Blog 15

The chapter six reading, Courageous Humility, has the perfect title. This is because the chapter emphasizes the importance of courage and humility, as they apply to scientific virtues. Researchers need to have the courage to confront the testing of their hypothesis, knowing that most of their tests will fail. They are filled with curiosity, and that is what gives them the courage to face one’s fear of potential failure. Scientists also need to be intellectually humble, in order to admit that they do not know all of the answers, and to recognize that they have failed multiple times before finding the right answer. One way that scientists are humble is by remaining a subject to the evidence. If the evidence goes against their hypothesis, a good scientist will accept that their hypothesis is wrong. Scientists are able to accept that they do not know all of the answers. Furthermore, they are able to accept that true answers are shown through evidence, and that this evidence allows them to make true discoveries about the world. With that being said, Aristotle believes that having too much courage can lead to rashness, and having too little can lead to cowardice. This can be seen in the difference between Darwin and McClintock.

McClintock needed more courage than humility, to overcome the adversity she faced, as she was one of the few women conducting scientific research. Conversely, Darwin demonstrated more humility. This was necessary to synthesize his work, which constructed multiple scientific disciplines. One may argue that McClintock’s level of courage, and Darwin’s level of humility, were detrimental towards their progression in discovering the scientific truths about the world. However, I believe that in each scientist’s situation, they had the right balance of courage and humility to succeed. This is because McClintock needed to have a high amount of confidence in her research. On the other hand, Darwin needed to be more meticulous and skeptical about his research. These traits relate similarly to his high level of humility that he demonstrated. In closing, humility and courage are necessary in order to flourish in science today.