An Epistemological Reflection on the Social Practice of Science and the Scientific Method; [Uma reflexão epistemológica sobre a prática social da ciência e o método científico]

Katayama-Omura R.J.; Pedrosa-Velasco D.L.; Olivera-Carhuaz E.S.; Pulido-Capurro V.M. · Cultura de los Cuidados (2025) · DOI: 10.14198/cuid.29375

Resumen

In this research article, science is presented as a Western cultural product that has evolved since modernity. Due to this, its current form was obtained, which managed to impose itself, due to its effectiveness, at a global level. It also reflects on the origin and evolution of what is known as “scientific method” and problematizes the nature of the hypothesis and its empirical corroboration. The objective of this work is to reflect epistemologically on the social practice of science and the scientific method and the hypothesis. The paper is structured in three sections. The first section presents science and the scientific method as we currently conceive it. The second section will focus on the epistemological assumptions of the scientific method, delving into inductivism and the various alternatives that Bunge, Popper and Hempel propose. Finally, analize the scientific hypothesis was analyzed, studying its nature and the mandatory requirements that it demands. Concluding that “science” is a Western product with empiricist tendencies and in many cases experimental. In addition, it was possible to determine the fundamental components of the scientific method, which is not static, since it varies every time the conception of science, or the social practice o science, changes. Likewise, it was established that empirical testing is essential to compare the hypothesis with reality.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas; Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista