<Tr> <Td> Johannes Kepler (1571--1630). "Kepler shows his keen logical sense in detailing the whole process by which he finally arrived at the true orbit . This is the greatest piece of Retroductive reasoning ever performed ."--C. S. Peirce, c. 1896, on Kepler's reasoning through explanatory hypotheses </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Galileo Galilei (1564--1642). According to Albert Einstein, "All knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it . Propositions arrived at by purely logical means are completely empty as regards reality . Because Galileo saw this, and particularly because he drummed it into the scientific world, he is the father of modern physics--indeed, of modern science altogether ." </Td> </Tr> <P> The scientific method is the process by which science is carried out . As in other areas of inquiry, science (through the scientific method) can build on previous knowledge and develop a more sophisticated understanding of its topics of study over time . This model can be seen to underlay the scientific revolution . </P> <P> The ubiquitous element in the model of the scientific method is empiricism, or more precisely, epistemologic sensualism . This is in opposition to stringent forms of rationalism: the scientific method embodies that reason alone cannot solve a particular scientific problem . A strong formulation of the scientific method is not always aligned with a form of empiricism in which the empirical data is put forward in the form of experience or other abstracted forms of knowledge; in current scientific practice, however, the use of scientific modelling and reliance on abstract typologies and theories is normally accepted . The scientific method is of necessity also an expression of an opposition to claims that e.g. revelation, political or religious dogma, appeals to tradition, commonly held beliefs, common sense, or, importantly, currently held theories, are the only possible means of demonstrating truth . </P>

What is the function of a hypothesis in the scientific inquiry process