| This question <157|157> overall <138|140> Gilmour: <95|249>. graded A– |
| Question 282: Where else should one start science if not with facts? How did Marx himself come to his findings? |
| [139] Gilmour: Science should start with a resolve to know what the cause is for anything being the way it is. Science is the process of formulating theories to better understand the world and all its grandeur. Theories are expanded upon and worked over and over until they are proven either correct or incorrect. However, both results will bring the seeker to a knowledge of a truth, and thus a fact of science. When a fact is gathered, one might say that they know how or why things are the way they are. Another side of this conclusion is that if one has the facts about something, why then would they need to theorize about it to prove its worth. Facts are the conclusion of science, and not the fountain of scientific research. Facts of science will lead to a better understanding of the world and how we can benefit from it. |
| Hans: You start out, correctly in my mind, that the purpose of science to know the causes of things, which is different than saying its purpose is to predict future facts. You are also right that pre-existing theories are an important input to science. Scientists have to learn how to think and work in a given science. But then you reverse yourself and say that the purpose of science is facts, and that once one knows the facts nothing else needs to be known. There is a difference between the view that the purpose of science is to predict facts, and that the purpose of science is to discover causes. |
| [139] Gilmour: Marx suggested that people's everyday thinking leads them to question the activities of their lives. They try to solve the riddles of their lives, yet once solved, new mysteries spring to life from the ones once answered. He also suggests that their resolve was to better their stance in the market place. By understanding the science of crop, one could then produce a higher quality commodity and thus enrich themself by producing more at a better quality. Science also stems from the very thoughts of who one was and why they were here. Marx also suggests that science began when a question needed answering, but this was already too late. One should be asking the question of how they could improve their knowledge the world around them to benefit their life. |
| Hans: You are trying to derive the answer to the question from Marx's own writings, and my interpretations of it. That's a good approach. But this is a difficult question. I try to show in [157] how to answer it. |
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