Science and reason

29 Oct, 2017 at 09:44 | Posted in Theory of Science & Methodology | 2 Comments

True scientific method is open-minded, self-critical, flexible. Scientists are, in short, not as reasonable as they would like to ​think themselves. The great scientists are often true exceptions; they are nearly always attacked by their colleagues for their revolutionary ideas, not by using the standards of reason, but just by appealing​ to prejudices then current.​ Being reasonable takes great skill and great​ sensitivity to the difference between “well-supported” and “widely accepted.” It also takes great courage, because it seldom corresponds to being popular.