Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Scientist

2008-10-30T03:51:39Z

DaveRoberts: /* Science and Christianity */

A '''scientist''' is someone who practices [[science]].

== Scope of term ==

Depending on the context, the term "scientist" might refer to anyone using the [[scientific method]] or anyone with a qualification in a field of science.
In most cases, both will be true, but in other cases only one or the other may be true.

== Origin of term ==

The invention of the word ''scientist'' is often credited to [[William Whewell]] (1794-1866), who was himself a scientist as well as a moral [[philosopher]] and [[Anglican]] priest. In 1858, he wrote:

:As we cannot use ''physician'' for a cultivator of physics, I have referred to him as a ''Physicist.''
:We need very much[sic] a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him a ''Scientist.'' Thus we might say that as an Artist is a Musician, Painter, or Poet, a Scientist is a Mathematician, Physicist, or Naturalist.<ref>Whewell, William (1858), ''Novum Organon Renovatum: Being the second part of the philosophy of the inductive sciences,'' J. W. Parker and Son, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC22881657&id=xYMKAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA14-PA338&lpg=RA14-PA338&dq=%22william+whewell%22+scientist p. 338]</ref>

Prior to this, scientists were usually called "natural philosophers" or "natural historians." (The oldest scientific journal in the world, established in 1665, is entitled ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London.'' Among its early numbers are letters from Leeuwenhoek describing his discovery of [[microorganism]]s).

== Science and Christianity ==

Many scientists have been devout Christians or held a belief in God ([[Isaac Newton]]<ref> http://www.newton.cam.ac.uk/newtlife.html</ref> or monk Gregor Mendel<ref>http://www.adherents.com/people/pm/Gregor_Mendel.html</ref>). Modern science is considered by some adherents of traditional [[Christianity]] to be ungodly{{fact}}, as it attempts to explain phenomena without reference to God. A 1998 study indicates that among U. S. scientists belief in God has declined between 1914 and 1998, with 7% believing, 72.2% disbelieving, and 20.8% professing doubt or agnosticism.<ref>http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html</ref><ref>http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/no-science-only-has-a-bias-toward-reality/</ref>.

==References==
<references/>

[[category:science]]
[[Category:Professions]]

Henry Morris

2008-10-30T03:50:43Z

DaveRoberts: /* References */

[[Image:PH2006022801720.jpg‎|right|thumb|175px|Henry Morris]]
'''Henry Morris''' 1918 to February 26th, 2006. President and founder of [[ICR]] from 1970 until 1995, and served as President emeritus until his death. Dr. Morris was the intellectual father of the modern [[creation science]] movement, and he also first coined the term "creation science".<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801716.html</ref> A strong proponent of [[YEC|Young Earth Creationism]], Morris believed the creation account of the Bible was literally true and scientific inquiry would support his assertions. He was a scientist himself, having graduated from Rice University in 1939 and that earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in hydraulic engineering from the University of Minnesota. He was an author of many books against [[evolution]] and supporting creationism.

[[Ken Ham]], President of [[Answers in Genesis]] said, <blockquote>"All of us in the modern creationism movement today would say we stand on his shoulders."</blockquote>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Morris, Henry}}
[[Category:Young Earth Creationists]]
[http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/no-science-only-has-a-bias-toward-reality/ Science only has a bias toward reality]

Henry Morris

2008-10-30T03:49:59Z

DaveRoberts: /* References */

[[Image:PH2006022801720.jpg‎|right|thumb|175px|Henry Morris]]
'''Henry Morris''' 1918 to February 26th, 2006. President and founder of [[ICR]] from 1970 until 1995, and served as President emeritus until his death. Dr. Morris was the intellectual father of the modern [[creation science]] movement, and he also first coined the term "creation science".<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801716.html</ref> A strong proponent of [[YEC|Young Earth Creationism]], Morris believed the creation account of the Bible was literally true and scientific inquiry would support his assertions. He was a scientist himself, having graduated from Rice University in 1939 and that earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in hydraulic engineering from the University of Minnesota. He was an author of many books against [[evolution]] and supporting creationism.

[[Ken Ham]], President of [[Answers in Genesis]] said, <blockquote>"All of us in the modern creationism movement today would say we stand on his shoulders."</blockquote>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Morris, Henry}}
[[Category:Young Earth Creationists]]
<ref>http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/no-science-only-has-a-bias-toward-reality/Science only has a bias toward reality</ref>

Henry Morris

2008-10-30T03:49:43Z

DaveRoberts: /* References */

[[Image:PH2006022801720.jpg‎|right|thumb|175px|Henry Morris]]
'''Henry Morris''' 1918 to February 26th, 2006. President and founder of [[ICR]] from 1970 until 1995, and served as President emeritus until his death. Dr. Morris was the intellectual father of the modern [[creation science]] movement, and he also first coined the term "creation science".<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801716.html</ref> A strong proponent of [[YEC|Young Earth Creationism]], Morris believed the creation account of the Bible was literally true and scientific inquiry would support his assertions. He was a scientist himself, having graduated from Rice University in 1939 and that earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. in hydraulic engineering from the University of Minnesota. He was an author of many books against [[evolution]] and supporting creationism.

[[Ken Ham]], President of [[Answers in Genesis]] said, <blockquote>"All of us in the modern creationism movement today would say we stand on his shoulders."</blockquote>
==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Morris, Henry}}
[[Category:Young Earth Creationists]]
<ref>http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/no-science-only-has-a-bias-toward-reality/</ref>

Henry Morris

2008-10-30T03:49:30Z

DaveRoberts: /* References */

Science

2008-10-30T03:49:11Z

DaveRoberts: /* Naturalism and science */

[[Image:Cassini-science-289.jpg|right]]
'''Science''' is a methodology for discovering and classifying [[knowledge]]. The scope of science encompasses all measurable [[phenomena]]. Science falls under two scopes: [[natural science]], dealing with the [[physical]], [[natural]] world, and [[social science]], dealing with society and human nature.

Science differs from other methodologies of classifying knowledge in that a scientific theory is a description of the world which can be disproved; this is known as [[falsifiability]]. It is this property which distinguishes science from other possible methods of discovering knowledge.

[[Epicurus]] is an important figure in the development of the [[scientific method]]. He insisted that nothing should be accepted except that which has been sufficiently tested through direct observation and logical deduction. [[Roger Bacon]] is hailed by many the father of modern science. His focus on empirical approaches to science was influential. He wrote an encyclopedia, his ''Opus Majus''.

People who study science are called [[scientist]]s. Most of the early scientists who started many of the scientific fields, and some of history's greatest thinkers, such as [[Galileo Galilei]] and [[Isaac Newton]], believed in [[God]], or some other higher power, and many were [[creationists]].
In addition, [[Christianity]] [[Christianity and Science|played a pivotal role in the development of modern science]]. In recent years, American scientists have been much more atheistic as a group than the general public. <ref>http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/atheism1.htm</ref>

== Principles of science ==

The basis of modern science is observation and hypothesis, it involves constructing the best theory to explain an occurrence based on the evidence at the time. The generally accepted scientific procedure is:

* Observations of an unknown phenomenon are made
* A hypothesis is made to explain to explain the observations
* A experiment or experiments are carried out to test the hypothesis.
** If the experiment supports the hypothesis it is considered a theory
** If the experiment does not support the hypothesis it is either rewritten or discarded
* If at a later date evidence is produced which contradicts the theory, it is discarded and a new hypothesis is developed

One of the fundamental tenets of science is that no theory is absolute; theories are constantly changing in response to the observation of new evidence. Hence, a scientific theory that begins with an immutable conclusion and attempts to "fit the facts" to that argument does not fall within the realm of true scientific research.{fact}

==Naturalism and science==
Since the beginning of modern science, scientists have worked under the assumption that their subjects of study have been controlled by consistent natural laws.
This assumption was based on the Christian view<ref>http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2008/10/28/no-science-only-has-a-bias-toward-reality/</ref> that the laws were created by a consistent creator Who didn't change those laws on a whim.<ref>See [[Natural science#Beginnings]]</ref>
This assumption is seen as a prerequisite for logical deduction to act on the observations made. Without the assumption that the universe is consistent we cannot apply the lessons drawn from an observation to any area other than the observations themselves. If a [[chemical reaction]] occurs in a given solution in a laboratory in one city it is assumed that the same reaction can occur in a different laboratory in a different city on a different day because the chemical [[solution]] and situations will be the same.

If a capricious supernatural force was to enter the equation they could not be controlled for and could not be studied.

Science can only study the natural, not the supernatural, but this is not the same as assuming that the supernatural does not exist.
The latter is what is known as ''naturalism'', but despite the claims of atheists and others, is not a prerequisite of science.

==Notes==

{{reflist}}

==See also==
* [[Scientific method]]
* [[Computing]]

[[category:science]]

Henry Morris

2008-10-30T03:47:38Z

DaveRoberts: /* References */