definition added

[Sanjeev Sabhlok <sabhlok@almaak.usc.edu>]

On

http://www.indiaconsult.com/indiapolicy/Notes/defs.html

the following has been added:

Scientific:

1. "outlook and practice of scientist." from p. 338 of New Webster's
Dictionary and Roget's Thesaurus, 1992. Book Essentials.<p>

2. "adj 1: of or relating to the practice of science;  2: conforming with
the principles or methods used in science; "a scientific approach" [ant: 
{unscientific}]," from WordNet (r) 1.6 (wn) at
http://work.ucsd.edu:5141/cgi-bin/http_webster?isindex=scientific&method=exact

3. Irving Copi, Introduction to Logic (1982): "As the term 'scientific' is
generally used today, it refers to any reasoning which attempts to proceed
from observable facts of experience to reasonable (that is, relevant and
testable) explanations for those facts. The scientific method is not
confined to professional scientists:  anyone can be said to be proceeding
scientifically who follows the general pattern of reasoning from evidence
to conclusions that can be tested by experience. The skilled detective is
a scientist in this sense, as are most of us--in our more rational
moments, at least." 

In this sense, economics as a social science makes hypotheses, makes
models, studies data, puts statistical controls into place, tests
theories, and finally builds theories. The current base of empirical
literature is vast, comprehensive, and supported by many studies of a
similar nature.

Not a perfect science, at all (it will never be one), and definitely not a
natural science. But the approach of looking at vast sets of data, coming
to conclusions based on the observation of actual behavior human beings,
etc., can perhaps be considered scientific?

Sanjeev