Introduction The nature of science Our starting point is the question What is science?In the first part of this chapter we will see what an American judge had to say when the question came before his court.He had to rule on whether what is called "creation science"really is science.This is useful,first because it shows that the question is a live and important one,and secondly because the answer is revealing.Although the judge did not give a complete and systematic answer (as a philosopher may have attempted to do),he did identify several of the key issues. These are the subject matter for much of the rest of this book.The judge was interested in questions like What is science about?and What is a scientific theory?He did not, however,ask How do we know when a theory is true?,mainly because he was not concerned with the truth of creation science,but with whether creationism is science or not.For a theory can be false yet still be scientific (e.g.Priestley's phlogiston theory of combustion),and a claim can be true without being scientific (e.g.the claim that Brazil won the 1994 World Cup).Nonetheless,the nature of scientific knowledge is clearly important and this chapter ends with two puzzles concerning it. What is science? First,the background.In recent years an interesting phenomenon has appeared in American political,religious,and educational circles.For instance,in 1995 and 1996 new laws were proposed in the legislatures of five American states that required schools to give equal attention to evolution and to creation science in state school science classes. Creation science originates with a literal reading of the Bible,in particular the book of Genesis.It claims,however,not to be religious in content;rather,it says,the relevant propositions,for instance that the universe,the solar system,and life were suddenly created,that currently living animals and plants have existed since creation,that this creation was relatively recent (i.e.some thousands of years ago),that man and apes have a separate ancestry,and that the geological features of the Earth are to be explained by large-scale sudden catastrophes (e.g.a flood)are all scientific hypotheses for which there is strong scientific evidence. Why was the Genesis story turned into science in this way?For centuries scientists have regarded the universe and its laws as the manifestations of the will and nature of its Creator.And it is natural enough to seek in it signs of those events that the Bible records as His work.More recently,however,creation science has gained a political purpose.The constitution of the USA provides for the separation of church and state,and for this reason religious doctrine may not be taught in state schools.Nonetheless,for many years some states have prohibited the teaching of those scientific theories that would be antithetical to the prevailing fundamentalist version of Christianity.It is for this reason that the famous "monkey"trial of John Scopes took place,in Dayton,Tennessee,in 1925. Scopes was accused,and found guilty,of violating a Tennessee law forbidding the teaching of evolution.Such laws no longer exist.(It may have been the fear ofIntroduction The nature of science Our starting point is the question What is science? In the first part of this chapter we will see what an American judge had to say when the question came before his court. He had to rule on whether what is called “creation science” really is science. This is useful, first because it shows that the question is a live and important one, and secondly because the answer is revealing. Although the judge did not give a complete and systematic answer (as a philosopher may have attempted to do), he did identify several of the key issues. These are the subject matter for much of the rest of this book. The judge was interested in questions like What is science about? and What is a scientific theory? He did not, however, ask How do we know when a theory is true?, mainly because he was not concerned with the truth of creation science, but with whether creationism is science or not. For a theory can be false yet still be scientific (e.g. Priestley’s phlogiston theory of combustion), and a claim can be true without being scientific (e.g. the claim that Brazil won the 1994 World Cup). Nonetheless, the nature of scientific knowledge is clearly important and this chapter ends with two puzzles concerning it. What is science? First, the background. In recent years an interesting phenomenon has appeared in American political, religious, and educational circles. For instance, in 1995 and 1996 new laws were proposed in the legislatures of five American states that required schools to give equal attention to evolution and to creation science in state school science classes. Creation science originates with a literal reading of the Bible, in particular the book of Genesis. It claims, however, not to be religious in content; rather, it says, the relevant propositions, for instance that the universe, the solar system, and life were suddenly created, that currently living animals and plants have existed since creation, that this creation was relatively recent (i.e. some thousands of years ago), that man and apes have a separate ancestry, and that the geological features of the Earth are to be explained by large-scale sudden catastrophes (e.g. a flood) are all scientific hypotheses for which there is strong scientific evidence.1 Why was the Genesis story turned into science in this way? For centuries scientists have regarded the universe and its laws as the manifestations of the will and nature of its Creator. And it is natural enough to seek in it signs of those events that the Bible records as His work. More recently, however, creation science has gained a political purpose. The constitution of the USA provides for the separation of church and state, and for this reason religious doctrine may not be taught in state schools. Nonetheless, for many years some states have prohibited the teaching of those scientific theories that would be antithetical to the prevailing fundamentalist version of Christianity. It is for this reason that the famous “monkey” trial of John Scopes took place, in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925. Scopes was accused, and found guilty, of violating a Tennessee law forbidding the teaching of evolution. Such laws no longer exist. (It may have been the fear of