Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
Second Department
Natural Sciences
First Advisor
Langston, Douglas
Area of Concentration
Philosophy
Abstract
This thesis is an inquiry into the Scientific Method, as it has been employed in the historical development of physics. The goals are to determine the course followed by physics as a science in the discovery and formulation of its theories, to identify the methodological principles and philosophical precepts at work in its evolution from ancient to modern times, and to present the theoretic history of this particular science, in such a way that the general scientific method is embodied in the exhibition. My strategy consists in examining primary sources—i.e. works of natural philosophy by scientists who therein contributed to the development of physics, with respect to system/method— analyzing common vs. distinct elements in their formulation of physical theories, and from these several works inferring how the scientific method changed philosophically, one system of physics to the next. Finally, I will discuss what effect these changes in turn had on the evolution of physical theory. The principal philosopher I consider in this thesis is Aristotle. Chapter 1 represents a comprehensive exposition of his method and system as the founder of science. I argue that his formalized method of inquiry and rigorous systematization of knowledge constitute the beginning of the scientific project in philosophy; I support this position through a close analysis of his logic, as the instrument of abstract reason in science, followed by his physics, the first natural science, which is constructed using that logic. Aristotle’s dual method—inductive investigation by empirical research, and deductive explanation by logical demonstration—remains the framework for inquiry in science. Chapter 2 deals primarily with Galileo and the Scientific Revolution. I argue that the process by which Galileo critiques the Aristotelian theory in physics actually embodies Aristotle’s scientific method and is necessary for the advancement of natural science. However, I do argue that Galileo and others in the era reform physics also by way of two essential changes in the method of natural science: mathematization of the logical system, and experimentation as a refined mode of observing events/collecting data. I then show that the final physics theory of that era stems directly from these improvements, and that this distinguishes modern science from its Aristotelian roots, which are nonetheless alive. The Epilogue demonstrates the continuing action of the same method in shifting systems once more in the face of natural facts that conflict with established theory, by reasoning through the quantum problem/hypothesis alongside modern physicist Max Planck.
Recommended Citation
Fay, Jasper, "The Scientific Method in the Formulation of Physics" (2019). Theses & ETDs. 5686.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/5686