Introduction
The pursuit of knowledge or truth is an integral part of human existence. Science, as a body of knowledge that seeks to realize the truth through systematic approaches, is one of the commonly embraced reality approaches today. However, several instances show that science could either converge towards the truth or diverge away from reality. Historically, the works of great scientists, including Aristotle, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein portray that through further research, science unearths the reliability and validity of previous discoveries (Coccia and Wang 2058). Today, technology has reinforced scientific procedures to foster the accuracy of findings that reveal the truth. Therefore, this paper examines the convergence and divergence of science in the pursuit of truth.
Science and its Progress towards Truth Convergence
Over the years, researchers in various fields have engaged in inquiries that seek to reveal the actual truth by building on the findings of previous undertakings. As such, recent scientific findings depict more accuracy than the previous ones thereby, denoting that the continued pursuit of knowledge through science leads to the attainment of concrete reality. Notably, contemporary researchers have facilitated the replacement of earlier theories by conducting inquiries that fill the gaps existing in previous inquiries (Hendricks 43).
For this reason, the realization of empirical success in the quest for reality through science justifies that science is a progressive approach that brings new light to diverse phenomena. As mentioned earlier, the likes of Albert Einstein engaged in extensive studies that led to an empirical success in explaining the aspects of relativity as opposed to his predecessors, including Isaac Newton and Aristotle.
Interestingly, modern researchers have continually founded their investigations on the fundamental concepts of time relativity to explain natural phenomena. Therefore, testing various evidence lines recurrently has proved essential in the formulation of explanations besides revealing the new areas that need research (Hendricks 53).
For instance, the classical mechanics theory is still used today by aircraft and bridge engineers due to its accuracy in explaining the interaction of macroscopic and slow objects. Furthermore, more research advancements in multiple and different areas aim at fostering the current understanding of how the world functions. Therefore, by entangling the anomalies, scientists facilitate the convergence of science with the truth by developing new theories.
In this case, the scientific community promotes the attainment of truth by establishing new theories by providing feedback on particular questions after in-depth experimentation and observation. Moreover, the convergence of science and truth through a single study or multiple inquiries create new and reliable perspectives regarding different phenomena (Coccia and Wang 2060).
The Realization of Truth through Systematic Procedures
Science employs a systematic approach in the pursuit of reality thus, making it a reliable way of understanding the truth regarding a given issue. Particularly, the systematic procedures incorporated in scientific studies converge towards the actual reality. The methodical procedures that aim at attaining specific goals and the collection of evidence to assess the extent to which the procedures comply with the goals characterize the systematic aspect of scientific knowledge (Popper 72).
Essentially, the convergence of science towards the truth through a systematic approach entails the problem definition and the identification of alternative solutions before selecting the suitable method or model of executing the inquiry. Importantly, for the capture of significant relationships that reveal the truth, scientific studies simplify the models to foster an accurate analysis of the testable hypothesis. For instance, in determining whether the extinct dinosaurs were warm- or cold-blooded, systematic approaches in science through the application of taphonomy and paleoichnology procedures could override the speculation regarding the issue amid the absence of adequate evidence.
Furthermore, the science community today has advanced the systematic element of research by incorporating technologies that center on the attainment of accurate results. Therefore, the severe testing of hypothesis through the incorporation of technological advancements today has reinforced the logical aspect of seeking the truth, as seen in the profoundness of current theories (Popper 90). For instance, advancements in the field of forensic science have revolutionized the use of evidence in seeking the truth in cases such as homicide. Therefore, the strength of empirical tests fostered by systematic and logical strategies promote the convergence of the scientific endeavors towards realizing the truth.
Science and the Approximation of Truth
Convergent realists underscore that the various theories developed by scientists represent an approximation of the truth (Coccia and Wang 2058).For this reason, the approximation aspect of science could diverge from the actual truth to a substantial extent. In such cases, people could create a false understanding of reality and, thus, lead to the incompatibility of various ideologies. Therefore, the absence of a common interpretation of the truth among the scientific community has stirred divergent understandings of the ideas, concepts, and theories that explain how different phenomena work.
Hence, the notion of approximate truth in science points out that the relativity of scientific conclusions inhibits the convergence towards the actual truth. Consequently, scientists unceasingly undertake new studies to enhance the certainty of their findings and, thus, eliminate the approximation aspect of truth. Notably, the notion of approximate truth hints that some scientific revelations and explanations are truer as compared to others, thus resulting in the development of skepticism regarding scientific judgments.
As such, scientific realism underlines the essence of believing in the observable and unobservable elements of scientific knowledge in a way that denotes the absence of actuality, a loophole in the convergence of science and truth (Popper 66). In this light, the problem of data underestimation evident in conflicting theories raises issues concerning the reliability and validity particulars of scientific inquiry.
Thus, scientific hypotheses cannot solely determine the realization of truth since integration of the available data with “auxiliary” assumptions that facilitate the realization of the actual testable prediction, even after repeated experimentation and observation. Therefore, such assumptions further unearth that science, to a considerable degree, diverges from the truth, amid its influence on the attainment of consistent findings. In this light, convergent realism reveals that science develops theories that represent the world’s approximations, simplifications, and idealizations that hardly converge towards the truth (Hendricks 65).
Conclusion
Besides the lack of a consensus in determining the actual meaning of truth, science could either converge towards the truth or diverge away from it based on one’s understanding. The replacement of previous theories with more profound and accurate ones depicts that science is a progressive field that converges towards the truth. Additionally, the systematic approach adopted in scientific inquiry underlines the essence of accuracy, a key determinant of the truth. However, the approximation element of scientific truth undermines the convergence of such undertakings to the actual reality.
Works Cited
Coccia, Mario, and Lili Wang. “Evolution and convergence of the patterns of international scientific collaboration.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 113.8 (2016): 2057-2061. Print.
Hendricks, Vincent. The convergence of scientific knowledge: A view from the limit, Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. Print.
Popper, Karl. Realism and the aim of science: From the postscript to the logic of scientific discovery, London: Routledge, 2013. Print.