Philosophy and Science

Occasionally I read an article talking about how philosophy gives us insight into science, or how science defeats the need for philosophy. This misunderstands what the point of both of these disciplines are. The two fields are orthogonal to each other and there is no reason to suspect one has priority over the other or obviates the other.

Philosophy is the assumption of axioms and applying logical rules to derive conclusions. What separates philosophy from math is subjectivity. In math, the logical steps are incontrovertible. In philosophy, given the same set of facts, no 2 people will come up with the exact same answer, and none of them have to be wrong. However, though an imperfect tool, it is the only one we have that can attempt to attribute concepts such as justice, good, or evil to the real events and objects people experience.

Science is the acquisition of universal knowledge through experimentation. It is a tool that explains the universe we live in and how it works. The results of good science are not logically contestable. There is no room for debate. The data shows what's true and what's false.

However, science cannot prove anything which is not testable. There is no objective test for the purpose of human existence. There is not definitive way to measure of justice. The subjectivity involved means that science is incapable of answering.

Science explains how the universe works. Philosophy tells us what it means.