Science is one way of knowing the world. To say that it is the only way or that only it can validate other ways of knowledge is colonizing.
To me science is something I can practice. A methodology that can reveal an understanding about the world. I can ask a question, create an hypothesis, and then verify to the best of my ability its accuracy.
When others tell me “the science is settled”, “follow the science”, or some other “but science” exclamation I have to question an untold number of motivations and influences that can be unpacked from that statement. It leaves the realm of my direct observation and enters the fog of faith. I trust the method can produce but not all the actors involved any statement.
Reduced to the level of all the other second hand information that I have access to, it is worth knowing but always taken with a grain of salt.
You articulated something that I have thought about for many years. I love the scientific method but value other ways of knowing and don’t believe or think science should be prioritized over those other methods.