RSC2601
Study Unit 1: Strategies of Discovery
● Science = process of inquiry
● Inquiry = process whereby we gain knowledge by observing how things are + using minds
to think logically about what we observe (using our reason).
● What is meant by Social world?
○ Crowd of people shouting + running in panic - something bad happened (eg.
bomb blast)
○ Someone smiles while talk to us, we assume means message is happy
○ Watch TV and see Barack Obama warmly welcomed by other world leaders = he is
liked + respected
● Social world = the part of our existence dealing with how people interact with one
another
● Observation = conclusion
● Discover reality through personal experience
● Personal experience dominated by our curiosity
● Science: way of learning + knowing things about world around us using logic,
observation + theory
● Scientific thinking makes sense (is logical), has reference (observed evidence) + gives
explanation (theory) for what we observe
● Research: to look at again
● Scientific research: systematically examine + think about a question
2. Sources of general knowledge
● Tradition
● Authority
● Mysticism + religion
● Common sense
● Media myths
2.1 Tradition
● We all inherit culture which contains accepted knowledge of ways of world
● We accept what other people know + tell us
1
,RSC2601
Study Unit 1: Strategies of Discovery
● Science = process of inquiry
● Inquiry = process whereby we gain knowledge by observing how things are + using minds
to think logically about what we observe (using our reason).
● What is meant by Social world?
○ Crowd of people shouting + running in panic - something bad happened (eg.
bomb blast)
○ Someone smiles while talk to us, we assume means message is happy
○ Watch TV and see Barack Obama warmly welcomed by other world leaders = he is
liked + respected
● Social world = the part of our existence dealing with how people interact with one
another
● Observation = conclusion
● Discover reality through personal experience
● Personal experience dominated by our curiosity
● Science: way of learning + knowing things about world around us using logic,
observation + theory
● Scientific thinking makes sense (is logical), has reference (observed evidence) + gives
explanation (theory) for what we observe
● Research: to look at again
● Scientific research: systematically examine + think about a question
2. Sources of general knowledge
● Tradition
● Authority
● Mysticism + religion
● Common sense
● Media myths
2.1 Tradition
● We all inherit culture which contains accepted knowledge of ways of world
● We accept what other people know + tell us
1
, ● Knowledge is cumulative - builds on itself
● Inherited info helps us obtain more info
● Learn from previous generations
● Can be harmful to human inquiry
● If accept something because others believe it - lead into falsehood
● Thinking traditionally = we don’t find out how knowledge was obtained
○ Source of learning not questioned
● Scientific thinking has ambiguous relationship to tradition
2.2 Authority
● Accept info as true because of status of person who discovered it
● Person of authority likely earned position due to experience = offer reliable knowledge
● Can overestimate expertise of person in authority
○ Experts can be wrong
● Don’t know how got info - careful in accepting their conclusions
2.3 Mysticism + Religion
● Offers type of knowledge based upon authority of sacred texts / supernatural source
● Not reliable guide to knowledge about actual state of world
● Science vs religion (conflict with another)
● Conflict case - Galileo in 1633 - forced, under threat of torture by Roman Inquisition, to
retract his statement that earth revolved around sun + not sun around earth
● Church - Old Testament - Joshua commanded sun to stand still so daylight could last
longer while he was defeating his enemies
2.4 Common sense
● Neuman (1997) - common sense: ordinary reasoning
● Reasoning that relates to what people know intuitively (instinct)
● Know true or false without analysing
● Helps people reach decisions + solve daily problems
● Helps communication between people in general - covers topics everyone knows
● Contains illogical reasoning
● Doesn’t systematically consider how ideas related to each other
● Doesn’t collect info systematically in reaching conclusions
● Often originates from tradition
2
, 2.5 Media myths
● Mass media (TV, films, newspapers, magazines, internet) influence knowledge
● Most people learn about world + develop concept of social reality according to what see,
hear + read in media
● Neuman (1997) - purpose of media = to entertain, not present actual reality
● Mistakes made from ignorance
● Public thinking changed by selective emphasis - lead people to error
3. Errors in human inquiry + how scientists try to avoid them
3.1 Inaccurate Observation
● Before know way things work, have to understand something
○ Need to know what before we can explain why
● Not really see things happening / incorrectly see
● Scientific observation is conscious activity
● Observe event deliberately
● Simple + complex measurement devices to help prevent making inaccurate observations
3.2 Overgeneralization
● Have general conclusion about certain thing when only observed few cases of that thing
● Using few, similar events to arrive at conclusion = unwarranted - we ignore possibility of
observing additional case (may disprove earlier observations)
● Overgeneralise when under pressure to arrive at conclusion
● Even in absence of pressure
● Halo effect: look at 1 very good aspect of something + then overgeneralise
● Distort process of inquiry
● Guard against it by involving sufficiently large sample of observations
● Replication of inquiry provides safeguard
● Replication: repeating study, checking to see if same results obtained.
3.3 Selective observation
● Overgeneralisation lead to selective observation
3
Study Unit 1: Strategies of Discovery
● Science = process of inquiry
● Inquiry = process whereby we gain knowledge by observing how things are + using minds
to think logically about what we observe (using our reason).
● What is meant by Social world?
○ Crowd of people shouting + running in panic - something bad happened (eg.
bomb blast)
○ Someone smiles while talk to us, we assume means message is happy
○ Watch TV and see Barack Obama warmly welcomed by other world leaders = he is
liked + respected
● Social world = the part of our existence dealing with how people interact with one
another
● Observation = conclusion
● Discover reality through personal experience
● Personal experience dominated by our curiosity
● Science: way of learning + knowing things about world around us using logic,
observation + theory
● Scientific thinking makes sense (is logical), has reference (observed evidence) + gives
explanation (theory) for what we observe
● Research: to look at again
● Scientific research: systematically examine + think about a question
2. Sources of general knowledge
● Tradition
● Authority
● Mysticism + religion
● Common sense
● Media myths
2.1 Tradition
● We all inherit culture which contains accepted knowledge of ways of world
● We accept what other people know + tell us
1
,RSC2601
Study Unit 1: Strategies of Discovery
● Science = process of inquiry
● Inquiry = process whereby we gain knowledge by observing how things are + using minds
to think logically about what we observe (using our reason).
● What is meant by Social world?
○ Crowd of people shouting + running in panic - something bad happened (eg.
bomb blast)
○ Someone smiles while talk to us, we assume means message is happy
○ Watch TV and see Barack Obama warmly welcomed by other world leaders = he is
liked + respected
● Social world = the part of our existence dealing with how people interact with one
another
● Observation = conclusion
● Discover reality through personal experience
● Personal experience dominated by our curiosity
● Science: way of learning + knowing things about world around us using logic,
observation + theory
● Scientific thinking makes sense (is logical), has reference (observed evidence) + gives
explanation (theory) for what we observe
● Research: to look at again
● Scientific research: systematically examine + think about a question
2. Sources of general knowledge
● Tradition
● Authority
● Mysticism + religion
● Common sense
● Media myths
2.1 Tradition
● We all inherit culture which contains accepted knowledge of ways of world
● We accept what other people know + tell us
1
, ● Knowledge is cumulative - builds on itself
● Inherited info helps us obtain more info
● Learn from previous generations
● Can be harmful to human inquiry
● If accept something because others believe it - lead into falsehood
● Thinking traditionally = we don’t find out how knowledge was obtained
○ Source of learning not questioned
● Scientific thinking has ambiguous relationship to tradition
2.2 Authority
● Accept info as true because of status of person who discovered it
● Person of authority likely earned position due to experience = offer reliable knowledge
● Can overestimate expertise of person in authority
○ Experts can be wrong
● Don’t know how got info - careful in accepting their conclusions
2.3 Mysticism + Religion
● Offers type of knowledge based upon authority of sacred texts / supernatural source
● Not reliable guide to knowledge about actual state of world
● Science vs religion (conflict with another)
● Conflict case - Galileo in 1633 - forced, under threat of torture by Roman Inquisition, to
retract his statement that earth revolved around sun + not sun around earth
● Church - Old Testament - Joshua commanded sun to stand still so daylight could last
longer while he was defeating his enemies
2.4 Common sense
● Neuman (1997) - common sense: ordinary reasoning
● Reasoning that relates to what people know intuitively (instinct)
● Know true or false without analysing
● Helps people reach decisions + solve daily problems
● Helps communication between people in general - covers topics everyone knows
● Contains illogical reasoning
● Doesn’t systematically consider how ideas related to each other
● Doesn’t collect info systematically in reaching conclusions
● Often originates from tradition
2
, 2.5 Media myths
● Mass media (TV, films, newspapers, magazines, internet) influence knowledge
● Most people learn about world + develop concept of social reality according to what see,
hear + read in media
● Neuman (1997) - purpose of media = to entertain, not present actual reality
● Mistakes made from ignorance
● Public thinking changed by selective emphasis - lead people to error
3. Errors in human inquiry + how scientists try to avoid them
3.1 Inaccurate Observation
● Before know way things work, have to understand something
○ Need to know what before we can explain why
● Not really see things happening / incorrectly see
● Scientific observation is conscious activity
● Observe event deliberately
● Simple + complex measurement devices to help prevent making inaccurate observations
3.2 Overgeneralization
● Have general conclusion about certain thing when only observed few cases of that thing
● Using few, similar events to arrive at conclusion = unwarranted - we ignore possibility of
observing additional case (may disprove earlier observations)
● Overgeneralise when under pressure to arrive at conclusion
● Even in absence of pressure
● Halo effect: look at 1 very good aspect of something + then overgeneralise
● Distort process of inquiry
● Guard against it by involving sufficiently large sample of observations
● Replication of inquiry provides safeguard
● Replication: repeating study, checking to see if same results obtained.
3.3 Selective observation
● Overgeneralisation lead to selective observation
3
