EASYUNI Ultimate University Guide 2013 July Issue | Page 59

Science
In the early modern era, the words “science” and “philosophy”
were sometimes used interchangeably in the English language.
This is because in classical antiquity, science was closely linked
to philosophy. However, natural philosophy (now referred to
as “natural science”) was considered a separate branch of
philosophy by the 17th century. “Science” continues to be used
to represent reliable knowledge about a topic, like how it is used
today, such as library science or political science.
The word “science” is often used to refer to a way of pursuing
knowledge and not solely the knowledge itself. Because it is
often treated as synonymous with natural and physical science,
it is restricted to studies related to the phenomena of the
material universe and its laws, sometimes with the exclusion of
pure mathematics.

Science is a methodical activity that
builds and organises knowledge in
the form of testable explanations and
predictions about the universe. The
word “science” itself refers to the body
of reliable knowledge itself, of the type
that can be logically and rationally
explained, in an older and closely
related meaning.

The word “science” became more associated with scienti?c
method in the 19th century. Scienti?c method is a disciplined
way to study the natural world, including physics, chemistry and
biology. The term “scientist” was also created to separate those
who sought knowledge about nature from those who sought
knowledge about other disciplines. The study of human thought
and society was then classi?ed as social science. Several other
major areas of disciplined study and knowledge exist today
under the general rubric of “science”, such as formal science
and applied science. As you can see, science is such a broad
subject that it can be anything.

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