Unit 5 Science and the Scientific Attitude课文翻译大学英语.pdfVIP

志不强者智不达，言不信者行不果。——墨翟

Unit5

ScienceandtheScientificAttitude

Scienceisthebodyofknowledgeaboutnaturethatrepresentsthecollectiveefforts,

insights,findings,andwisdomofthehumanrace.Scienceisnotsomethingnewbuthad

itsbeginningsbeforerecordedhistorywhenhumansfirstdiscoveredreoccurring

relationshipsaroundthem.Throughcarefulobservationsoftheserelationships,they

begantoknownatureand,becauseofnaturesdependability,foundtheycouldmake

predictionstoenablesomecontrolovertheirsurroundings.

Sciencemadeitsgreatestheadwayinthesixteenthcenturywhenpeoplebegan

askinganswerablequestionsaboutnature--whentheybeganreplacingsuperstitionbya

systematicsearchfororder--whenexperimentinadditiontologicwasusedtotestideas.

Wherepeopleoncetriedtoinfluencenaturaleventswithmagicandsupernaturalforces,

theynowhadsciencetoguidethem.Advancewasslow,however,becauseofthepowerful

oppositiontoscientificmethodsandideas.

Inabout1510Copernicussuggestedthatthesunwasstationaryandthattheearth

revolvedaboutthesun.Herefutedtheideathattheearthwasthecenteroftheuniverse.

Afteryearsofhesitation,hepublishedhisfindingsbutdiedbeforehisbookwascirculated.

HisbookwasconsideredhereticalanddangerousandwasbannedbytheChurchfor200

years.AcenturyafterCopernicus,themathematicianBrunowasburnedatthestake--

largelyforsupportingCopernicus,suggestingthesuntobeastar,