According to Dictionary.com, science is defined as "a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws".
In practice, science is a systematic enterprise whereby knowledge is built and organized in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world which surrounds us. One of the best known early attempts to define science was made by the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who said that scientific knowledge was a body of reliable knowledge that could be logically and rationally explained.
Scientific fields and study are commonly divided into two major groups. These are:
• Natural sciences
This is the study of the rules that govern the natural world and the universe. Branches of natural science include astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, atmospheric science, oceanography and materials sciences.
• Social sciences
Social sciences are fields of scholarship that study society and human behavior. Branches of social sciences include anthropology, economics, education, geography, history, law, linguistics, political science, psychology and sociology.
In modern times, the term 'science' has taken on an increasingly narrow outlook. It tends to be more synonymous with the natural and physical sciences than social science. It can also be defined as a distinct enterprise in attempting to define the 'laws of nature'.
In the nineteenth century, 'science' became increasingly associated with the disciplined study of the natural world (physics, chemistry, geology and chemistry), as opposed to 'natural science' which was commonly used to refer to natural philosophy.
In practice, science is a systematic enterprise whereby knowledge is built and organized in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the world which surrounds us. One of the best known early attempts to define science was made by the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who said that scientific knowledge was a body of reliable knowledge that could be logically and rationally explained.
Scientific fields and study are commonly divided into two major groups. These are:
• Natural sciences
This is the study of the rules that govern the natural world and the universe. Branches of natural science include astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, atmospheric science, oceanography and materials sciences.
• Social sciences
Social sciences are fields of scholarship that study society and human behavior. Branches of social sciences include anthropology, economics, education, geography, history, law, linguistics, political science, psychology and sociology.
In modern times, the term 'science' has taken on an increasingly narrow outlook. It tends to be more synonymous with the natural and physical sciences than social science. It can also be defined as a distinct enterprise in attempting to define the 'laws of nature'.
In the nineteenth century, 'science' became increasingly associated with the disciplined study of the natural world (physics, chemistry, geology and chemistry), as opposed to 'natural science' which was commonly used to refer to natural philosophy.
