Philosophy and Science
on quantum theory. 10 Philosophical discussions have contributed greatly to the ethics within medicine and to what extent doctors have the choice to decide the fate of a terminally ill patient. The mind-body problem, proposed by Descartes in the seventeenth century, is a problem whereby humans are judged by their physical body every day, but themind also exists as a separate being trapped within this body. 11 Our inner mind is not represented outwardly by the physical appearance of our body. Francis Crick managed to link this philosophical thinking with science, and thus, many discoveries about neural connectivity and understanding of how we can see, taste, and smell arose. Crick also suggests how science can explain feelings and emotions, with a system of neurones and chemical messages in the blood. 12 Thus, the knowledge about the connection between the mind and the body has improved. Teaching students the philosophy of Ssience can be beneficial in their scientific study, as understanding the flaws and the wider ideas behind the topic can give the students a fresh way of looking at certain subject. If a teacher taught parallels to theories, such as Lamarck’s falsely proven theory that physical changes due to environment during an organism’s life can be passed on to its offspring, students would be better prepared to discuss different explanations to a topic, and hence, be more knowledgeable scientists. 13 This is considered in theoretical pluralism, where ‘ maximum science growth is achieved by working with a number of different and conflicting theories ’ . 14 Therefore, philosophy benefits s cience practically in the real world, and explains concepts to enhance students’ understanding. I In conclusion, philosophical matters lie at the heart of science, and have contributed greatly to the field and its impact on society. Philosophy occasionally challenges scientific methodology, and by nomeans has this always led to positive developments, but ultimately can lead to changing a theory for the better. The Three Worlds Model, proposed by Mouton, categorized knowledge production into three different ‘ realms ’ , with each realm differing from the other by epistemic interest and form of knowledge. 15 Even though science and philosophy are split into two different realms, Mouton claims the latter takes the reflective nature of the former and critically analyses ‘ the sociology of science, the history of science and methodologies of scientific enquiry . . . the ultimate improvement of science itself ’ . 16 Indeed, these subjects are individually their own area of knowledge and a scientist can be a good scientist by making conclusions solely based from their own speciality but claims that science does not owe where it is now to philosophy are untrue, a bond which has been for the most part, overlooked.
10 Rovelli 2018. 11 The School of Life: The Mind Body Problem 12 Horgan 2018. 13 Early Concepts of Evolution: Jean Baptiste Lamarck 14 Martin 1974. 15 Ryan 2019 . 16 Ibid.
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