ARTE 302 Handout: Text CH 3

What is Science?
 Science begins with experiences and explorations and is fueled by the curiosity and wonder they
ignite.
 It is that the knowledge of the world science presents is an evidence-based vision of reality
constructed through a logical and explicit chain of reasoning that can be replicated and
generalized and that is always open to skepticism, scrutiny, and critique.
Purpose of Science
 The plausibility of science reaching the goal of understanding nature rest on two primary
assumptions: The universe has some order to it, and it is ultimately understandable to the
human mind.
 The appeal of science is also in the process of discovery, in the apprehension of “a certain
oneness and totality or wholeness constituting a kind of harmony that is felt to be beautiful”
(Bohm, 1998, P. xvi).
Knowledge of Science
 The general categories of science are the physical sciences, earth and space sciences, and the
life sciences.
 Information and concepts
o Information is obtained through observation and/or measurements of phenomena that
can be tested empirically; it is evidence.
o Information is only meaningful is the scientists finds connections that can explain the
information and lead to understanding. These are concepts.
Methods of Science
 Science that are traditionally framed ad “hard” sciences and those sciences that are called “soft”
sciences, finding the “hard sciences” to be “rigorously experimental” and the soft sciences to be
“merely descriptive”.
 Scientific process
o Ideas evolve over time. They can come from prior knowledge, dreamlike visions,
intuition, and trial and error. (Think about how this connects to processes in art).
Forms of Science
 Tools that are considered are the devices a researcher uses to generate information.
 Tools: The microscope, the telescope, the computer, and the supercollider all allow scientists to
observe invisible objects and events
 The forms, or conceptual tools, of science are simplified idealized models, which are
metaphorical in that they describe something in terms of something else. (Think about how art
may do the same)

Points of integration
1. Experiencing curiosity and wonder about the world and our place in it
2. Asking or raising questions; challenging foregone conclusions and habits of mind
3. Building upon past structures and knowledge to go into the unknown
4. Engaging in creative thinking, strategies, and process in both investigation and interpretation
5. Mixing logic and linear thinking with nonrational, nonlinear thinking
6. Applying idea, structures, and methods of one area to another: metaphor and modeling
7. Making use of intuition, chance, mistakes, and the “prepared mind”
8. Engaging in improvisation and being flexible
9. Acting with perseverance and commitment
10. Experiencing the joy and pleasure in learning and discovery