Scientific discovery is the key to developing new technologies, improving the quality of life, and addressing pressing global challenges. Scientific discoveries provide invaluable information about the world around us, revealing fundamental truths about the universe and enabling us to better understand it and predict its future.
Historically, the study of scientific discovery has tended to focus on the process of formulating ideas or hypotheses prior to rigorous testing. This approach does not adequately address how a creative thought is first conceived, nor does it illuminate the cognitive and psychological processes involved in conceiving such ideas. The most prevalent view among philosophers of science has been that the initial stage of discovery is an unanalyzable, mysterious intuitive leap of the human mind, often referred to as a eureka moment.
Alternative views of scientific discovery stress the importance of a systematic aspect to the reasoning processes used in scientific inquiry and knowledge generation. These are usually described as being a combination of induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis, hypothesis formation and evaluation, and the use of inference and probability to guide exploration and to make decisions. Such approaches are rooted in the philosophy of science and in current empirical work on creativity, using in vivo laboratory observation and brain imaging techniques. They also rely on insights from other areas of scientific studies such as sociology, history, or cognitive science. They offer a rich and varied account of scientific discovery, far more than the simple notion of a eureka moment.
About the Author
