It is a field of research that aims to develop reliable explanations of phenomena through repeatable observation and deduction, by which hypotheses are verified (proved true) by testing them against the available evidence, is therefore seen as a means of disclosing value-free and objective truth, however, suggested that  can only falsify hypotheses. It is the belief that the method is the only source of reliable knowledge, and so should be applied to fields such as philosophy, history and politics, as well as the natural sciences.