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Darwin And The Scientific Method

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Summary Darwin and the Scientific Method There has been an apparent disagreement between how Darwin conducted his experimentation and how he publicized his findings to the public. Ayala describes that Darwin follows and inductive approach derived from British philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and Francis Bacon; they believed in making observations without criticizing as to their significance and to gather several of them in order to reach a final conclusion. As Darwin traveled on the H.M.S. Beagle he was in pursuit of knowledge that required observation and experimentation, otherwise known as empirical evidence. In this case, he wanted to explain the origin of organisms and to see if his theory of natural selection is true. Darwin had the fear of being accused in making evaluations based on poorly measured results. There was this urge in formulating hypotheses that can be tested by observable experimentation rather than having ones that appear to be afterthoughts. It has been a false mindset that science advances by gathering experimental results and drawing a conclusion. Bacon and Mill suggested inductive reasoning as a way to gain empirical conclusions not based on personal feelings or opinions. Basically, an ideal scientist should observe any occurrence and record without worrying as to what the truth may be. However, every scientist must have a plan as to what kind event to study and obtain answers to questions they may have on something that interests them. A

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