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..........................................Course Developed by Dr. Sambit Mallick

In this lecture, we are going to discuss how historically science has been distinguished from other branches of inquiry and thus has been able to establish its authority on our economy, culture and polity. In addition, we shall be going back to the methods of science to make a better sense of the present topic. In the light of this, we shall discuss the demarcation, autonomy and cognitive authority of science in detail.

The demarcation problem (or boundary problem ) in the philosophy of science is about how and where to draw the lines around science. The boundaries are commonly drawn between (a) science and non-science, (b) science and pseudoscience, and (c) science and religion. A form of this problem, known as the generalized problem of demarcation subsumes all three cases. The generalized problem looks for criteria for deciding which of two theories is the more scientific.

After over a century of dialogue among philosophers of science and scientists in varied fields, and despite broad agreement on the basics of scientific method, the boundaries between science and non-science continue to be debated.

Science and Religion

The problem of demarcation of science can be traced back to a time when science and religion had already become independent of one another to a great extent. In 1874, the influential science historian John William Draper published his History of the Conflict between Religion and Science . In it he portrayed the entire history of scientific development as a war against religion. This view was propagated further by such prestigious followers as Andrew Dickson White in his essay ‘ A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom' .

A number of myths surrounding the history of science owe their popularity to Draper and White. Examples include the view that Copernicus held back publication of his De revolutionibus orbium coelestium but of fear of persecution by certain church officials and the idea that some medieval Christians believed in a flat earth.