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UNIT 1: Strategies of discovery
Science:
• process of inquiry
• way of learning and knowing things about the world using logic, observation and
theory
Scientific thinking:
• makes sense (logical), has references (observed evidence) and gives an
explanation (theory) for what we observe
Scientific Research: systematically examine and think about a question
SOURCES OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
1. Tradition
• Inherited culture
• We accept what people know and tell us
• May be harmful to human inquiry (source of learning is unknown)
2. Authority
• Accepting something as true due to the status of a person who made the discovery
• We can overestimate the expertise of persons in authority
3. Mysticism and religion
• Offers a type of knowledge based on the authority of sacred texts/supernatural
source
• Unreliable for matters regarding the state of the world
4. Common sense
• Valuable in everyday life
• Helps communication between people as it covers topics everyone knows
• Contains a great deal of illogical reasoning; doesn’t systematically consider how
ideas are related to each other
5. Media myths
• Most people learn about the world & develop their concept of social reality according
to what they see, hear and read in the media
• Public thinking can be changed by selective emphasis – can lead people into error
UNIT 1: Strategies of discovery
Science:
• process of inquiry
• way of learning and knowing things about the world using logic, observation and
theory
Scientific thinking:
• makes sense (logical), has references (observed evidence) and gives an
explanation (theory) for what we observe
Scientific Research: systematically examine and think about a question
SOURCES OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
1. Tradition
• Inherited culture
• We accept what people know and tell us
• May be harmful to human inquiry (source of learning is unknown)
2. Authority
• Accepting something as true due to the status of a person who made the discovery
• We can overestimate the expertise of persons in authority
3. Mysticism and religion
• Offers a type of knowledge based on the authority of sacred texts/supernatural
source
• Unreliable for matters regarding the state of the world
4. Common sense
• Valuable in everyday life
• Helps communication between people as it covers topics everyone knows
• Contains a great deal of illogical reasoning; doesn’t systematically consider how
ideas are related to each other
5. Media myths
• Most people learn about the world & develop their concept of social reality according
to what they see, hear and read in the media
• Public thinking can be changed by selective emphasis – can lead people into error
