The Role Of Evidence In The Natural Sciences

“It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence” (Clifford’s Credo). This clearly states that every belief or claim must be supported with substantial and sufficient evidence. Belief is an acceptance or a preconceived notion that something exists or is true, especially one without proof. Evidence can be defined as proof, available body of facts and information, to indicate whether a belief or hypothesis is justified. The natural sciences and history are two such areas of knowledge where evidence is essential validate a claim. Differing ways of knowing are used to gain knowledge in different areas of knowledge. In the natural sciences, the predominant way of knowing is perception and reasoning,

To hear that something is ‘scientifically proven’ is equivalent to ‘definitely true’ and science has certainly made drastic advances in recent age. The natural sciences are strongly based on reason, the pursuit of knowledge in science is done by; relying on hypothesis testing, reliability, controlled variables, and testing theories, only then can a science experiment be viable. This is important in the sciences, as each theory has to pass these criteria in order to be acknowledged. A theory in the sciences is only true unless otherwise proven. Evidence is critical in understanding the ways of science and any theory must be proven by concrete evidence to be considered true. It is known that evidence is crucial in supporting a scientific belief. The development of the model of the atom is an example of this. When Democritus first made the atomic model, his model was just a solid round spherical ball. His findings lacked sufficient evidence and it was not widely accepted. However, as technology advanced and further evidence was presented in the years after, the theory of atoms and the atomic model came into acceptance, with the model of the atom changing several times. Scientists would consider their model design correct until other theories with more valuable evidence is discovered, modifying the design yet again. Insufficient evidence can lead to incorrect beliefs and though theories can be overthrown by new

It is the search for the truth knowing the truth can never be found. Though evidence is essential in concluding the events of the past, it must be carefully evaluated and interpreted as two people might have differing views regarding the same evidence. The job of a historian is to analyze evidence and to look into previous events in order to comprehend the past completely. Evidence in history can be sorted out into two categories; primary and secondary. A primary source gives firsthand evidence such as photographs, letters, diary entries, newspapers and interviews whereas secondary sources are materials and articles written and they evaluate other original research on the specific event. History can be interpreted in many different ways, which is why the historical methods of investigating sources hold such significance. In IB history paper 1, we evaluate two sources using the techniques of OPVL, which stands for Origin, Purpose, Value and Limitation. This methodology of sources evaluation gives the student the opportunity to be a critical historian, to be able to carefully investigate each and every aspect of the source. Origin is where the source comes from, who wrote it, when and where it was written. Purpose is question why the source was composed, who is the target audience and what it was possibly trying to evoke in its audience. This is especially