Why was the scientific method so attractive to people solving non-scientific problems?
In their history of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Morrell and Thackray (1981, p. 32) noted that science became consolidated as “the dominant mode of cognition of industrial society.” They further noted that this was because science was considered to be a value-neutral domain of knowledge–apoltical, non-theological, universal, and objective–unlike any other (Stepan & Gilman, 1993). The result of this perspection was that science and the scientific method became the unbiased and non-political way to solve problems. Ellul (1964) traced the dominating influence of the scientific method to the 18th century. At that time, he believes, there was a breakdown of medieval society that caused a shift in perception that took place all over Europe. The middle class began evaluating new questions is different terms; that is, Is a particular approach effective? Is it efficient? Does it work? This perspective shift was based in the belief that the scientific method was the
