The 6 differences between science and philosophy

These fields of knowledge differ in several aspects that are important to keep in mind.

Science and philosophy are two fields of knowledge creation that are often confused with each other. with each other.

Philosophers and scientists are often taken simply as experts on everything and nothing, intellectual authorities on any subject, and this blurs the boundaries between their functions. In the following we will see what exactly distinguishes science from philosophy and what are their fields of action.

Main differences between science and philosophy

These differences are very basic and generalIt should be borne in mind that both science and philosophy are very broad and diverse fields of knowledge, so that it is not always easy to generalize about them.

However, in global terms, all forms of science have a series of characteristics in common that bring them closer to each other than to philosophy, and the same is true of the latter discipline.

1. One wants to explain reality, the other manipulates ideas.

Philosophy, unlike science, does not depend on empirical contrasts. This means that while all the work of scientists revolves around whether their hypotheses and theories are confirmed by experience, philosophers do not need to carry out empirical contrasts, philosophers do not need to perform this kind of contrasts in order to develop their work. to develop their work.

This is because scientists try to find the basic mechanisms by which reality works, while philosophers focus rather on investigating the relationships between certain groups of ideas on the basis of basic theoretical assumptions.

For example, the work of René Descartes developed from an exercise in logic: there is a subject, because otherwise he could not think of himself.

2. One is speculative and the other is not

Philosophy is basically based on speculation, to a greater or lesser degree, while science, although it also incorporates a certain degree of speculation, limits the power of this through empirical contrastation. That is to say, in the latter, those ideas and theories that do not fit with what has been observed and do not explain things as well as others, cease to be used, since they are considered to have reached a dead end.

In philosophy, on the other hand, it is possible to consider any theoretical starting point as good (however far-fetched it may seem at first) if it makes it possible to create a map of ideas or a philosophical system (however far-fetched it may seem at first) if it allows us to create a map of ideas or a philosophical system that is interesting from some point of view.

3. Philosophy deals with morality

Science tries to answer questions, not to point out which ethical positions are the best. Its task is a description of things in the most objective and aseptic way possible.

Philosophy, on the other hand, has been dealing with ethics and morality for thousands of years. It is not only in charge of constructing knowledge; it also tries to answer questions about what is right and what is wrong..

4. They answer different questions

Science asks very specific and carefully formulated questions. In addition, it tries to use very clear and specific definitions in the vocabulary it uses, so that it is clear whether a theory or hypothesis is fulfilled or not.

Philosophy, on the other hand asks much more general questions than scienceIt normally uses concepts that are much more difficult to define and that, in order to be understood, first require knowledge of the philosophical system to which they belong.

5. They have different needs

For science to develop, it is necessary to invest a lot of money in it, since this kind of research is very expensive and requires very costly instruments, such as special machines or a staff of people who spend several months working in coordination to answer a very specific question.

Philosophy, on the other hand, is not so expensive.But it does require a social climate in which it is feasible to engage in certain types of philosophical research without being censored. Moreover, since philosophy is not usually as applied as science, it is not easy at present for it to be used to earn a salary.

6. One has given way to the next

Science has grown out of philosophy, since in the beginning all forms of knowledge were a mixture of systematic empirical testing, philosophy and myth.

This is clearly seen, for example, in the way of thinking of the Pythagorean sects, which investigated mathematical properties while attributing an almost divine character to numbers and linking their existence to that of an afterlife in which hypothetically disembodied souls dwelled (since mathematical rules are always valid, regardless of what matter does).

The split between science and philosophy began with the Scientific Revolution, at the end of the Middle Ages, and has been developing ever since.The split between science and philosophy began with the Scientific Revolution, at the end of the Middle Ages, and since then it has developed more and more. However, it has never become totally autonomous from philosophy, since the latter watches over the epistemological conditions of the discoveries that are being made and the conclusions to which they lead.

Bibliographical references:

• Blackburn, S., Ed. (1996)The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford, Oxford University Press.
• Bunnin, Nicholas; Tsui-James, Eric, eds. (2008). The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy. John Wiley & Sons.
• Popkin, R.H. (1999). The Columbia History of Western Philosophy. New York, Columbia University Press.
• Rutherford, D. (2006). The Cambridge Companion to Early Modern Philosophy. Cambridge University Press.
• Sober, Elliott. (2001). Core Questions in Philosophy: A Text with Readings. Upper Saddle River, Prentice Hall.