Grasp the objects and test methods of scientific theory
January 18, 2022 09:13 Source: "China Social Sciences" January 18, 2022 Issue 2332 Author: Weng Yongkun

People's general impression of science,It is a scientist conducted various studies in the laboratory and then put forward various theories,In the impression of many people,Science is inseparable from experiments -scientists obtain data through experiments,Then test the theoretical hypothesis,The theory that can pass multiple experimental inspections,Only "qualified" scientific theory。It can be tested with experiments to test as the necessary condition for the "qualified" scientific theory,As a result, those unable to use experiments to test、Scientific theories on the historical process are easily questioned。Actually,The test method of scientific theory is determined by the object of theoretical expression。The research objects of different disciplines are very different,Each type of object has specific properties and the theoretical testing method that is compatible with it。

Different from the object of scientific theory,The theory can be divided into three categories。One category is the theory that expresses the general law。The characteristics of the general law are,In the case of "other conditions",The same reason will always cause the same result。For example,In the case of meeting the standard atmospheric pressure ("other conditions is the same"),The boiling point of the water is 100 ℃,We can repeatedly test this rule。The second category is the theory of historical events that occurred in the past。For bet365 best casino games example,Species Origin、Da Bao Jiao formation, etc.。Historical events are generally unavailable。The third category is the theory of expressing specific mechanisms。For example,Blood circulation mechanism、Natural selection mechanism, etc.。The characteristics of the mechanism are when all the conditions of the constituent mechanism are met,The mechanism will automatically work。These three types of theoretical expressions,There are obvious differences in nature,The theory also has obvious differences in the test method。

In the case of "other conditions",The role of the general law makes the same reason always cause the same result。This nature of the general law,The basis that scientists can test theory in the experiment,As long as the conditions of each experiment are guaranteed to meet the "other conditions the same",The results of each experiment will be the same。If time、Location factors are not among the "other conditions",So no matter what time the experiment is、Where to do it,Nothing will affect the experimental results。Use this nature of universal laws,Scientists can predict the experimental results before the experiment,Then test the theory through comparative predictions and experiment results。If the prediction and the experimental results are consistent,and after some necessary follow -up processes,It can often be considered that the theory has passed the test of this experiment,That is, the experimental results provide support for theory。If the prediction and the experimental results are inconsistent,It may be because the experimental conditions have not met the requirements of "other conditions" and the results occur.,Scientists need bet365 live casino games to further eliminate factors that may interfere with the results of the experimental results,and then re -experiment; it may also be that the theoretical hypothesis itself is wrong,Theoretical is verified and pseudo,or a part of the auxiliary hypothesis in the entire theory is wrong,Need to adjust the auxiliary hypotheses and make new predictions,Then repeat the above inspection program。

Historical theoretical hypothesis is a hypothesis about the historical causes of some phenomena。For example,About the asteroid impact of dinosaurs,Baiji Permia's late Star hitting the earth incident is the cause of dinosaur extinction。Obviously,This historical event cannot repeat it under natural conditions,It is difficult for scientists to repeat this incident under laboratory conditions,This causes historical theories to test it with experimental methods like universal laws。other,Scientists generally cannot accurately predict the evidence that may be found under natural conditions based on historical theories。The reason is,Historical events and evidence that can be retained so far is too long,There are a lot of factors in the meantime that may affect the preservation of evidence。and,Since this process happened in the past,It is impossible for scientists to return to the past intervention and control of influencing factors。This is equivalent to,It is impossible to control the factors that may affect the experimental results before doing experiments,So it is difficult to make accurate predictions on the experimental results。So,For the test of historical theory,Forecasts can often only play a role in inspiration and auxiliary。For example,bet365 Play online games Scientists can hit the hypocrite according to the asteroid,Forecast may be found to be a impact pit,This forecast pointed out a research direction,But it cannot be limited to discovering the time of the impact pit、Location、Specific nature。and,Even if you have not found a impact pit, you cannot prove a pseudo -hypothesis,Because the impact pit may be affected by geological changes,It has long disappeared in the long history。Since the historical theory cannot be tested by the method of "prediction before experiment",So is there any other feasible test? Although a evidence left by historical events may disappear,But theoretically every historical event will leave a lot of evidence,and the retained evidence will point to the same reason,That is the historical event。This nature of historical events,enable scientists to explore whether multiple evidences point to the same historical event,To test the historical theory。For example,Regarding another hypothesis of impact with asteroid impact, another hypothesis believes that it is a large popularity of a virus leading to dinosaur extinction,And both hypotheses have received some support from evidence。Later,Scientists accidentally discovered the new evidence of "abnormal element content in the K-T layer",New evidence and some existing evidence point out that the impact of the asteroid impact is the "common cause of the evidence",conflict with the virus popular incident,Then the asteroid impact hypothesis to withstand a test,and virus pop hypothesis did not pass this test。If there are more and more new evidence pointing to the asteroid impact, the "common reason",Then the asteroid impact hypothesis Bet365 app download will be accepted by scientists,Competitive hypothesis will be eliminated。Based on the principle of "common reasons", historic theory is tested and the theory of general laws based on experiments,There is no difference in the test results,The difference between the two is mainly reflected in the test method and inspection process。Due to the lack of accurate prediction capabilities due to historical theory,Therefore, the evidence can often only come from passive and obedient discovery,Evidence of the general laws of testing can be created in the experiment,This makes the testing process of historic theory often longer and difficult,There are even many hypothesis that may never be tested。

Test the theoretical hypothesis of the mechanism,It is very different from the test of the first two types of theories。The test of the first two types of theories is based on the object of theoretical expression,Whether the comparative evidence is consistent with the results of the theory to test the theory。The test of mechanism theory,The main steps are not the actual situation or not the theory is consistent with the results of the theoretical launch,Instead, check whether each "component" of the constituent mechanism exists。If each component exists,The logical structure of the theory can ensure that the mechanism will play a role。Take Darwin's natural selection theory as an example,Natural selection theoretical expression is a mechanism that affects biological evolution,This mechanism contains four main components: there are fierce survival competition between individuals; tiny trait differences will affect individual adaptability; highly adaptable individuals leave higher Bet365 app download probability of offspring;。Four components constitute a logical closed loop,That is to say,As long as each component exists,This mechanism can run smoothly,Natural selection will affect biological evolution。So,Scientists' test of natural selection theory,It has become a test of the existence of each component。This inspection process lasted for about 80 years,By the 1930s and 1940s,Scientists finally put together each component。For example,Multiple genes determine the discovery of one characteristic phenomenon,Prove that component four exists -micro -trait mutation can be genetic。The scientists at that time not only found that each component existed,And all exist,Therefore, the evolutionary theory of natural selection as the main mechanism has obtained the general recognition of scientists。The mechanism is different from historical events lies in,In the case of the existence of the component,The mechanism will continue to work,If the natural selection process is not a single historical event; the place where the mechanism is different from the general law is,The mechanism itself has no universal requirements,Its universality is determined by the wide nature of components,If there is a component very scarce,The chance of the mechanism will be very scarce。

To sum up,Different objects of different scientific theories,The nature of its object determines the method of scientist inspection theory。Scientific theory needs to be tested,But the method of testing is not the only。It is believed that only experimental testing is the only "qualified" inspection method,Ignoring the richness of the scientific Bet365 app download research object,It also ignored the complexity of the scientific research process,Is a more one -sided and inconsistent actual。

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(Author Unit: College of Marxism University of Overseas Chinese University)

Editor in charge: Zhang Jing
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