The Nature and Role of Originality in Scientific Progress

THE NATURE AND ROLE OF ORIGINALITY IN SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS

Originality in scientific progress involves being the first to state an idea which has significant importance to the body of science Originality is highly admired , evidenced by the association attached to each eminent economist to the doctrines in which they contributed . There is a difficulty in being the first to assert the earliest statement and some ideas have developed over time before they were made important by the men who stated them . Greatness is also equated to originality and those who contribute to

an entire profession but don 't deviate too much from the views and knowledge of the science

It is not enough that one generates a new idea but one has to employ the technique of persuasion as a tool against ignorance before the ideas can be accepted but it is also important to state that mere techniques are not enough to gain any prominence or create a lasting impression on the science . John Stuart Mill is an exception from this common application of persuasion techniques and from that he continues to receive very little emphasis yet we cannot deny him originality from the immense contributions he made

Scientific progress in itself is not entirely dependent on originality and can progress in either of three ways . The first is testing hypothesis which involves empirical work conducted to test the widely accepted hypotheses either proving them right or wrong . The second is the accumulation of knowledge from continued empirical work...