Series | Book | Chapter

197532

Third excursion

an epistemology of the uncertain

Timo Maran

pp. 119-122

Abstract

Modern science is generally designed to eliminate uncertainty and ambivalence. There are many theoretical tools and practices in science to distil solid knowledge from the occasional and unpredictable dynamics of the world. Thinking with the aid of theoretical postulates and paradigmatic cores, the requirement for the repeatability of experiments and observations, and conventional use of statistical methods (that restrain minorities and exclude unique entities) are some means that are used to build reliable and solid knowledge in the sciences. Such inclination towards hard data is probably an inevitable aspect of the biological sciences, but it certainly has its cost. Namely, downplaying or ignoring processes that are occasional, unique or uncertain, become problematic in cases where ambivalence and fuzziness are characteristic properties of an object under study.

Publication details

Published in:

Maran Timo (2017) Mimicry and meaning: structure and semiotics of biological mimicry. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 119-122

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-50317-2_10

Full citation:

Maran Timo (2017) Third excursion: an epistemology of the uncertain, In: Mimicry and meaning, Dordrecht, Springer, 119–122.