Keeping It Real

advanced2 min readphilosophy · science · sociology

Nisbett examines the role of commitments and worldviews in scientific change. He asks how to acknowledge these influences while still defending claims about an objective reality.

THE IDEA

16. Keeping It Real

There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now. All that remains is more and more precise measurement.

—William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, discoverer of the correct value of the temperature of absolute zero, in an address in 1900 to the British Association for the Advancement of Science

The source attributes the opening statement to Kelvin; that attribution is not verified in the supplied material.

“Arational” (or nonrational or quasi-rational) practices in science occur alongside—even in opposition to—the linear, rational textbook version of scientific progress. Sometimes scientists abandon generally accepted theories and devote themselves to other theories that are not well supported by available evidence. Their adoption of the new theory is initially as much a matter of faith as of logic or data.

Scientific theories are sometimes traceable to particular worldviews that differ across academic fields, between ideologies, or from one culture to another. The different theories sometimes literally conflict with one another.

The arational aspects of science may have contributed to the rejection of the concept of objective truth by some people who describe themselves as deconstructionists or postmodernists. What defense is possible against such nihilism? What can be said to people who assert that “reality” is mere socially constructed fiction?

When to use it

Evaluating competing scientific theories in politically charged fields like climate science, where worldview differences affect acceptance.
Understanding resistance to innovation in organizations where established paradigms are defended despite contrary evidence.
Recognizing when personal or group commitments override rational analysis in decision-making processes.
Analyzing historical scientific revolutions (e.g., Copernican, Darwinian) to see how arational factors shaped the transition.

FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE

In practice

Lord Kelvin's Prediction

The source attributes to Lord Kelvin a 1900 declaration that physics had no new discoveries left. Without verifying that attribution, the remark can illustrate a broader caution: confidence that a field is complete may be overturned by later discoveries.

Adopting Maverick Theories

A researcher pursues a theory before strong evidence is available because it fits a broader picture they find promising. That commitment can motivate useful research, but it does not establish the theory. Later observations still need to test it.

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A MOMENT TO REFLECT

Put it to work.

How might your own beliefs about science be influenced by arational factors such as cultural background or personal ideology?
What examples from history or current events show a clash between rational textbook science and nonrational adoption of alternative theories?
If reality is partly socially constructed, what defense remains for objective truth in scientific inquiry?