Scientific explanations assume cause-effect relationships . Much of science is directed toward determining causal relationships and developing explanations for interactions and linkages between objects, organisms, and events. Distinctions among causality, correlation, coincidence, and contingency separate science from pseudoscience. Scientific explanations are limited . Scientific explanations sometimes are limited by technology, for example, the resolving power of microscopes and telescopes.
New technologies can result in new fields of inquiry or extend current areas of study.
The interactions between technology and advances in molecular biology and the role of technology in planetary explorations serve as examples. Science cannot answer all questions. Some questions are simply beyond the parameters of science. Many questions involving the meaning of life, ethics, and theology are examples of questions that science cannot answer. Chapter 3 of this document also contains a discussion of the nature of science.