| If by "objective truth" we mean the qualities of nature that exist irrespective of any individual's perception, then I think the continued reliance of our scientific knowledge in producing effective and consistent results are at least some measure of that. > The best that we can do is probably say something along the lines of "these are the best methods of getting closer to the truth that we have available - if anyone claims to have better methods, they are very likely wrong", but you still need to have the humility to accept that even the best models that we have to date are not infallible. This last sentence slightly conflates the scientific method with the models they produce. I am not claiming that the models are "true", I am claiming that the scientific method is the only reasonable means of gaining a reliable understanding of the objective nature of reality, assuming it exists; and that you cannot pick and choose what you believe in based on your intuition. Quantum principles have been proven in experiments that have as tight a margin of error as measuring the width of the United States to one human hair, producing shockingly consistent and effective models that were absolutely critical to the development of modern technology. Yet some people somehow refuse to accept these models as an "accurate" reflection of reality, whereas they'll take, at face value, psych/sociological/economic studies that are frankly nothing short of pathetic in comparison. In regards to science, I am saying that there is a hierarchy of belief. You can draw the line wherever you like in terms of what you think is "true", but you cannot reorder this hierarchy and believe these sorts of psych studies while at the same time questioning the physical models that power the technology that is used to publish them. And this isn't speaking about math, which is a particularly special case given that it is not scientific but still produces shockingly effective results. |
This is basically what I'm arguing - no matter how accurately our theories line up with observation, we can never be sure that we have reached "the final theory" AKA the truth. I think this is where a lot of misunderstanding and mistrust for science originates. It will never deliver to us the truth - if it did, how would we ever know?
It is a method of getting closer and closer to what we believe is the truth. But there is still a gap there, however small it might be in the case of quantum mechanics. The scientific method by it's very construction is unable to bridge that gap.
Still, to date there does not exist a more effective method we know of as a species at getting closer to what we believe to be the truth. I think the above is a maybe subtle distinction there that is worth pointing out and educating people on. Just sort of making that distinction between the process and the results. That it is the best process we have, but even so, it cannot cross that gap and definitively say "this is the truth". That that is a gap we have to choose whether to cross ourselves with a leap of faith (or sometimes a very tiny hop of faith in the case of quantum mechanics). I think that might help people cement their faith in the process even if they dont necessarily place their faith in the results (in the case of questionable psych studies for example).