Definition of Science: A Letter to the Editor

The following letter was published in the Lawrence Journal World in September 2005.

To the editor,

In response to the many articles concerning the "anti-science" attitude of conservatives, and how the big debate is science vs. religion, I would like to address the definition of "science".

Evolution is not really science. And to be frank, neither is creationism. Science is evidence that we can observe. We cannot scientifically prove that Caesar Augustus ever existed. We may find evidence (documents, tablets, ect.) that support the idea of his existence, but it is still simply a belief, though it may be supported by science.

Now, evolution may be factual. But unless we can observe evolution taking place, it is not science. The oxford dictionary describes science as "the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment." If we cannot examine it, then we cannot call it 'science'.

Isaac McPheeters

Lawrence