Title: Introduction to Science and the Scientific Method
Author: John. L. Campbell
Publisher: Kravitz & Sons LLC
ISBN: 979-8-89639-235-4
Pages: 122
Genre: Science & Philosophy
Reviewer: Jason Lulos
Hollywood Book Reviews
If you are looking for an accessible and illuminating history of science and the scientific method, look no further than author John L. Campbell’s Introduction to Science and the Scientific Method. Campbell demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of science. He provides a detailed breakdown of the scientific method and illustrates how science has always been influenced by and influential upon other social institutions. “They dovetail with, influence, and are influenced by philosophy, logic, mathematics, history, society, and even religion.” Campbell also stresses the notion of science as “tentative.” While the scientific method is still the best method for obtaining facts, any scientific law is subject to change or replacement. And regarding the interplay of science and other social institutions throughout history, a large aim of this book is to compel the reader to look at the history of science as always engaged with our other belief systems, institutions, and disciplines.
Campbell packs an incredible amount of information into this short book. He discusses the evolution of science from ancient Sumer to Darwin and even postmodernism. What was once called “natural philosophy” gave way to “natural science” and eventually “science” in the mid-1800s. He shows how the Aristotelian scientific view predominated Europe until the 1600s largely because the Catholic Church adopted it in the late 1200s. Science and religion seem wildly opposed today, but this shows that there was always interaction, and sometimes agreement between the two. Another conclusion the reader will draw is that science is interdisciplinary. Campbell shares countless anecdotes about the interplay between science and other disciplines: i. e., psychology, sociology, and even the Protestant Reformation. This is one of the strengths of the book: showing science as one of many interacting players in our social and intellectual history.
Campbell gives a great analysis of the scientific method and the interplay of hypotheses, theories, and laws. In discussing notable scientific achievements throughout history, he lays out key scientific approaches: i. e., deduction and induction, personal knowledge and scientific knowledge, rationalism and empiricism. There is an interesting section on an individual’s learning processes from birth to adulthood as a parallel/analogy to observational science. But Campbell is quick to point out that real scientific knowledge is quite different because it requires a society of scientists doing similar work for years or even decades.
To be sure, Campbell celebrates the rigorous aspect of scientific inquiry. But he also employs an open mind, especially given the fact that science is always changing. Campbell implores a bit more flexibility on things like UFOs, myth, and psychic phenomena which fall into the category of “unorthodox science.” While orthodox scientists would rather exclude these categories, Campbell makes arguments of how they are worthy of scientific study. As this book stresses the importance of viewing science as always evolving, this plea to be open-minded to these marginalized subjects seems totally reasonable and certainly thought-provoking.
Lastly, citing science’s interdisciplinarity, Campbell argues that the clash between science and religion need not exist. He gives numerous examples of the interplay between science and religion throughout history. He suggests a few remedies for this clash. One is for more moderate religiosity. Another is to put religious beliefs into scientific and historical context. This was also an intriguing thought which this quote should encapsulate: “Now if God had waited until today to give us information in the Bible then His message would have likely been different insofar as the words and concepts used, making it more resonant with today’s scientific knowledge” (121).
There is a lot to digest in this book, all of it interesting. Campbell’s grasp of scientific history as it parallels the history of religion, philosophy, and other disciplines is impressive. Readers will walk away from this book with a better understanding of the history of science, but they will also have food for thought on its future.