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Personification of "Science" in front of the Boston
Public Library
Science History and Etymology
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Science History and Etymology
Main articles: History of science and Scientific revolution
While descriptions of disciplined empirical investigations of the natural world exist from times
at least as early as classical antiquity (for example, by Aristotle and Pliny the Elder), and
scientific methods have been employed since the Middle Ages (for example, by Alhazen and
Roger Bacon), the dawn of modern science is generally traced back to the early modern
period during what is known as the Scientific Revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries. This
period was marked by a new way of studying the natural world, by methodical
experimentation aimed at defining "laws of nature" while avoiding concerns with metaphysical
concerns such as Aristotle's theory of causation.
"Rapid accumulation of knowledge, which has characterized the development of science
since the 17th century, had never occurred before that time. The new kind of scientific
activity emerged only in a few countries of Western Europe, and it was restricted to that
small area for about two hundred years. (Since the 19th century, scientific knowledge
has been assimilated by the rest of the world)." — Joseph Ben–David, 1971.
This modern science developed from an older and broader enterprise. The word "science" is
from Old French, and in turn from Latin scientia which was one of several words for
"knowledge" in that language. In philosophical contexts, scientia and "science" were used to
translate the Greek word epistemē, which had acquired a specific definition in Greek
philosophy, especially Aristotle, as a type of reliable knowledge which is built up logically from
strong premises, and can be communicated and taught. In contrast to modern science,
Aristotle's influential emphasis was upon the "theoretical" steps of deducing universal rules
from raw data, and did not treat the gathering of experience and raw data as part of science
itself.
From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, science or scientia continued to be used in this
broad sense, which was still common until the 20th century. "Science" therefore had the same
sort of very broad meaning that philosophy had at that time. In other Latin influenced
languages, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, the word corresponding to
science also carried this meaning.
Prior to the 18th century, the preferred term for the study of nature among English speakers
was "natural philosophy", while other philosophical disciplines (e.g., logic, metaphysics,
epistemology, ethics and aesthetics) were typically referred to as "moral philosophy". (Today,
"moral philosophy" is more-or-less synonymous with "ethics".) Science only became more
strongly associated with natural philosophy than other sciences gradually with the strong
promotion of the importance of experimental scientific method, by people such as Francis
Bacon. With Bacon, begins a more widespread and open criticism of Aristotle's influence
which had emphasized theorizing and did not treat raw data collection as part of science
itself. An opposed position became common: that what is critical to science at its best is
methodical collecting of clear and useful raw data, something which is easier to do in some
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