On Jan 20, 2008, at 9:49 AM, lbo-talk-request at lbo-talk.org wrote:
> Thanks for clarifying; we're arguing from different premises. For me,
> science is a social practice that has existed for a few hundred years.
> According to many philosophers of science, the defining characteristics
> of science are systematic empiricism, testing falsifiable hypotheses,
> and submitting results for public verification.
Just some contextual info (i.e. news to me) about scientific method - admittedly likely predating any formal system of peer-review:
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Haytham... (965 – 1039), was a Persian[1] Muslim polymath[2][3] who made significant contributions to the principles of optics, as well as to anatomy, astronomy, engineering, mathematics, medicine, ophthalmology, philosophy, physics, psychology, Ash'ari theology, visual perception, and to science in general with his introduction of the scientific method. from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Haytham
- maryellen