Unit Question
Why do humans seek to explain and describe the physical world?
What truly is it about humans or human nature that pushes us to explain and describe everything that surrounds us? From weather patterns to particle physics, the pursuit to discover knowledge will always be exploring something that has yet to be completely understood. Now it is not only simply explaining and describing the physical world, it is understanding and grasping it all. One may contemplate upon the purpose of doing so, though through our understanding of the working of things upon this Earth, such as different spectrums of light, we can fabricate new innovations or innovate strategies that are highly efficient, whether those strategies are related to construction of buildings (physics, math, environmental science), designing of an experimental nuclear reactor (physics and chemistry), fabrication of a gene-type therapy (biology and bioengineering), or even the planning of airplane travel routes (weather patterns, combustion mechanics).
Humans are thought to be the only beings possessing the ability to “reason.” When speaking of “reasoning,” I am referring to the way that we process information, for example, asking ourselves questions such as “is lightening truly electricity?” or “If combustion of carbon causes pressure changes, could we isolate that into cylinders and make a combustion engine?” Understanding our surrounding world allows us to answer complex questions, assemble methodical mechanisms based off of scientific logic, and overall increase human awareness as to how our world truly works.
Linking Question
Is there a logic to scientific discovery?
The questions at hand is indeed very open ended, science is built upon the foundations of human logic, as we have discussed above, human logic is based upon our understanding of this world that we live in, as we attempt to understand anything and everything that has yet to be understood and is in our reach, whether or not making it within our reach requires a space ship or an interplanetary rover.
Without logic, science would cease to exist. Without science, we would be at the absence of explanation. Without explanation, we would be at the absence of knowledge.