Description

Whether or not science can explain everything is a enormously important topic.  It involves nothing less than how we approach and learn about the world.  The video gives a “modern argument,” i.e. sans religion, that there are some things the natural sciences cannot describe.  The video starts with explaining how we describe things.  It then introduces a classic thought experiment, the Knowledge Argument, about a woman who grows up without ever seeing colors. However, she is also taught all that science can tell us about how light and human sight operate.  Despite this knowledge, there is at least one thing the woman didn’t know, for instance, what a red tomato looks like.

Discussion Questions

• What is science?  Can you give a one sentence definition?
• Do you think science can explain all of our questions?  Why?  If not, what kinds of questions can’t science answer?
• What is the knowledge argument?  What was it that Mary didn’t know, despite her scientific knowledge?

Keywords: science, philosophy, epistemology, scientific method, knowledge,