Historical Sciences

Experimental sciences 

• Focus on the “traditional” form of scientific methodology 

  • Controlled experiments in which variables can be manipulated

    • Control and experimental variables are used to identify the cause of the results

  • Repeatability of results

    • An experimental result is viewed as confirmed when it is repeated by other researchers

  • It is a hypothetico-deductive model

    • Evidence is gathered to falsify a hypothesis

    • Evidence that does not contradict the idea, corroborates, and supports the hypothesis

• e.g., Molecular biology, Materials science, Particle physics

**Evolutionary Biology can be an experimental and historical science

Historical sciences

• Focus on unique, one-time events in time

  • Emphasis on contingency (Gould, 1989)

    • Creating testable hypotheses to understand contingent phenomena (e.g., does evidence show that descendant group B arises from ancestor A) 

    • One event or group gives rise to another event or group

    • Small changes in the beginning stages may produce dramatically different results

    • e.g., Gould asked, "What would be conserved if 'The Tape [of Life]' were played twice"?

  • These contingent events are not repeatable

    • Taxonomic groups only arise once

    • The environment may produce convergence, but not the same group 

  • Historical sciences are interested in patterns of long-term change

• e.g., Paleontology, Cosmology, Archaeology