Preview

History of Science

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
11148 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
History of Science
Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by researchers making use of scientific methods, which emphasize the observation, explanation, and prediction of real world phenomena by experiment. Given the dual status of science as objective knowledge and as a human construct, good historiography of science draws on the historical methods of both intellectual history and social history.
Tracing the exact origins of modern science is possible through the many important texts which have survived from the classical world. However, the word scientist is relatively recent—first coined by William Whewell in the 19th century. Previously, people investigating nature called themselves natural philosophers.
While empirical investigations of the natural world have been described since classical antiquity (for example, by Thales, Aristotle, and others), and scientific methods have been employed since the Middle Ages (for example, by Ibn al-Haytham, Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī 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 that took place in 16th and 17th century Europe.
Scientific methods are considered to be so fundamental to modern science that some — especially philosophers of science and practicing scientists — consider earlier inquiries into nature to be pre-scientific. Traditionally, historians of science have defined science sufficiently broadly to include those inquiries.[1]
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Early cultures o 1.1 Science in the Ancient Near East o 1.2 Science in the Greco-Roman world o 1.3 Science in India o 1.4 Science in China
• 2 Science in the Middle Ages o 2.1 Science in the Islamic world o 2.2 Science in Medieval Europe
• 3 Impact of science in Europe o 3.1 Age of Enlightenment o 3.2 Romanticism in science
• 4 Modern science o 4.1 Natural sciences
 4.1.1 Physics
 4.1.2 Chemistry
 4.1.3



References: Plato and Aristotle. The School of Athens (1509). Chinese gunpowder used during the Mongol Invasions of Japan, 1281

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Christian Worldview Paper

    • 1918 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Old Testament of the Holy Bible gives many examples which provide modern man with guidelines for the use of scientific method. Millam (2008) explains that there is an underlying order in nature demonstrated by the patterns and regularities of God’s creations. These regularities can be seen in the forces of nature and are stable throughout space and time (Millam, 2008). The original classification of species, use of precise measurement, and even the first account of scientific research, are all included in the Old Testament of the Holy Scriptures. God gives scientists some clear frames of reference for seeking knowledge and truth in science.…

    • 1918 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The 16th Century Ideas That Echo Through Modern Science “The history of science is part of the history of mankind. It is a record of one aspect of the human struggle to achieve security and certainty in an ever-changing universe.” (Levy, 3) Science is an ever expanding subject and reaches out into almost every aspect of our lives. Before the sixteenth-century science as we know it did not exist. Natural philosophy, and astronomy were the main focus of the time. These two fields were highly based on observation and theory. Throughout all of history man has used science to change the world around him. The thinkers of the sixteenth-century established the foundation for modern science. All theoretical scientists must all have a similar way of thinking. The key is doubt - an inclination not to believe or accept (Webster Dictionary). Descartes was one of the first philosophers to use a systematic skepticism when analyzing the works of others. Simply put, Descartes doubted the ideas around him. Richard Feynman seems to have a similar way of thinking. He says, “Once you start doubting, which I think, to me is a very fundamental part of my … soul, is to doubt and to ask. When you doubt and ask it gets a little harder to believe.”(Feynman) Doubt must have been a fundamental belief that the sixteenth-century thinkers had. For science to advance it is imperative that scientists approach an issue with doubt and questions. One of the people at the start of history, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), a pioneer in logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural sciences, politics, and poetics, profoundly influenced Western thought. He firmly believed that terrestrial bodies naturally move towards the earth (which he alleged was located at the center of the universe). He also claimed there was an unnatural violent motion that moved away from the earth. This view of natural and unnatural motion fit agreeably with the Churches view of good and evil. Claudius Ptolemy (85-165 A.D.) an…

    • 3154 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Scientific Revolution came about in the seventeenth century and it paved the way for new knowledge and understanding of the physical world. Brought about by observation and mathematics, the Scientific Revolution began in Europe with thanks to the English mathematician, Isaac Newton. This revolution greatly influenced the intellectual social movement, or the Enlightenment. Newton’s approach to science caught on to many others; soon the majority of scientists began to test their theories against observation and explained them in complex mathematical terms as well.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Thomas Kuhn coined the term “normal science”, which he defines as “…research firmly based upon one or more past scientific achievements, achievements that some particular scientific community acknowledges for a time as supplying the foundation for its further practice.” The achievements that Kuhn talks about can also be defined as a paradigm. Paradigms come about usually through the collection of facts based around an implicit idea and as that idea gets confirmed through the collection of data it gains popularity and is accepted and taught. It is because of this aspect that Kuhn sees science as not merely a collection of data but as a social and historical practice. By looking at the history of science…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Babbie's Sacrifice

    • 1783 Words
    • 8 Pages

    “Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon [the] discovery of better evidence.” – James Randi (1987)…

    • 1783 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    GOWER, Barry. Scientific Method: a Historical and Philosophical Introduction, London, New-York; Routledge and Sons, 1997.…

    • 3069 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Why start an introduction to women 's studies textbook with a discussion of science and medicine? If…

    • 4703 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Science in Modern World

    • 2153 Words
    • 9 Pages

    At the sight of the “image of science”, what immediately comes to mind is a regimented pattern of thought/process of attaining knowledge but Paul Feyerabend, an Austrian-born philosopher of science presents one of the most thought provoking accounts of science in contemporary times in his “anarchism” which has seriously challenged the supposed rational image of science. Fundamentally, Feyerabend believes that the whole notion of a methodology of science is illusive, arguing that science is essentially an archaistic enterprise. Therefore, “theoretical anarchism” according to Feyerabend, is a more humanitarian and more likely to encourage progress than its law-and order alternative. In any case, we shall see later that Feyerabend upheld this view only as a means to argue for a more viable and pragmatic philosophy of science. In doing this, we shall assume the following steps:…

    • 2153 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The perspective of science is shaped by its underlying philosophy. The philosophy of science is determined with the underlying foundations, methods and the implications of science. The majority of the participants in the study of the philosophy of science are philosophers and with a lesser number of scientists also involved.iii Important scientists and philosophers that helped shape the foundations and methodology of modern science include Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Rene Descartes (1596-1650), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Isaac Newton (1643-1727), Auguste Comte (1798-1857), and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873).iv…

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The accomplishments of the Scientific Revolution are characterized as the greatest inquisition into the nature of human intellect and science in Modern History. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the educational systems were subjugated by Aristotelian-Ptolemaic (doctrine of the Ancient Grecians Aristotle and Ptolemy) scholars’ intent on solely teaching an individual’s relationship between nature, society, and God. In this school of thought Scripture, the church leaders, and Aristotle were the ultimate authorities. They held that knowledge deduced from experience should solidify what is already known to be valid on the basis of these authorities. The revival of fascination in relics of Ancient texts during the Renaissance co-authored the rediscovery of Pythagorean and Platonic ideas, which emphasized mathematics as the key to human comprehension. Exploration in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, physics, biology, and chemistry led to the reformation of thought and society. There are many accredited with this great revolution such as; Nicholas Copernicus, Sir Isaac Newton,Galileo Galilei, and Johannes Kepler.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    History of Biology

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Although modern biology is a relatively recent development, sciences related to and included within it have been studied since ancient times. Natural philosophy was studied as early as the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indian subcontinent, and China. However, the origins of modern biology and its approach to the study of nature are most often traced back to ancient Greece.[6] While the formal study of medicine dates back to Hippocrates (ca. 460 BC – ca. 370 BC), it was Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) who contributed most extensively to the development of biology. Especially important are his…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Science and Civilization

    • 3420 Words
    • 14 Pages

    In this paper, first I will present my views on the book ‘Muslims and Science’ by Pervaiz Hoodhbhoy. Then I will provide the characteristics that allowed Western civilization to outpace Muslim civilization in the development of science.…

    • 3420 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    history of science essay

    • 1014 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Women excel in all fields including space exploration and rocket science. Women play a vital role in economic development of the country and their contribution is nothing short of their male counterparts. However there are still several issues and problems that women face today.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Science by itself, however, is neither secular nor religious, nor is it scared or profane. It is influenced by the social and intellectual milieu in which it grows. History is witness to the fact that the Muslim philosophical thoughts and scientific knowledge had essentially a moral and religious base. The entire scientific effort was directed toward the understanding of natural phenomena and towards the welfare and well-being of the humanity at large. The only aim was to serve mankind through science and technology and not to cause any aggression or destruction such as are being…

    • 12867 Words
    • 52 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The history of science and technology is indentified as a field of history which examines how HUMANITY understands the natural world which is called science and their ability to manipulate it which is termed as technology. Before the word scientist was invented in 1833 , scientists were known as Natural Philosophers.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays