The essence of this statement is that the notion of regarding scienctific knowledge as irrefutable facts is ludicrous – Cox and Forshaw argue that the assumption of a “true” fact is likely to be a result of our inadequate scientific understanding. This also argues from a controversial viewpoint – only if theories are tested extremely rigorously should we use it as a beacon.
Perhaps the most telling arguments against this is the implementation of vaccination. With the unprecedented situation we are currently facing, as members of the society, admittedly, we are desperately in need for an efficacious vaccine. That said, facing the exponential spreading rate of Covid-19, there is inadequate time to test 1000000000000 times to disprove the knowledge we have, on the pathology and epidemiology of Covid-19. On the side note, it is also highly doubtful that the theory of vaccination is flawed after decades and centuries of implementation, since the small pox vaccine in 1798. Indeed, there are frail possibilities that we might have misinterpreted or mislearnt the virus, yet we would not make any progress if our efforts became fixated on proving or disproving the ‘facts’ – the balance of efficiency and an adequate degree of accuracy would ultimately be what we are striving to achieve.
The benefits of testing a theory meticulously, however, cannot be disregarded. To the best of my recollection, there are multitude of occasions and instances historically that corroborate – for example, Nicolaus Copernicus’ discovery of Earth orbiting the Sun. The crucial elements to the theory that the earth revolved around the sun, and not the other way around, had been around for thousands of years, but it was Copernicus’ advanced understanding in Islamic and European astronomy, alongside the advancement in mathematics, that ultimately led to his ground-breaking discovery. Science does, therefore, requires strict verifications and experimentations before it can emerge into a general accepted theory. The ramifications, arising from our accumulation of flawed knowledge, is highly formidable.
When considering scientific decision, it is therefore imperative to delve into the obscure consequences, as they are highly context-dependent. In the example concerning Covid-19 vaccines, we learn that the importance of efficiency equates to the the degree of accuracy; however, the accuracy is also shown as one of the most cardinal facet of science in history. Nonetheless, in the modern era, where we are forced to adapt quickly to a myriad of situations, if we are to apply science, rather than developing a theory, I would be more inclined to discard the insanely rigorous approach.
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Enoch Tze 