Is psychology a science? Do you really need science to understand human behavior and thinking? Does science have any advantages over common sense and experience?

-- Beth Ellis (wbellis@hci.net), August 26, 2002

Answers

You will finds several exchanges about the first question in the "History & Philosophy of Science" section of this Forum. As for the second question, one only need turn it about: "Is there anything about human behavior and experience that is *not* obvious to the casual observer?" Assuming you agree there is, then a more careful investigation -- science broadly speaking -- might reveal new answers. To the third question: I don't think there can be any doubt that science has proven its advantages over and over again. We didn't get to the moon on common sense. Nor even could we figure out that moving objects do not stop by themselves but will continuing moving at a constant velocity until acted upon by another object. The real question is to what degree the *kind* of science that showed us how to fly tothe moon and back can be successful applied to human behavior and experience.

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), August 26, 2002.