Two characteristic Features:
• Constant recourse to experiment
• Simplification and constant quest to generalization
- « Découvrir les principes simples cachés par la complexité du réel» Perrin
- « Science may be described as the art of systematic oversimplification» Karl Popper
Modern Science-Its Philosophie, its Epistemology 2
1. What is Science (Sciences pures)?
• Physical sciences + Earth Sciences
• Life Science : Biology, medicine (?)
• Applied sciences2
It is not Technology!
• Les Sciences de l’ingénieur
Modern Science-Its Philosophie, its Epistemology 3
1. The Scientific Method
• The scientific method …and its mirages! « …don’t listen to their words, fix your attention to their deeds» A.Einstein
• Science and non science
• Towards a dynamical definition of science
• The Baconian science …the Newtonian, the Einsteinian ones
Modern Science Its Philosophie, its Epistemology 4
1. The Scientific Method and its Mirages
• From the history of Science:Major breakthroughs:
- The axiological role of genuises
- Mazes and cul-de-sac…
• Performing the appropriate experimentsBut there is no method for it!
- Astérisme
- Earlobe
• Producing the right hypothesis How to filter the various factors?… you need some genius !
Modern Science-Its Philosophie, its Epistemology 5
1. The Scientific Method and its Mirages!Interprétation of results…depends on the theory!
- Radiography
- Neutrinos
- Particle physics
- Astrophysics
2.Science & Non ScienceThe Provocative Vision of Feyerabend:« Everything goes ! »
Characteristics of Science
- Objectivity
- Repetitivity
- Total control on the experimental conditions
- Refutability (« Falsifiabity»)
- Predictive power
- Simplicity: « Okham’s razor » rule« Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily »
3.Alternate (Feynman’s) Way of Doing Science(According to M.Gell-Mann)
• Write down the problem
• Think very hard about it
• Write down the answer
Third axis of Holton’s theory on Einsteinian’s brand of science
4.Science in Modern Era
• Physics: Fundamental constitution of matter
• Astronomy: Content, properties of the Universe
• Biology: Working of life, evolution of life…
• Chemistry: new materials, new drugs, pesticids…
• Mathematics: dynamical sytems, stochastic analysis, non linearity…
IV.Physics: the Paradigmatic Science
• The new magicians
• Various schemes
Physics/ Science as Magic
1. Physics /Science is like Magic
- Better than magicians
- We manipulate and we understand…
- More fitting to God’s Majesty…
2. Better than Science Fiction
- Science fiction imagines things
- Science is not only imagines but it explains things and makesthem!
3. Model for other sciences…Higgs: God’s particleLHC-Geneva
Quantum Physics:Bulk matterManipulating light
- Laser physics
- Entanglement:
- Qantum logic
- Quantum computing
- Stopping light
- Making matter out of photons
