Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge")[2][3]:58 is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.[a]
Science is related to research, and is normally organized by a university, a college or a research institute. Contemporary science is typically subdivided into the natural sciences which study the material world, the social sciences which study people and societies, and the formal sciences like mathematics. The formal sciences are often excluded as they do not depend on empirical observations.[4] Disciplines which use science like engineering and medicine may also be considered to be applied sciences.[5]
From classical antiquity through the 19th century, science as a type of knowledge was more closely linked to philosophy than it is now and, in fact, in the West the term "natural philosophy" encompassed fields of study that are today associated with science such as physics, astronomy, medicine, among many others.[6]:3[b] In the 17th and 18th centuries scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of laws of nature. As a slow process over centuries, the word "science" became increasingly associated with what is today known as the scientific method, a structured way to study the natural world.
Modern science
In modern science, it is regarded as good scientific practice to aim for principles such as objectivity and reproducibility, which means that improvised methodology or bizarre interpretations should be downplayed, at least unless the scientist rightfully suspects a paradigm change. It is seen as advantageous to not deviate too far from the scientific method, which nonetheless is far more stringently applied in e.g. the medical sciences than in sociology. The optimal way to conduct modern science is under constant debate in the philosophy of science. The English term "science" often refers to a particularly formal kind of empirical research, whereas equivalent concepts in other languages may not distinguish as clearly between this and rationalist academic research. The acceptance of the influence of continental philosophy in modern science may differ between countries and between individual universities. Advances in modern science are sometimes used to develop new technology, but also examine limits to technological development.
Main article: History of science
Science in a broad sense existed before the modern era and in many historical civilizations.[c] Modern science is distinct in its approach and successful in its results, so it now defines what science is in the strictest sense of the term.[9]
Science in its original sense was a word for a type of knowledge rather than a specialized word for the pursuit of such knowledge. In particular, it was the type of knowledge which people can communicate to each other and share. For example, knowledge about the working of natural things was gathered long before recorded history and led to the development of complex abstract thought. This is shown by the construction of complex calendars, techniques for making poisonous plants edible, public works at national scale, such which those which harnessed the floodplain of the Yangtse with reservoirs,[10] dams, and dikes, and buildings such as the Pyramids. However, no consistent conscientious distinction was made between knowledge of such things, which are true in every community, and other types of communal knowledge, such as mythologies and legal systems.
