So that means that every time someone on here, such as Loudmouth, says that science has proved... or nested hierarchies prove... etc., he is carelessly and inaccurately handling the termaccording to Douglas Theobald, Ph.D.
What exactly is the scientific method? This is a complex and contentious question...
(emphasis added). Yes, it is contentious. People on this forum may indicate that all the ups and downs are solved and that anyone who doesn't agree with their private interpretation of said theory "knows nothing about the scientific method," but in reality they know less about the scientific method than they pretend to.
..., and the field of inquiry known as the "philosophy of science" is committed to illuminating the nature of the scientific method. Probably the most influential philosopher of science of the 20th century was Sir Karl Popper.
A favorite of mine, too. I especially agree with Popper when he says that induction is invalid and that science doesn't use induction.
Other notables are Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos,...
Another favorite of mine. Lakatos said, "...nobody to date has yet found a demarcation criterion according to which Darwin can be described as scientific..."
Paul Feyerabend, Paul Kitcher, A. F. Chalmers, Wesley Salmon and Bas C. van Fraassen.
Feyerabend, of course, is the person who argued that there is no such thing as a scientific method. I agree with him.
This is not the place to delve into an explication of the various philosophies represented by these scholars. For more information I refer you to their works and to the discussion presented by John Wilkins in his Evolution and Philosophy FAQ. Personally, I take a Bayesian view of the scientific method in principle (Jaynes 2003; Salmon 1990), and a Likelihoodist stance on evidence in practice (Burnham and Anderson 2002; Edwards 1972; Royall 1997), and these views will come through in how I present the evidence for common descent.
Well, I'm not a Bayesian, and I'm not a Likelihoodist. In fact, I am here hoping to debate these things with someone who knows what they are and can actually defend them. Rather than finding that, I find someone who says "That has nothing to do with science and hypothesis testing," and "did you read any of Theobald's essays?"
Yes, I've read his essays. His essays disagree with you.