1.5 Goals of Science

The broad goals of science are to understand natural phenomena and explain how they may be changing over time. To achieve those goals, scientists undertake investigations based on information, inferences, and conclusions developed through a systematic application of logic, usually of the inductive sort. As such, scientists carefully observe natural phenomena and conduct experiments.

A higher goal of scientific research is to formulate laws that describe the workings of the universe in general terms. Universal laws, along with theories and hypotheses, are used to understand and explain natural phenomena. However, many natural phenomena are incredibly complicated and may never be fully understood in terms of physical laws. This is particularly true of the ways that organisms and ecosystems are organized and function.

Scientific investigations may be pure or applied. Pure science is driven by intellectual curiosity – it is the unfettered search for knowledge and understanding, without regard for its usefulness in human welfare. Applied science is more goal-oriented and deals with practical difficulties and problems of one sort or another. Applied science might examine how to improve technology, advance the management of natural resources, or reduce pollution or other environmental damages associated with human activities.

Attribution

“1.1 Science as a Way of Knowing” from Physical Geography and Natural Disasters by R. Adam Dastrup, MA, GISP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commerical Share-Alike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.