WHY SCIENCE CANNOT AVOID PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

The effort to demarcate science from unscientific and nonscientific methods has proven to be largely unsuccessful due to the
increasing understanding of the overall closeness of science to some other modes of acquiring knowledge. This awareness is not unconnected with philosophical reflections on the activities of science. The problem of demarcation in science treats issues of
what constitutes science and how science is in contradistinction
with, and preferable to, other modes of acquiring knowledge. Philosophy has often been contrasted against science to such an
extent that some have conceived the relationship between philosophy and science as that of a thesis and antithesis. This paper argues that any science that must succeed has to hinge its foundation on metaphysical assumptions that are non-scientific,
yet strive to demonstrate these assumptions byformulating testable
theories. This study reveals that a relationship of complementarity,
instead of dichotomy, exists between science and philosophy. Thus, science is notjust an offspring of, but has continued to be nurtured and nourished by, philosophy. Contrary to Wittgenstein's opinion
that philosophy was a sui generis enterprise the paper observes that science in its investigative capacity has in turn provided materialsfor philosophical reflection.