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  2. Scientific theory - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_theory

    A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Such fact-supported theories are not "guesses" but reliable accounts of the real world. The theory of biological evolution is more than "just a theory".

  3. Tinbergen's four questions - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinbergen's_four_questions

    On the one hand, function and evolution are often presented as separate and distinct explanations of behaviour. [4] On the other hand, the common definition of adaptation is a central concept in evolution: a trait that was functional to the reproductive success of the organism and that is thus now present due to being selected for; that is ...

  4. Occam's razor - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor

    To understand why, consider that for each accepted explanation of a phenomenon, there is always an infinite number of possible, more complex, and ultimately incorrect, alternatives. This is so because one can always burden a failing explanation with an ad hoc hypothesis. Ad hoc hypotheses are justifications that prevent theories from being ...

  5. Scientific method - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method

    The history of scientific method considers changes in the methodology of scientific inquiry, not the history of science itself. The development of rules for scientific reasoning has not been straightforward; scientific method has been the subject of intense and recurring debate throughout the history of science, and eminent natural philosophers and scientists have argued for the primacy of ...

  6. Scientific law - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_law

    A scientific law is "inferred from particular facts, applicable to a defined group or class of phenomena, and expressible by the statement that a particular phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions be present". [7] The production of a summary description of our environment in the form of such laws is a fundamental aim of science.

  7. Causal inference - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causal_inference

    Causal inference is the process of determining the independent, actual effect of a particular phenomenon that is a component of a larger system. The main difference between causal inference and inference of association is that causal inference analyzes the response of an effect variable when a cause of the effect variable is changed.

  8. Mill's methods - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mill's_Methods

    If a range of factors are believed to cause a range of phenomena, and we have matched all the factors, except one, with all the phenomena, except one, then the remaining phenomenon can be attributed to the remaining factor. Symbolically, the Method of Residue can be represented as: A B C occur together with x y z B is known to be the cause of y

  9. Mereology - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mereology

    Mereology (/ m ɪər i ˈ ɒ l ə dʒ i /; from Greek μέρος 'part' (root: μερε-, mere-) and the suffix -logy, 'study, discussion, science') is the philosophical study of part-whole relationships, also called parthood relationships.