Science and society

Introduction

Science is the study and knowledge of the natural world. It is produced by the scientific community of the world. A scientist is a person who uses observation, experimentation and theory to learn about a subject. For thousands of years people all over the world have studied their surroundings. Over the centuries, people from different cultural and historical backgrounds have contributed important scientific ideas, discoveries and methods that have shaped modern science. This chapter provides a brief history of science as well as providing an overview of the main fields of science.

History

Science did not exist in prehistoric times. During that time, humans were in the very early stages of gathering knowledge about their surroundings. Knowledge is an understanding gained by actual experience. For example, early humans knew that some berries were poisonous only because they saw someone die after eating them. And today, we can find out about poisonous berries from books and websites which have photos of these berries, their habitats and chemical formulae of their poisons. The knowledge gained by early humans was passed on from generation to generation in an oral tradition (by conversation or story telling).

In ancient times, people from countries like India, Egypt, Greece and Mesopotamia (the modern territories of Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Iran) started writing down their observations of stars, weather, plants, animals and the human body. These ancient records made on stone, wood or clay plates are now considered to be the first scientific documents.

See image 1

Early scientists from India tried to explain the law of gravitation, the structure of the solar system and the theory of the atom (the theory stating that all matter is composed of elementary particles called atoms). Scientists from ancient China are credited with such important discoveries as the compass, paper, gun powder and the process of printing. Scientists from ancient India and Persia devised the numeric system we use today. The information about different native Australian plants gained by ancient Aboriginal people is being used today in manufacturing medicines and cosmetics.

The period of growth and activity in the areas of art, literature, politics, sciences and medicine in Europe during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries is called the Renaissance. The word 'Renaissance' is French for 'rebirth' referring to the revival of learning and culture. Today the period of the Renaissance is also referred to as the transition from the Middle Ages (a period of European history) to modern times. During the Middle Ages many scientists were executed or thought to be mentally disturbed owing to their new, daring ideas.

See image 2

During 17th and 18th centuries, European science went through a period now called a scientific revolution. The scientific revolution included some major changes in science and technology. During this period of time, human knowledge was divided into separate sciences and branches of sciences.

The scientific revolution established science as the most important source of knowledge. During the 19th century, the science became professionalized and institutionalized. A 'professional' is a person who has an occupation (job) involving high standards of intellectual knowledge after completing the required education. An institution is an organisation founded for a specific purpose, in our example, for scientific research. Today, scientific knowledge and methods are used in industries all over the world.

Fields of sciences

Modern sciences can be divided into two main fields: natural sciences and social sciences.

See image 3

Natural sciences include:

Physics - the study of matter and energy.
Astronomy - the study of the universe, planets, stars and galaxies.
Biology - the study of living organisms.
Ecology - the study of how living organisms interact with each other and their physical environment.
Earth science (geoscience) - the study of planet Earth.
Chemistry - the study of matter.

Social sciences include:

Anthropology - the study of human beings and their cultures.
Sociology - the study of human society and interactions between humans.
Political science - the study of government.
Economics - the study of the production and distribution of wealth.
Linguistics - the study of languages.
History - the study of past events.
Psychology - the study of human and animal behaviour.

These sciences are divided into scientific branches that specialise in smaller areas of study. For example, genetics is a branch of biology that studies heredity; vulcanology, is a branch of the Earth sciences that studies volcanoes. Some sciences, like astrophysics or biochemistry, have elements of two or more sciences.