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"[Modernity] is not some
objective force removed from the constraints of culture - and it
is certainly not the true and only wave of history. It is
merely a constellation of beliefs, convictions, and economic
paradigms that represent one way of doing things - of going
about the complex process of organizing human activities."
Edmund Wade Davis (2003)
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
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A
web-based curriculum designed to
clearly present contemporary
scientific understanding as it is. |
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RESOURCE OBJECTIVES
CLEARLY OUTLINE AND PRESENT
CONTEMPORARY SCIENTIFIC
UNDERSTANDING
۰
INDICATE
AREAS OF ACTIVE RESEARCH
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Scientific research seeks, ultimately, to glean an objective understanding of ourselves and our world.
All scientific researchers, however,
including those recognized as contemporary (or experimental) researchers, are products of human culture; and therefore inherently
subjective in how they conduct, interpret, and report, their
research.
That being said, it is important to note that the presence of subjectivity does not warrant the dismissal of the
understanding the scientific community has acquired
thus far. Rather, it should simply serve to remind us that there remains a great deal that we do not yet understand
about ourselves and our world.
Within the context of contemporary scientific
research, our subjectivities are most apparent in the fundamental assumptions which comprise the underlying theory from which all of our derived understanding extends.
These assumptions are that all physical systems are subject to the same material rules that appear to govern all of nature, and that as evolutionary systems, these systems
are (without exception) the products of natural selection.
While these assumptions have allowed for a great deal of technological and theoretical advancements; a comprehensive understanding of the causal relationships between
the innumerable systems and phenomena which comprise the breadth of human experience remains elusive.
US illustrator and anatomist Frank Netter once remarked that unlike writers, artists cannot write around those concepts and phenomena which are not fully understood.
While most traditional academic curricula make use of statistical models, and words such as generally, occasionally, etcetera to avoid admitting the
limits of our contemporary understanding, the research-based curricula published herein shall seek to clearly indicate the beliefs which we hold regarding ourselves
and our world, as well as addressing the question of why we hold these beliefs.
In other words, we shall strive to present our understanding of ourselves and our world as it is!
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