Evidence and Reason in Science (AQA A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

Evidence and Reason in Science

Introduction to modern science

Modern science emerged between the 16th and 18th centuries through significant developments in human thinking. Although major scientific advances have occurred since then—including evolution, relativity, quantum mechanics, neuroscience and the digital revolution—these all became possible because of fundamental principles established during this earlier period.

How science differed from earlier approaches

Earlier thinkers explored natural phenomena, but they lacked the systematic approach to evidence that developed from the 16th century onwards. This new approach had several key features:

• Human reason could understand the world without divine or supernatural influence
• Trust in evidence and experiment as means of acquiring knowledge
• Assumption that the world was orderly and intelligible
• Willingness to challenge and evaluate all claims to truth, setting aside Church authority

Christianity's role in enabling science

In some ways, Christianity helped make the scientific approach possible by promoting:

• The idea of a predictable world ordered by God
• The view that the world was a positive resource for humanity
• The use of reason (though previously to support religious understanding)

The emphasis on evidence and reason

Two philosophical approaches to knowledge

In the 17th century, two contrasting approaches emerged that profoundly impacted both science and Christian belief:

Empiricism

Empiricism is the view that all knowledge starts from sense experience.

Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton and others insisted that knowledge begins with observation and evidence. From sensory experience, reason can then deduce the laws of nature and express them in scientific or mathematical terms. This approach remains at the heart of scientific thinking today.

Key features of empiricism in science:

• Every scientific claim depends on evidence from experiments or observation
• This has become the norm across all areas of life, including religion
• People now routinely ask for evidence to support any claim

Rationalism

Rationalism is the view that all knowledge starts with the processes of human thought.

René Descartes, often called the founder of modern philosophy, used systematic doubt to establish what could be known with certainty. Since our senses can deceive us (for example, when we mistake dreams for reality), he doubted all empirical evidence. His only certain knowledge was of himself as a thinking being. This approach sees the mind, rather than the senses, as the starting point for knowledge.

Science's preference for empiricism

Generally, the world of science since the 17th century has been based on empiricism rather than rationalism. It starts with observation and experiment rather than pure thought.

The scientific method

A scientist's beliefs are tentative, not dogmatic. They are based on evidence, not on authority or intuition.

The scientific method involves two fundamental processes for gaining knowledge: deduction and induction.

The deductive approach

Deduction involves deriving conclusions from an initial proposition. If the first statement is true, other truths can be deduced from it. This works well provided the starting proposition is correct.

The inductive approach

The inductive method depends on observation and testing. It was the key feature of scientific development. Scientists following this method:

1. Observe and gather evidence, eliminating irrelevant factors as much as possible
2. Analyse the evidence and draw conclusions in the form of a hypothesis
3. Devise experiments to test the hypothesis—if correct, certain results should be anticipated
4. Modify the hypothesis if necessary based on experimental results
5. Argue for a theory that explains the evidence and results
6. Use deduction to predict what should occur if the theory is correct
7. Establish tests that can verify or disprove the theory

Important limitations of scientific knowledge

Contrary to popular assumption, science does not deliver absolute certainty. The inductive process can yield at most a high degree of probability. Science offers the best available explanation rather than final truth.

Scientism

Scientism is the view that science alone can give true knowledge of reality, that it alone can determine what is meaningful, and that eventually it will explain everything.

This approach tends to ignore the contribution of the arts, psychology and emotions to human self-understanding.

Christian responses to the rise of science

Deism

If everything can be explained through physical laws, there seems little scope for belief in a personal God who intervenes in nature through miracles. However, an ordered universe might suggest an intelligent designer. This led to Deism—belief in an intelligent but impersonal creator who establishes the universe then leaves it to operate according to its own laws.

Existentialism

Existentialism is a philosophy based on the idea that humans create their own personal reality through the choices they make. The world is not fixed, but can be shaped by individual commitments and values. This approach differs significantly from the scientific method.

Søren Kierkegaard, the earliest Christian existentialist, viewed faith as personal commitment unrelated to scientific facts. Liberal Christian thinkers like Paul Tillich have suggested that Christian beliefs and symbols should be understood in relation to existential questions about meaning and purpose.

Key features of the existentialist response:

• Christianity offers beliefs and symbols that provide meaning and purpose
• Individuals must decide whether to accept these beliefs as personal commitments
• Christianity addresses existential questions rather than scientific questions
• On this view, there is no conflict between religion and science because they are different but equally valid ways of understanding the world

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