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market-farming - Re: scientific method

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  • From: M McGuire <Michael.McGuire AT uvi.edu>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: scientific method
  • Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 10:06:35 -0700


I must say this thread is very interesting. Science, like religion, is too easily bent to sectarian purposes. Despite the pomp and arrogance of some, science is a precarious art perched on unstable ground: witness the recent flipflops on nutrition and women's health. The "philosophy of science", about which much has been written, seeks to peer deeply into the mechanics of science and asks basic questions like 'What is science?' and 'How does it work?' One would think there are concrete answers to this question, but it is not so. Leading theoreticians have squabbled over these questions for the past century, and there is no consensus--much like economics, psychology, or literary criticism. Even in the 'hard sciences', leading experts disagree over fundamentals. When you look into the history of science, at key points where a discipline made a breakthrough, many of the innovators--sometimes suffering the derision of their colleagues--admit their intuition that led them to the discovery. History documents the vital role that intuition, chance, and accident play in science, though many a scientist would howl at the suggestion because it erodes their presumed superiority.

As someone who has worked as a researcher, an extensionist, and a farmer, the best I can say is that western science is good at taking things apart, but MUCH less good at putting them back together--which is what the farmer is interested in. Something always gets left out, and this leads to errors that farmers intuitively identify, though they may not have the concepts or vocabulary to express their skepticism. My experience leads me to believe that when someone lays a claim to the 'truth', be it in science, religion, or politics, you can bet they have a hidden, and narrow, agenda.


I'm an old dirt farmer and perhaps are less than scientific. When I check
out some growing soil I look at it, feel it pressed and crumbled in my hand,
smell it and taste it. Then I observe the plants growing in it - they know
as much about soil as we ever will. Somewhere between experience
(accumulated knowledge) and intuition I make a judgement and decide what
action to take. I suppose it would more percise to send a sample to a lab
for testing but I like this closeness with the soil, the earth. The only
thing I ask is that real scientists respect my methods as much as I respect
theirs.

Don Maroc
Vancouver Island, Canada






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