text of the objective cognition because it has a the world is a clearly defined structure where the absolute God’s will is strict (imposed by the church) theological framework which does not allow understanding outside the the cause of all occurences. There ecclesiastical dogma. is no organized learning until the 11th century. 'Science' is carried out in celebration of God and any attempts for the objective cognition are punished by the church authorities ever until the middle of the XVII century. 213
The modern science In the Modern Age the man is freeing himself from the (self)imposed restraints in the under-standing of the world, modern science is formed and the human civilisation is heading towards an objective cognition which is based on scientific methods (the verification of set hypothesis by way of experiment and the proof of scientific discovery) and creates a new reliable knowledge of the world. Mechanistic scientific paradigm The Mechanistic scientific paradigm assumes that everything in the world – from the universe to a single man functions as a machine and is based upon: the cause – and - effect nature of the physical processes, the concept of the absolute space and time, the atom being the elementary The benefit of people from the (corpo) real particle of substance and the unchanmanagement of nature is the basic aim of science. The physics gives a geable universe.The nature is ruled by strict laws basic description of reality. A great of causality. The Mechanistic paradigm is the first number of natural and social laws scientific paradigm based on scientific results are discovered, a series of scientific (verified by experiment) and it is widely accepted in disciplines is established and scienscience. The methodology of research is domice becomes profession. On the nated by analysis and the research is performed basis of scientific discoveries the by excellent individuals. Based on scientific disdevelopment of medicine, technique and technology is accelecoveries, a strong industrial and economic deverated. Learning and the scientific lopment begins; the quality of people’s lives sigresearch are publicly organised; the nificantly improves. church is separated from science, the educational system and the government.
Holistic scientific paradigm Instead of the mechanistic cause and simple (material) comprehension of substance - in the holistic perception of substance elementary are the subatomic elementary particle which are not behaving according to the strict laws of causality but according to the quantum physics. Information has gained a special role in the conception of the world. The concept of absolute space and time has been abondened and a spatially-time-continuum has been introduced; black holes and quasars have been discovered in the universe. The universe is not unchangeable, and beside the causality laws, in nature there has been discovered the emergence of stochastic and chaBasic purposes of sciences have been directed benefits of man of the otic processes. Besides the fundamental science management nature, and the applied and the developmental research is prophysics give the basic description of gressing. Science serves increasingly as the bareality. Have been discovered and sis for technology, which enables a more effective are proved the large number of the research. In relation to the previous century, the natural and social laws, has been time span between the scientific discovery and its founded down scientific disciplines, science becomes the profession. On usage in practice has been shortened significantly. In the research methodology the systescientific discoveries have been accelerated develops the medicine, matic approach is being pointed out, team-work, techniques and technologies. strongly represented interdisciplinary and series of new scientific discoveries are developed. As part of this paradigm defined terms and scientific discoveries have risen enormously; several thousand scientific disciplines have been developed, a great number of scientific laws and theories: have been developed and verified; the human knowledge has doubled several times during this period. 214
Ecological scientific paradigm By the end of the XX century people have become aware of damages regarding the excessive exploitation of nature and the disturbance of natural balance by the quantitative criteria of industrial growth and comWith the discovery of the world laws in the describing the reality, physics prehension of quality - which have started to enloses its absolute dominance; the danger the survival of a series types of plants and interest of civilsation moves towards animals as well as the living conditions of man. sciences which study the life (origin The human civilisation has become aware of the and forms) the human being and social relations. The world is regarded as impossibility to renew many of the natural resoa network of eco systems. The people urces. This is why it is advocating an orien-tation aspire after a partnership with the na- of science toward the partnership between man ture; in this direction are heading the and nature. The paradigm assumes that people scientific research and the implemenand nature are as one and that instead of ruling tation of technology. Large international and planetary scientific/ecological the nature one needs to establish partnership; programmes have been launched. the world is regarded as a network. This paradigm has been named the ecological scientific paradigm by Capra. Within the framework of this paradigm a seriesof new transdis-ciplinary scientific disciplines (e.g. bioethics) have been formed and new reflexions upon the ecological problem area and the sustainable development have been made. The concept of knowledge society is established, the process of industrialisation of scientific research and sciencification of earning begins. In science strong research project have been launched; Science rapidly doubles; for some sectors 2 - 3 years, and in some other important sectors for up to ten years on average.
The future science and Millennium scientific paradigm The human reaching of high intelligence and culture has been achieved by the co-evolution of genes and culture; the human species has evolved by the genetically natural selection in behaviour as well as in the anatomy and the physiology of brain. Culture has been established by the way of thinking of communities and the mind is the product of the genetically structured human brain. The development of science as an effective way of searching for knowledge has started with the evolutional primal-cognitive proto-paradigm in which - beside biological laws - crucial importance has the human imagination. In this way the human culture has deve-loped which has – in the process of human cognition – as the time was passing reduced the influence of the biological context and increased the dominant role of human consciousness, reason and social value. Consequently (from the primal-science) the initiated process of searching for reliable knowledge is developing and acce-lerating through proto-sciences (magic and mythical cognitive paradigm), the antique science (with the antique scientific paradigm) – beside the medieval break in the context of the theological paradigm - until the modern science which sets up and develops scientific paradigms. As a consequence of this scientific paradigm this development has quickly become realised up to unimagined limits. It is this development of science - unimagined a hundred years ago – that has brought the human civilisation to a crucial moment; the environment and the bio-ethical relations have been seriously endangered to a great extent because of such rapid growth and uncontrolled development - based exclusively on the profit-making concept of liberal capitalism. When the approaching climatic changes are added to these serious problems (to an extent accelerated by the effects of contemporary civilisation) the circumstances in which sci215
ence from an optional developing resource becomes more and more a civilisational obligation (which is equaled by the existential causality of mankind) will be understood. (Not)Learned lessons Which lessons in the area of scientific cognition has the human civilisation learned/should have learned or which lessons about the science it stil has to learn? - Whit development of science/civilisation, people less and less depend on nature, and more and more on the culture (values, social relationships and the progress of science and technology). - The future of the civilisation is now entirely dependent on the development of science and the further development of science has to be defined - more than ever beforer – by the scientific paradigm. - The living environment of modern man has the new structure; in the premodern time living environments has been the objectively given mankind (the nature), and now living environment has three basic parts; beside objectively given a) the living environment (the nature) the mankind is imagination would build two new segments: b) values and social institutions (the culture) and c) the cognitive model and scientific laws (the science). - The existential vector of premodern time had the direction: 'the living environment - man' (the living environment is objectively given and the man in their development must this will adjust), In the modern time - man has redirected the vector in the relation: 'man - the living environment' (the man planetary adapts the life environment their needs). - Therefore, adjustment objectively gives life environments now depends on this how humane civilization their culture further will develop and will use the science in the solving of equation of survival of mankind. - In order to survive and develop in a humane direction - the human civilisation will have to proactively - more and more by itself - model the condition of its survival, naturally under the mentorship of nature - All of the cognitive and scientific paradigms have in the past been explicitly defined ‘ex post’, and some of them with great delay. The future science will have to deal with the ‘ex ante’ paradigm. - Within the search for a reliable knowledge the scientific paradigm can no longer be the only contetx for the process of cognition; practice shows that a coexistence between the scientific paradigm and a planetary scientific program is necessary . - There is lot of evidence on the basis of which can be asserted that – with development of science and artificial intelligences - in the future the span between the human imagination, possible scientific discoveries and technological invention will increasingly become smaller. Therefore the scientific discoveries and the development of technology will tomorrow be hard to imagine without the consensus of adopted civilisational values (new conceptual approach scientific paradigm).
Metamorphoses of scientific paradigm For further development of civilisation energy has become the crucial technological factor and existing/proposed ecological scientific paradigm as well as the actual climatic models do not provide for timely solutions; neither for the problem of global warming nor the development of human civilisation according to Type I (Kardashev). A new scientific paradigm with a new and more complex structure is necessary; in other words the metamorphoses of the mere paradigm is obligatory. 216
Previous scientific paradigms in the description of reality observed only a physical world and this is the basic mistake of science in the passed period; new paradigms has to look at the man, his values and social institutions as well. From the scientific objectivity in the mechanistic paradigm (defined as world view from the position of outer observer) over the holistic paradigm (which includes the observer in the happenings of world) to the contemporary science the human being has been placed into a position of being an active participant of the world events. This is why science tomorrow - which has started today - must not longer be only a mere inbred curiosity of the man (Aristotle). It can neither be the theoretical basis for the uncontrolled ruling over nature (Bacon). Also it can not be (un)limited by the imagination (Einstein), otherwise there would neither be curiosity nor imagination (the man), nor would there exist anything to control (organic nature) – unless the new structure of scientific paradigm is set. It needs to shape a new scientific worldview as well as the human being and result in new relations and new living conditions on our planet. Values which have distanced themselves from the modern science, have to be brought back into science on the basis of the scientific paradigm. The new motto in science of human civilisation has to be: moral values and life are more important than imagination. The planetary human imagination, morality, science and technology will have to act as universal partners, as planetary entity, under the mentorship of nature. Under such conditions the theoretical science can not longer be autonomous (Lakatos); if it wants to survive. The civilisation (human culture) will have to set up two civilizational determinants for the science: a) ecological and b) social determinant: - The ecological determinant includes general values of life and nature; there will have to be moral considerateness of all the scientific research and human practice regarding the natural and human laws. - The social determinant includes the entire partnership of people on this planet, planetary moral values as well as the planetary identity; science will have to prove politics and economy the disastrousness of alternative scenarios. For development of civilisation the energies are started as crucial technological factor, and existing ecological scientific paradigms, as well as real climatic models does not enable timely solutions, how for problem of the global warming so neither for development of humane civilisation towards the Type I (Kardashev). Necessary is new scientific paradigm with new structure i.e. necessary is metamorphoses of lonely paradigm. Of the scientific objectivity in the mechanistic paradigm (defined as worldview from the position of outer observer) over holistic paradigms (which include the observer in the happening of world) the modern science are man would bring in the position of active participants of happenings of world. Because is not curiosity neither imaginations (man), nor will have by which to manage (organic nature) if does not wake up has taken her post new structures of scientific paradigm which needs model of new scientific worldview and result new relationships and new life conditions on fertile planets.
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Values, which in the Modern age separates from sciences, must return to the science – at the level of scientific paradigms; new motto in the science of humane civilisation need be: moral values and life are more important of the imagination. A planetary human imagination, morality, science and technologies must act in entire partnership, as planetary entity, mentored natures. In such conditions theoretical science several no can do be autonomous (Lakatos); if would wish survive – the civilisation (humane culture) will have to take her post science two civilisation determinants: a) Ecological determinant includes values of the entire-lives and natures: must existed moral considerate of whole scientific research and human practices regarding these natural and humane – laws; b) Social determinant includes entire partnership people on planet, civilisation moral values and planetary identity; science needs prove politics and economy on this planets balefulness of alternative scenarios.
Millennium scientific paradigm The earlier mentioned things outline the paradigmatic context of science of the modern-civilisation in its search for the reliable knowledge, but now closely connected with causative question of survival. In that context basic elements of the millennium scientific paradigm are outlined: - People are not only participants-observers but pro-active subjects of all elements including the world processes; - By the pro-active performance people create conditions for their survival beside the mentorship of nature; - Pro-activity brings responsibility and obliges to the goal of survival of mankind. - Existing/future sophisticated scientific methods, inter and transdisciplinary approach and experiment/practice is confirmed scientific laws only is a base of pro-active activity; - In the complex condition of total production cognition of human spirit on the planet it is necessary rigorously separation of the scientific from unscientific conclusions/fact – how in the lonely science, so in public and in the human practice; - Values are inseparable from science; theoretical science and technology – on the paradigmatic level are not morally autonomous; science renews the coexistence with the culture - And there must exist a moral considerateness of all scientific research and human practices regarding these rules. - The planetary identity becomes more and more an important complement of racial and national identities. - The civilisation determines basic directions of the planetary scientific program by consensus and the planetary authorities determine the criteria of carrying it out, controlling it and the responsibility of this sanction. The above outlined elements need to become basic ideas of this new scientific worldview. Without them – the contributions of the contemporary/future sciences will mean “cutting of bough on which the human civilisation rests“ - that means a split between man and nature and increasingly lead to the realisation of serious threats on the survival of life on the Earth. 218
