Geology, Science, and Legitimacy
My introduction to Geology started and was limited to a few small guide books on the rocks that I collected when I was 10 years old. Each book described different rocks , where they could be found, and how each was made. My vast rock collection sparked my initial interest into science, steering me away from my world of dolls. Since I blame Geology, or at least my rock collection for leading me to what would eventually be an interest and school career in Biology and Chemistry, It came as quite of a shock when I realized that the legitimacy of Geology as a science is something that can and is questioned. This week’s readings introduced the philosophy of Geology as well as addressing reasons as to why Geology needs to be defended as a legitimate field of scientific study.
In my Sociology classes, we have talked about how as sociologists, we will constantly need to defend sociology as a legitimate “science.” It is not like Biology and Chemistry where questions are answered with concrete answers based on experiments that can be retested and the same outcome will arise. Sociology is more open to interpretation, and the answers that come from social experiments are very much limited to the factors that make it up, such as a sample size. The nature of the experiments and the questions asked are subject to many variables and it is impossible to account for all.
I guess there will be debates all around on what makes a field an actual “science”. I think the important thing to remember is legitimacy. If what you are studying and the results found are credible, testable, and the conclusions legitimate, then it can be considered a science. What makes something legitimate is also open to interpretation. If it is safe to say that what is legitimate is something that is agreed upon by many educated in that specific field, and something that is of interest and important to many in that field of study, then such a subject that deals with the earth, and the solid matter that makes it up is important to many, and the discoveries make an impact, then Geology is a legitimate science. The same can be said for Sociology, the study of groups and how they shape the individual and society is something that is to a degree testable, a topic of interest for many in the field, and involves conclusions that benefit and make an impact. By this definition, many areas of study, can and are considered a “science”.
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