is the concerted human effort to understand, or to understand better, the history of the natural world and how the natural world works, with observable physical evidence as the basis of that understanding1. It is done through observation of natural phenomena, and/or through experimentation that tries to simulate natural processes under controlled conditions. Consider some examples. An ecologist observing the territorial behaviors of bluebirds and a geologist examining the distribution of fossils in an outcrop are both scientists making observations in order to find patterns in natural phenomena. They just do it outdoors and thus entertain the general public with their behavior. An astrophysicist photographing distant galaxies and a climatologist sifting data from weather balloons similarly are also scientists making observations, but in more discrete settings.
So why do science? I – The Individual Perspective So why are all these people described above doing what they’re doing? In most cases, they’re collecting information to test new ideas or to disprove old ones. Scientists become famous for discovering new things that change how we think about nature, whether the discovery is a new species of dinosaur or a new way in which atoms bond. Many scientists find their greatest joy in a previously unknown fact (a discovery) that explains something problem previously not explained, or that overturns some previously accepted idea.
That’s the answer based on noble principles, and it probably explains why many people go into science as a career. On a pragmatic level, people also do science to earn their paychecks. Professors at most universities and many colleges are expected as part of their contractual obligations of employment to do research that makes new contributions to knowledge. If they don’t, they lose their jobs, or at least they get lousy raises.
Why do Science? II – The Societal Perspective If the ideas above help explain why individuals do science, one might still wonder why societies and nations pay those individuals to do science. Why does a society devote some of its resources to this business of developing new knowledge about the natural world, or what has motivated these scientists to devote their lives to developing this new knowledge?
One realm of answers lies in the desire to improve people’s lives. Geneticists trying to understand how certain conditions are passed from generation to generation and biologists tracing the pathways by which diseases are transmitted are clearly seeking information that may better the lives of very ordinary people. Earth scientists developing better models for the prediction of weather or for the prediction of earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions are likewise seeking knowledge that can help avoid the hardships that have plagued humanity for centuries. Any society concerned about the welfare of its people, which is at the least any democratic society, will support efforts like these to better people’s lives.
Another realm of answers lies in a society’s desires for economic development. Many earth scientists devote their work to finding more efficient or more effective ways to discover or recover natural resources like petroleum and ores. Plant scientists seeking strains or species of fruiting plants for crops are ultimately working to increase the agricultural output that nutritionally and literally enriches nations. Chemists developing new chemical substances with potential technological applications and physicists developing new phenomena like superconductivity are likewise developing knowledge that may spur economic development. In a world where nations increasingly view themselves as caught up in economic competition, support of such science is nothing less than an investment in the economic future.
By: Kristine Joy M. Sado
