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Outline of science
Overview of and topical guide to science From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The following outline is provided as a topical overview of science; the discipline of science is defined as both the systematic effort of acquiring knowledge through observation, experimentation and reasoning, and the body of knowledge thus acquired, the word "science" derives from the Latin word scientia meaning knowledge. A practitioner of science is called a "scientist". Modern science respects objective logical reasoning, and follows a set of core procedures or rules to determine the nature and underlying natural laws of all things, with a scope encompassing the entire universe. These procedures, or rules, are known as the scientific method.
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General concepts
- Classification is the use of categories to organize and describe individual subjects. This can be done descriptively to explain existing differences or prescriptively to create groups in a way that is useful.[1]
- Consilience is the process in which distinct findings can produce novel conclusions when considered together.[2]
- Demarcation is the division of scientific and non-scientific ideas, and the resulting dispute over how to divide them.[3] Different fields of study may be evaluated on the level of experimental rigor, how much they engage in abstraction, how closely related they are with the humanities, or other qualities.[4]
- Descriptive and normative science are contrasting methods to explain scientific ideas. Descriptive science explains ideas objectively while normative science explains what should be true using value judgments.[5]
- Empirical evidence is evidence gathered through direct observation instead of indirect theory.[6]
- Experimentation is the use of controlled conditions to test an idea. A single independent variable is altered while all other conditions are kept the same to test the alteration's effect on a dependent variable.[7]
- Explanation is the understanding of why a phenomenon occurs.[8]
- Falsifiability is the ability to test a hypothesis through experimentation to determine whether it is false.[9] Karl Popper argued that a claim must be falsifiable to be recognized as scientific.[10]
- Hard and soft science – colloquial terms often used when comparing scientific fields of academic research or scholarship, with hard meaning perceived as being more scientific, rigorous, or accurate.[citation needed]
- Hypotheses are proposals of scientific fact that have yet to be definitively verified.[11]
- Inductive reasoning is the use of varied observations to make an inference.[6]
- Inquiry – any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem.[citation needed]
- Junk science is the presentation of uncertain scientific claims as facts, typically to a legal or political end.[12]
- Laboratories are places where scientists engage in research and study.[13]
- Objectivity is the answering of scientific questions impartially without affecting the results with biases.[5]
- Prediction is the use of observation to determine future results through inference.[14]
- A paradigm is the overall understanding and accepted system of how science functions.[15]
- Paradigm shifts are historical periods of total change in how science is practiced. The concept was introduced by Thomas Kuhn.[15]
- Pseudoscience is unscientific practice or belief that is presented as scientific or uses scientific language to suggest credibility.[16]
- Reproducibility is the ability to recreate the results of a process.[17]
- Research – systematic investigation into existing or new knowledge.[citation needed]
- Empirical research is conducted using observation and experimentation instead of theory.[18]
- Scientific laws are descriptions of scientific fact that apply universally under all circumstances.[11]
- The scientific method is a series of steps taken to engage in experimentation and produce factual results. The exact steps to be taken, or whether an all-encompassing sequence exists, is the subject of debate.[19]
- Scientific theories are descriptions of scientific fact that are known to be true but cannot be proven to apply universally.[11]
- Sociology of science considers interactions, incentives, and norms within the scientific community. It was developed as an independent field in the mid-20th century by Robert K. Merton.[20]
- Verisimilitude is the degree to which a claim approaches the truth. The verisimilitude between two false ideas can be compared to determine which is less flawed.[21]
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Branches of science
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Perspective
Science is divided into disciplines that explore different subject matter. Each discipline has its own considerations when being studied, and different methods are used between them. Scientists typically specialize in one discipline.[22] Interdisciplinary sciences pull from multiple fields of study.[23]
- Applied sciences
- Outline of applied science
- Engineering (engineer) is the study and use of mechanical devices.[24]
- Medicine (physician) is the diagnosis and treatment of disease.[25]
- Technology is the application of science to create products of practical and industrial value.[26] It is sometimes recognized as a field of study distinct from science.[27]
- Social sciences
- Outline of social science
- Anthropology (anthropologist) is the study of humans and human evolution.[28]
- Economics (economist)
- Psychology (psychologist) is the study of the mind and human nature.[29]
- Sociology (sociologist) is the study of society and its relation to the individual.[30]
- Formal sciences
- Outline of formal science
- Logic (logician)
- Mathematics (mathematician) is the study of quantities and forms.[31]
- Statistics (statistician) is the study of data and correlation.[32]
- Natural sciences
- Outline of natural science
- Astronomy (astronomer) is the study of celestial bodies.[33]
- Biology (biologist) is the study of living things and their functions.[34]
- Chemistry (chemist) is the study of matter and its properties.[35]
- Earth science (Earth scientist)
- Physics (physicist) is the study of energy and physical mechanics.[36]
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History
Timeline
- Science in the ancient world
- Science in the middle ages
- Science in the Renaissance – The Renaissance allowed for expanded intellectual thought that influenced later scientific developments.[37]
- The Scientific Revolution – A period of activity occurred c. 1550 – c. 1700 which developed the modern conception of what is now considered science.[38] The scientific movement remained tied with Christianity, and most theories of the world blended empiricism and religion.[39] It culminated in the studies of Isaac Newton and his 1687 treatise Principia.[40] It also included the Copernican Revolution that was initiated by Nicolaus Copernicus and his argument for heliocentrism.[41]
- Science in the Age of Enlightenment
- 19th century in science – Science first developed in the 19th century as its own subject that encompassed varying fields of inquiry.[42] Biology and chemistry continued a period of growth that had begun in the late-18th century.[43]
- 20th century in science – Physics became the dominant branch of science in the 20th century through the development of atomic technology.[44] Logical empiricism was a major influence in the mid-20th century, but it lost favor by the 1970s.[45] The science wars were a period of disagreement in the late-20th century about whether mainstream science should be held as an authoritative feature of society.[46]
- 21st century in science
Historical disciplines
- Alchemy is the historical study of what is now associated with chemistry.[47] It was accepted as a science until the end of the 17th century.[47][48]
- Astrology is a method used in ancient and medieval times to study the social sciences through physical phenomena.[49]
- Cosmogony is the study of Earth's origins through divine creation.[50]
- Natural history is the historical name for study of subjects that are now associated with biology.[42]
- Natural philosophy is the historical name for study of subjects that are now associated with physics and astronomy.[42]
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Philosophy of science
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Philosophy of science encompasses the questions, assumptions, foundations, methods and implications of science.[citation needed]
- Anti-realism is the opposition to scientific realism. Anti-realists believe that scientific theories cannot be objectively true or that they do not correlate to objectively real phenomena.[51]
- Antiscience is a criticism and rejection of modern science and the scientific community.[16]
- Denialism is the rejection of scientific facts that conflict with one's previous beliefs.[52]
- Empiricism is the belief that truth is obtained from sense experience.[53] Empiricists believe that science is a systematic and detailed application of common everyday thought and inquiry.[54]
- Constructive empiricism is the belief that scientific theories can be true but successful testing does not affirm their truth.[55]
- Logical positivism is an empiricist school of thought that was developed in Europe by the Vienna Circle in the 20th century.[56]
- Operationalism is an empiricist school of thought developed by Percy Williams Bridgman in 1927. It holds that all terms used in science must correspond to an observational test.[57]
- Verificationism is the empiricist belief that testability and verifiability must be possible for a claim to have meaning.[58]
- Evidentialism is the belief that a claim should only be accepted if there is evidence supporting it.[59]
- Fallibilism is the belief that no claim can ever be known with absolute certainty. The term was defined by Charles Sanders Peirce.[60]
- Holism is the belief that individual scientific claims cannot be understood without also considering related claims, as it is only a network of claims that allows scientific prediction.[61] This argument, the Duhem–Quine thesis, was developed by Willard Van Orman Quine as a response to logical positivism by adapting the philosophy of Pierre Duhem.[62]
- Instrumentalism is the belief that science should be used as a guide predict phenomena without presenting it as a means of finding truth.[63]
- Normal science is a system defined by Thomas Kuhn which described science in a given field as beginning with a paradigm shift that emerges from a new theory.[64]
- Pragmatism is the belief that claims should be accepted based on value rather than evidence.[59]
- Realism is the belief that true scientific theories can describe existing phenomena instead of merely hypothetical phenomena.[65][66]
- Reductionism is the understanding of phenomena through fundamental causes and explanations.[67]
- Relativism is the belief that knowledge cannot be understood objectively, but in relation to other forms of knowledge.[68]
- Reliabilism is the belief that a fact is considered knowledge when it is derived from reliable methods.[21]
- Science studies is the blending of perspectives and theories on scientific study to create a holistic understanding of science.[27]
- Scientism is the belief that science should go beyond mere explanation and become the guiding force in society.[69][70]
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Scientific community
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The scientific community encompasses scientists, their interactions, and their influences on one another.[71]
- Funding of science
- Peer review is a process in which an academic provides feedback on scientific writing, often anonymously, before publication.[72]
- Politicization of science – politicization of science is the manipulation of science for political gain.[citation needed]
- Science by press release – refers to scientists who put an unusual focus on publicizing results of research in the media.[citation needed]
- Scientific controversy occurs when multiple schools of thought within a discipline contradict each other. This can include disputes about methods or theory.[73]
- Scientific priority is the recognition of a scientist's claim over a discovery.[74]
- Scientific societies are organizations that emerged in Europe during the mid-17th century as an alternative to universities.[39]
- Scientific writing is the recording and description of scientific knowledge or research, written in a way that it can be precisely explained to other members of the scientific community.[75]
- Scientist – practitioner of science; an individual who uses scientific method to objectively inquire into the nature of reality—be it the fundamental laws of physics or how people behave. There are many names for scientists, often named in relation to the job that they do. One example of this is a biologist, a scientist who studies biology (the study of living organisms and their environments).[citation needed]
- Independent scientist – financially independent scientist who pursues scientific study as a hobby.[citation needed]
- Government scientist – scientist employed by a country's government[citation needed]
- Women in science and their role has changed over time. Women were historically excluded from scientific activity in most cases, but an increased role has developed with the rise of feminist movements.[76]
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Science in society
- Science education
- Scientific literacy – encompasses written, numerical, and digital literacy as they pertain to understanding science, its methodology, observations, and theories.[citation needed]
- Pseudo-scholarship – is a work (e.g., publication, lecture) or body of work that is presented as, but is not, the product of rigorous and objective study or research; the act of producing such work; or the pretended learning upon which it is based.[citation needed]
- Science communication is the description of science to the general public. It involves the translation of precise technical terms to ones that are more generally understandable to those without background knowledge in a scientific field.[75]
- Popular science is a genre of writing on scientific subjects intended for consumption by the general public.[77] It developed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries.[78]
- Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction in which scientific knowledge, ideas, and technology are central in its stories.[79]
- Science policy
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See also
Notes
References
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