Book Review/ Introduction to Science and the Scientific Method
Introduction to Science and the Scientific Method
By JOHN L. CAMPBELL
Vantage Press
Paperback $15.00
By BILL DUNCAN
The News-Review
If you know John Campbell of Roseburg you know he has a mathematical mind that thinks in numbers and statistics and like a computer converts those binary thoughts into words. After all, numbers have been his life’s work on into retirement after 28 years with Douglas County Senior Services. Before that, he worked in a similar program in Medford and earlier taught research statistics at a university.
The words he writes in “Introduction to Science and the Scientific Method” take the reader into fascinating areas of philosophy, logic, mathematics, society and religion. That last subject is probably going to get him some flack from fundamentalist Christians because he questions their criticism of science by taking the Bible so literally. As a practicing Christian, he says the two are in harmony, even though he boldly says, “in my opinion conservative Christian views about the biblical portrayal of nature … ought not be interpreted as being, literally true.”
Campbell says, “once this is accepted, the Bible stops being seen as providing an alternative to science’s view on nature and hence the problem between biblical and scientific views becomes a pseudo problem unworthy of debate.” His conclusion that God would have said things differently today is that science 2,000 years and earlier was rather crude but through the evolution of the mind the knowledge of science today is astounding.
He says if God had waited until today to inspire the Bible, “He would, in my opinion, put it differently, insofar as specific words and concepts in referring to nature…” He explained that with “after all, science is a work in progress.”
Campbell feels that Americans are well informed about scientific advances, but not the scientific method, which he says is the reason he wrote the book. What is not understood, he believes, is the method it takes to confirm scientific theory. It is not, he said, a rush to judgment, but a slow and methodical process that has to stand the test of time.
He cites a litany of science discoveries beginning in the 1900s, which he says saw an explosion of achievements that continues to change today as the science evolves, from computers filling an entire room to microprocessors. “Of all the sciences, astronomy has the distinction of commanding the greatest fascination among everyday people,” he said.
Man’s continuing exploration of space is proof of that, he stated.
In his mind all this superior thinking comes from a higher source. “I am not going to out guess God,” he said, “but I believe some Christians have their own agenda, as do the atheists who use science as their faith.” Both of these agendas, in his opinion, are in error, because religion and science are compatible.
“Friction between since and religion became strong during the late 1800s, chiefly because of Darwinism,” he said. It subsided in Europe in the early 1900s, but the same did not occur in America. Instead, the conservative, fundamentalist view became a significant social force in American culture since approximately 1950, mainly by insisting on accepting everything the Bible says as literally true, he said.
Campbell believes the thrust of his book is not this debate between religion and science, but rather how the scientific method dovetails and is influenced by philosophy, logic, mathematics, history, society and of course religion.
Campbell said the writing of the book only took six months, but he prepared for it for some 30 to 40 years of researching, thinking and dwelling on the reasoning behind the book.
Readers can meet the author and discuss his work on Saturday, Oct. 11 from 1 to 5:30 p.m. at a book signing at While Away Books, 932 W. Harvard Ave., Roseburg. Meanwhile, Campbell is in the final stages of his second book, “A Layman’s Guide of Making Sense of Statistics,” scheduled to be published in February 2009.
(Bill Duncan can be reached at bduncan@nrtoday.com or by writing to P.O. Box 812, Roseburg, OR 97470)