AMAMIHE Journal of Applied Philosophy

The ability of science to appeal to and provide solutions to human’s practical needs has made it the most sought after and the favourite candidate for the organisation of society. As a result, human progress is equated with scientific progress as if they are synonymous with each other. That is, scientific knowledge in contemporary society is seen as having the last say in establishing all matters of fact, and in solving problems of all kinds. Yet, the belief that all human problems can be reduced to scientific knowledge and resolved by it appears more and more doubtful given some weighty concerns of humans that fall outside the ambit of scientific intervention. How can science, for instance, resolve the issue of faith, trust, love, which are some of the perennial concerns that engage humans from generation to generation? What is the evidential status of the axioms that science needs as a stepping stone to launch its experiments and claim its reality? These disturbing issues point to the inadequacy of science to account for the totality of the authentic knowledge required by humans to both live a meaningful and well-ordered existence. The issues that fall outside the capability of science to handle but are nonetheless essential for humans to authenticate their existence are within the purview of ontology. Ontology is concerned with the ultimate nature of things, with reality that does not need to submit to empirical verification before validating its relevance. It is to ontology then that science turns to for the initial guide in its journey towards establishing concrete reality. On the other hand, ontology looks to science for the empirical manifestation of its ideas concerning the ultimate nature of things. To this end, this study is premised on two claims: first, the logical relation that exists between science and ontology is based on symbiotic benefit; second, a balanced epistemology must be founded on the ontological status of scientific knowledge.

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