Scientific method

Abstract

Philosophers have long held there to be something special about science that distinguishes it from non-science. Rather than a shared subject-matter, the distinction is usually taken to reside at the methodological level. What sets the sciences apart from non-scientific pursuits is the possession of a characteristic method employed by their practitioners. It is customary to refer to this characteristic method of science as the “scientific method.” Those disciplines which employ the scientific method qualify as sciences; those which do not employ the method are considered not to be scientific. While most philosophers agree that science is to be characterized in methodological terms, they disag..