>
>Justin, you cannot define science by its practice, for in effect it is no
>definition at all, it is just short hand for saying science is science -
Very likely. Though I proposed a more general "definition": science as empirically guided testing of precisely formulated, preferable mathetically expressed, propositions about the nature or explanation of natural phenomena. Granted, this is a summary of what scientists do. But that is all I think we can aspire to in terms of definition of science. (Same with "art," btw.)
>our original debate was whether Historical Materialism was a science. On
>the basis of your definition, no,
Why not? Capital looks like science to me. In fact, so does The German Ideology. Obviously it's "soft" science, but it's as much sciencea s any social science, and more than most (sorry, Greg).
>But where would it stop, at chemists in white coats who can conduct
>enclosed experiments, while the evolutionists, etc are shown the door. The
>sociological definition is no scientific definition - it has a certain
>politico-historical logic but it fails dissmally in separating sheep from
>goats.
>
I don't think that's up to the philosophers. We can make whatever criteria for science we like, but who wil listen to us if it fails to comport with the actual practice of scientists? Who listens to us anyway? Actually, from my days as a political scientists, I cam say that unfortunately some peoplw in the social sciences do, mainly by way of repeating positicist platitudes. But the good ones forget these when they get down to work.
>And what of Historical Materialism which by this insufficient definition
>you exclude - we now just run in a circle of prejudice on this basis - one
>side saying it is a science for wahetever reasons, and another saying the
>opposite.
>
Are you saying that nothing can count as science if anyone disagrees that it is? Then historixal materialsim will never count as science. It's inherently disputable. But even "harder" sciences face skeptics.
jks
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