Evidentiality

How can one be sure in their beliefs? The answer of science is – through experiment. Evidentiality is the belief that experiment and evidence provide not only a way to the truth, but the only way. The faith, predictably, has a large overlap with scientists, but not wholly – you can believe in the evidence without doing it yourself, and you can do science whilst believing there is something beyond. There are always unanswered questions, and some which seem unanswerable by science – the beginning of the universe, the emergence of consciousness, the existence of an afterlife. Evidentiality maintains that these questions can be answered – we simply need to find the right set of experiments.

The very foundations of our society are built on the empirical approach. From Eirsace's impressive medical technology to Anastius & Horasa's advancements in agricultural science, the great discoveries of our time, and the times before ours, were made by adherence to the simple tenets of the empirical approach.

First, scientists determine the problem to be solved. Perhaps a scientist has identified that crops are growing too slowly in their region, leading to famine.

Next, scientists conduct research to gain a holistic view of the problem. Similar problems solved by other scientists are considered, along with work from researchers in a range of related areas. Our scientist might look at other famines, as well as relevant economic, chemical, and sociological research, to understand the impacts of their solution.

Thirdly, scientists carry out experiments. They adhere to restrictions, making sure to control all non-experimental variables and avoid personal bias in their interpretations. Our scientist might compare a handful of fertilisers and measure how quickly crops respond to them.

Finally, scientists consider their experimental results in combination with their holistic research to make sure they are supported by other scientists and fit into our understanding of the world. Our scientist might find that their fastest fertiliser contains an ingredient that some people find religiously objectionable, and so decide to use the second most effective one.

Without the hard work of scientists and their understanding of the empirical approach's importance, our world would not be so full of exciting discoveries!

– Excerpt from 'Science in Practice' by N. Davtyan (2063)

“First-hand experience has no substitute.”

– Tursin Rothcarrock, Doctor Emeritus of the Institute of Physics

Scepticism is built on the principle of doubt – verifying claims for yourself rather than taking someone else's word at face value. In its most extreme form (such as practised by some people of the Eirs), only evidence which has been personally experienced should be trusted. Most hold a weaker form, accepting results which have been extensively peer-reviewed but reluctant to generalise too hastily. In practice, this presents as a broader scope of attempted approaches when faced with a new problem, rather than only seeking to apply known techniques.

“The word of one is worthless. In the many, we find truth.”

– Motto of the Journal of Natural Sciences

Communality is built on the principle of doubt – verifying claims communally rather than taking one person's word at face value. In its most extreme form, only evidence which has unanimous acceptance in the community should be accepted. Most hold a weaker form, accepting results which have been extensively peer-reviewed but looking to apply verified theories as widely as possible. In practice, this presents as a deep exploration of existing techniques when faced with a new problem, rather than seeking to invent completely novel methods.

At first, the focus was on how to deal with the current crises. Then, it became how to stop the next catastrophe. Now, all there is to do is survive. Finding evidence is a little more of a challenge in an apocalypse, but the methodical nature can be a good skill to have – though at the cost of decisiveness, at times. Opinions on the End vary somewhat, ranging from a series of unfortunate events to an inevitable result of human activity, though always expressed with a good degree of hedging given the lack of available data. Looking forward, there is still a fundamental faith in science to provide a way forward – we simply need to find the right set of experiments.