Living science: Science as an activity of living beings.
The philosophy of science should accommodate itself to the facts of human existence, using all aspects of human experience to adapt more effectively, as individuals, species, and global ecosystem. This has several implications: (1) Our nature as sentient beings interacting with other sentient beings requires the use of phenomenological methods to investigate consciousness. (2) Our embodied, situated, purposeful physical interactions with the world are the foundation of scientific understanding. (3) Aristotle's four causes are essential for understanding living systems and, in particular, the final cause aids understanding the role of humankind, and especially science, in the global ecosystem. (4) In order to fulfill this role well, scientists need to employ the full panoply of human faculties. These include the consciousness faculties (thinking, sensation, feeling, intuition), and therefore, as advocated by many famous scientists, we should cultivate our aesthetic sense, emotions, imagination, and intuition. Our unconscious faculties include archetypal structures common to all humans, which can guide scientific discovery. By striving to engage the whole of human nature, science will fulfill better its function for humans and the global ecosystem.
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee, 1520 Middle Dr., Knoxville, TN 37996, USA. Electronic address: maclennan@utk.edu.
Bruce J
BJ
MacLennan
D000818:Animals; D003071:Cognition; D003243:Consciousness; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D012586:Science / Q000379:methods*
Analytical psychology; Causality; Embodied cognition; Goethe; Phenomenology; Philosophy of science