This week, there’s been lots of discussion over whether psychology is a science.
This is an ill-posed question.
“Science” is a term which has evolved over time. It was once a synonym for “knowledge” and referred to any field of formal study.
It now covers a subset of these, namely physics, chemistry, and biology… except maybe the more psychological bits of biology… maybe mathematics… and geography? Economics? Don’t even go there…
The boundaries are rather blurry.
While ‘science’ can be a convenient term, those kinds of study called ‘science’ have nothing essential that sets them apart from the rest:
science knowledge
There is no special ‘scientific method’ that sets ‘science’ apart. Different branches of science use different methods to uncover the truth.
Theoretical physics, organic chemistry, and evolutionary biology have nothing in common beyond the fact that they study something. And nor should they.
All attempts to prescribe (or even ...
