The 6 differences between Science and Philosophy

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

Philosophers and scientists are often taken simply as experts in everything and nothing, intellectual authorities on any subject, and this means that the limits that exist between their functions remain blurred. Next we will see what exactly makes it possible to distinguish science from philosophy and what are its fields of action.

• Related article: "Differences between Psychology and Philosophy"

Main differences between science and philosophy

These differences are very basic and general., and it should be taken into account that both science and philosophy are very broad and diverse fields of knowledge, so it is not always easy to generalize about them.

However, in global terms, all forms of science have a number of characteristics. in common that they are closer to each other than to philosophy, and the same occurs with the latter discipline.

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

Philosophy, unlike science, does not depend on empirical tests. 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 perform these kinds of tests to develop your work.

This is so 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 based on assumptions basic theorists.

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

2. One is speculative and the other is not.

Philosophy is basically based on speculation, to a greater or lesser degree, while science, although also incorporates a certain degree of speculation, limits its power through contrasting empirical. In other words, in the second, those ideas and theories that do not fit with what is observed and do not explain the things as well as others, are no longer used, since they are considered to have reached a dead end. exit.

In philosophy, on the other hand, it is possible to accept any theoretical starting point as good. (no matter how crazy it may seem at first) if that allows you to create a map of ideas or a philosophical system that is interesting from some point of view.

3. Philosophy deals with morality

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

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

4. They answer different questions

Science asks itself very specific questions and they are formulated in a very careful way. In addition, he tries to use very clear and specific definitions in the vocabulary he uses, so that it is clearly known if a theory or hypothesis is fulfilled or not.

Philosophy, on the other hand, asks questions much more general than science, and normally uses much more difficult-to-define concepts 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 a few very expensive instruments, such as special machines or a staff of people who dedicate several months to work in coordination to answer a question very specific.

Philosophy, on the other hand, is not so expensive, but instead requires a social climate in which it is feasible to initiate certain types of philosophical investigations without suffering censorship. In addition, since philosophy does not usually have a character as applied as science, currently it is not easy that it can be used to earn a salary.

6. One has given way to the next

Science has emerged from philosophy, since at 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 typical of the Pythagorean sects, which investigated mathematical properties while at the same time attributing an almost divine character to objects. numbers and linked their existence to that of an afterlife in which disembodied souls hypothetically inhabited (since the mathematical rules are always valid, regardless of what the subject).

The split between science and philosophy occurred after the Scientific Revolution, at the end of the Middle Ages, and since then it has been developing 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 allow arrive.