Environmental Science: Chapter 1.3: The Community of Science

what does the environmental justice movement promote?

fair treatment of all people with respect to environmental policies and practices, regardless of income, race, or ethnicity.

give an example of a self-correction in science.

in the 16th century, when Copernicus demonstrated that Earth is not at the center of the universe, scientists abandoned their strongly held scientific belief and accepted Copernicus's findings.

three ways the scientific community reviews scientific results.

informal feedback at conferences, peer review, and replication of results

how does peer review benefit the scientific community?

it guards against fault science contaminating the literature on which all scientists rely.

explain the following statement: "science is self-correcting."

it means that science is a process that refines and improves itself over time.

a formal review of an unpublished report by other scientists who specialize in the topic.

peer review

give an example of how ethics could impact a government's policy on science.

policy makers might increase government funding for medical research because they want to reduce people's pain and suffering.

how does the popular use of the word theory differ from use of the word theory in science?

popular use of theory suggests something is just an idea without much substance. in science, theory means the opposite: it refers to an idea that effectively explains a phenomenon, makes accurate predictions in a wide range of situations, and has undergone extensive and rigorous testing.

what happens to a scientific article that is rejected by a panel of other scientists?

scientific journals will refuse to publish it.

a broad explanation that applies to a wide range of situations and observations and that is supported by several lines of evidence and broadly accepted by the scientific community.

theory

what is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

a hypothesis explains a fairly narrow set of phenomena; a theory is a broader explanation that applies to a wider range of situations and observations.

why is the replication of results important?

a hypothesis must be tested repeatedly and those tests must produce the same results before the scientific community will accept the hypothesis.

what role for a society's beliefs play in an objective process like science?

a society's beliefs influence how it interprets and then acts on scientific findings.

values humans and human welfare the most

anthropocentrism

give one reason why an idea is not a theory.

because an idea has not gone through extensive and rigorous testing.

values all living things the most

biocentrism

briefly explain the relationship between culture and worldview.

culture-the knowledge, beliefs, values, and learned ways of life shared by a group of people, influences how people perceive the world and their worldview.

values whole ecological system the most

ecocentrism

the application of ethnical standards to relationship between humans and their environment.

environmental ethics

a branch of philosophy that involves the study of good and bad, and of right and wrong; a set of moral principles or values held by a person or society.

ethics