First of all, I would like to elucidate a few words on what science is and what it isn’t according to the standpoint of a Dharmic.
Science is a subject based on Pratyaksha Pramana and Anumana. To some extent when working in conjunction with Philosophy and logic, it also does accept Upamana.
Arthapatti and Anupalabdi although considered to be weak as Pramanas are part of the Dharmic fold of knowledge and are not part of Science and scientific methods.
Where we completely differ from Science is in the use of Sabda pramana. For a Dharmic person, the words of a Guru (Apta vakyam) are considered to be of ultimate sacredness and are accorded the highest status. Even if it does not match the reality that the person is currently in and goes against the pratyaksha and anumana as they are the words of a Guru they are to be taken as facts and can only be contested with the permission of the Guru, if you consider them to be your primary Guru.
Science does accept previous works, but only those on the basis of already established Pratyaksha and Anumana.
Now there are 2 ways to approach things – In the Dharmic way or the Scientific way. As I have explained previously both have a congruence, except in the case of Sabda Pramana. The scientific method works.
What exactly is the scientific method? It involves studying responses “of something” to “something” under particular conditions where these responses can be validated by the repetition of the experiment both by the original creator of the experiment as well as his peers.
It starts with a hypothetical statement. It then involves creating an experiment to study this statement. Once the experiment is completed the scientist either concludes that the results of the experiment match his hypothetical statement or they go against this statement. This is then repeated both by him and his peers. If the results stay the same, a state of consistency and validity of the conclusion of the original creator of the experiment is said to have been achieved.
This method although having its flaws holds great validity as evidenced under the Pratyaksha and Anumana Pramanas. So, as Dharmic we need not disagree with this method.
But, to come to the right conclusions it is important that we refer to the method of experimentation, make sure there are no statistical errors committed and it is best practice to refer to meta-studies and meta-statistical analyses when in doubt.
I would appreciate when people who want to uphold Dharma, refer back to a scientific study, possibly a meta-study when discussing modern subjects or present Sabda Pramana where the Sabda is coming from a Guru that all the parties involved in the discussion agree to be a primary Guru, instead of relying on extremely low quality, often prejudicial content available on various social media platforms.
– Mahaguru