What Is It About Theories In The Human Sciences And Natural Sciences That Makes Them Convincing?

Human sciences and natural sciences are two areas of knowledge. Some theories in these two areas are commonly accepted by most people. What is it about theories in these fields that makes them convincing? In order to answer this question, we should keep in mind that a theory is convincing does not mean it is true. A convincing theory could be a false belief. Broadly speaking, theories are explored and judged by human beings with four ways of knowing. I consider sense perception, emotion and reason are important and they are the key to determine whether a theory is convincing or true. First, I think that empiricism could test a theory. It is said that seeing is believing. Using sense perception, such as sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste, is one of the quickest ways to judge whether a belief is credible or not. We obtain most knowledge with senses. Also, we get truth mainly from empiricism, it is known as the correspondence theory of truth. A theory, no matter it is true or not, will be seen as convincing only if it is correspond with our sense perception. For example, it is well-known that the average surface temperature of earth has increased since 1900. It is concluded as global warming. Nowadays, we can feel the global warming in reality. In 2009 and 2010, many cities around the world suffered from the heat wave, hurricanes, and typhoons. In addition, we can see many line charts and bar graphs showing how the temperature increased over the last century. Governments around the world have worked together on a global level to solve this issue. Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" film tells the public more about the global warming. Although this issue is still being disputed by scientists, the majority have accepted it because they can authenticate the belief with their senses. By contrast, some people may deny this theory, because they want to protect their interests (e.g. oil industry, coal mining) or they have their own explanation for the extreme environmental events. One example is "CO2 is Green" which is a non-profit organization. This NGO directly deny the theory of global warming and claim that CO2 is good for the Earth. On the other hand, most of people used to insist that some theories, which have been judged to be false now (for example, the "flat earth theory" or perpetual motion machine), were perfect because they could verify them with sense perception. These examples also show our sense organs are not flawless and 100% reliable. We tend to accept some fictions sometimes due to the limitation of empiricism. Besides, emotions may limit or reinforce our views about a theory. Cupping and gua sha are two ancient Chinese massage and acupuncture-related therapies. Most people around me have experienced cupping or gua sha. Due to the cultural differences, most Chinese people accept and enjoy them, while most Westerners hardly approve that they are effective and consider them as inhumane treatments, especially when they see the bruising on back of a person after cupping or gua sha. A friend of my parents who lived abroad used to be criticized by neighbors because people saw the bruising on her daughter's back after gua sha. If we investigate further, we can find that our emotions are influenced by culture. Culture confines the way we interpret the world. Chinese people believe in cupping or gua sha since we can explain it with our concepts of Chinese culture. Foreigners may reject it as some ideas in the treatments are contrary to their cultures. Westerners prefer the treatments that could be supported by modern evidence-based medicine. Difference in cultures can also explain why chemical drugs are more popular than herbs in modern medicine. In social science, the culture is a contributing factor that making people become credulous. For example, people from different cultures may debate about some moral issues, such as whether a particular behavior is discriminatory, whether a gesture is offensive. Moreover, the culture might affect our paradigm. Irreligious people (or atheism), as most Chinese people do, may easily accept some theories like the evolutionism and cosmology. Emotion (Pragmatic Theory of Truth) and intuition guide them through life and "Self" is another determinant. Furthermore, it is said that man is a rational animal. A convincing theory must be logical and can be reasoned by people. We tend to believe a theory that has an authoritative source. Average people get news mainly from public media, but the original sources where the news comes are academic journals or laboratories. Only the theories concluded from deliberate procedures can be published. Scientists use the scientific method to obtain a scientific theory. Then, the claims have to be tested by others independently. In human science, sociologists, psychologists or economist and etc. will raise statements (either positive statements or normative statements) first. Thereafter, they carry out experiments to prove the statement. An authoritative source can make a theory more convincing. Science, both natural and social, is open system that is peer-reviewed to some extent. We are not experts, so we tend to trust authorities. We often assume scientifically accepted theories to be true, when some are quite hard for an individual to understand or testify. The reliability of a belief may increase if we could test it through observation (Coherence Theory of Truth). We gain truth through reasoning, especially inductive logic. A theory that is consistent with our inductive logic tends to be convincing. For instance, it is said that different types of flowers bloom at various times throughout the day, known as the flower clock. We observe that morning glory blooms at 4:00 a.m., the water lily opens at 6:00 a.m., the four-o`clock opens at 4:00 p.m. and many other flowers open at other times. Hence, we agree on the theory that every flowers open at different times. We draw general conclusions from specific examples and prove that the theory is true. It is part of human nature to seek and believe in patterns in nature. This example also illustrates the relationship between Correspondence, Pragmatic, and Coherence Theories of Truth. However, paradigm forms when we persist in what we believe in. Thus, we may firmly believe in one theory after testifying it with Three Theories of Truth. Paradigm will prevent us from seeing different viewpoints and restrict our reasoning and perception. Ancient Greeks established natural philosophy, the predecessor of natural science, and made substantial achievements in many fields. The legacy of Ancient Greece, especially the theories and scientific method, had some influence on the medieval scientists. Nobody questioned it in the following thousands of years. Before the seventeenth century, physicians believed that bloodletting was one effective way to cure miasma, a poisonous vapor. Miasmatic theory was widely accepted and seemed to be perfect because it was consistent with the existing knowledge at that time and many people had reasoned it. The emergence of the germ theory, which could be seen as a paradigm shift at medical treatment, brought physicians a new way of thinking. Self, one of the "Three S's" which is used to evaluate knowledge claims, states whether it is true or false depends on individuals and may help us to explain why we believe in a theory. Gullible people tend to believe everything if it seems to be beneficial even if it might be a trap after more considerate analysis. A case in point is the claim that spinach is high in iron. In 1870, Dr. E von Wolf indicated that spinach had ten times more iron then other green leafy vegetables, even higher than some meats. The character Popeye appeared according to this discover, the cartoon showed that the Popeye would instantly restore and amplify his strength when he ate spinach. As a result of this cartoon, spinach consumption increased 33 percent in five years. People wanted to become strong and spinach could help them made their dreams come true. However, it turned out to be a myth. In 1937, German scientists pointed out that this encouraging result was from a decimal point misplaced by a researcher. People had believed that spinach was effective for 70 years although it actually did nothing. Actually, Placebo effect takes place when people eat healthy foods or take nutritional supplements. It is the self and emotion which make the public consider a theory convincing. "Three S's" also shows how a theory is convincing if an expert or authority claims it is true. The expert or authority is the source of a knowledge claim, and Source is one of the other "S's". In this case, moreover, language and quantitative data also play an important role in people's judgment and they are one of the "Three S's" which is the Statement. This information strengthens the reliability of the theory. To conclude, if a theory is judged to be incorrect with our sense perception, emotion and reason, a theory (no matter it is true or false) will be considered to be unconvincing at all. These three ways of knowing are crucial and are almost always tied together when we evaluate a claim. Using only one of them is unlikely to reach the truth. All people by nature desire truth. We use different methods to verify a theory, but what we get is a subjective truth or relative truth in most cases. After a procedure of close analysis, we are likely to consider a theory convincing. It is quite possible that a theory what we believe in nowadays might be falsified in the future. Be aware that theories that seem convincing or believable are not necessarily true.