Scientific Objectivity
Scientific Objectivity
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Scientific Objectivity
It is so hard to prove that scientific theories are not influenced by social, economical or political events, as well as individualistic bias. There are many theories that in one way or the other they have been influenced by one the above named factors. There is always an interest in solving a given problem or a factor happening at the given moment that would interest a scientist to have a look at. For instance, Darwin drew his inspiration for developing the theory of evolution in species by reading Thomas Malthus essay on the principle of population (1798). The background idea behind Malthus’ essay was the struggle of human existence. Some of the factors that influence the human existence are social and economic factors, such as diseases and food. Darwin was influenced by the diversity he witnessed. This shows that in some way Darwin’s theory of evolution was influenced by social factors, though indirectly.
Another great example of how science lacks objectivity is during the WW1. The war itself was a political event and each country that participated in it used all the resources they had to ensure that they make a statement at the big stage. Scientific knowledge was incorporated in the war to reduce casualties and to save on time used to attack enemies’ territories. Chemical warfare was the most vital item that was used at the time. Fritz Harber, a German scientist (chemist) played a huge role in helping his country overcome their enemies. He developed the chlorine gas, whose effect can be related to teargas canisters currently being used in police and military services. He also developed the chemical reaction of forming ammonia. If the scientists such as Fritz Harber were not being influenced by political events at the time, they would not have assisted their countries to fight the war. Many soldiers and living organisms were killed by the gas attacks. Its effect on the environment was massive to the extent that nothing was alive. Which begs me to ask the question, were science and scientists above politics?
Cybernetics functions are considered to be broad but the primary reason behind its development was to control machine and the society. They were developed for antiaircraft guns during the Second World War. In order to work on the idea, mathematicians, scientists, anthropologists, and biologists were brought together by the Macy foundation to perfect the idea. Information is an essential tool required when one is fighting an enemy. Decoding of information helps the military to fight the enemy without next move being predicted. Developments of ideas such as cybernetics are used in decoding and encoding of information by the military. After the Second World War, Shannon at the Bell worked on the information theory and published the “Mathematical Theory on Information.”
Despite most of the scientific knowledge being influenced by social, political, and economic factors, there are other scientist’s works whose only influence is their quest for knowledge. For instance, Albert Einstein’s developed most of his works while at the university.
