What is Science?

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Science (in Latin scientia , from scire, which means “to know”) is the set of systematic knowledge about nature, the beings that compose it, the phenomena that occur in it and the laws that govern these phenomena. It is a faculty of man that allows him to find explanations for the phenomena studied and answers to the questions raised about certain events, through a set of ideas that may be provisional, because with the continuous search activity and the effort of men and women, these Explanations may vary and constitute new knowledge. Science is a process of analysis. There is an issue to be resolved, and a hypothesis about it to be verified. For example: how a mobile device works.

René Descartes, one of the main early contributors, created the Cartesian method in which he pointed out that “one can only say that something exists that has been proven.” He was a great influence in the world of science. Descartes revolutionized his methodology in a very positive way. Its principles were the following: the principle of doubt, nothing should be accepted as true until it is verified, the principle of analysis in which it is a question of breaking down the problem and assessing it in small parts, the principle of synthesis in which the simplest forms that make up the problem are evaluated in order to move on to the most difficult ones, and the principle of verification to assess that no data has been overlooked during the process.

In summary, these are the steps:

• The observation. This step reveals what you want to study and investigate. For this, it is necessary to carry out this first stage in which what is going to be worked on later in the development of the scientific process is observed.
• The hypotheses. Once the initial observation has been carried out, a series of hypotheses are formulated to try to explain what has been observed.
• The experimentation. It is time to carry out the pertinent experiments to check if the hypotheses are correct, or on the contrary, they are false and it is necessary to start from new hypotheses or experiments that offer determining results.
• The theories. They allow to explain the hypotheses that have been proven effectively.
• The conclusions. Once the theory is formulated, and has previously been verified based on experimentation, a series of conclusions are drawn from the process that has been carried out.

Science is extremely important for the things it achieves:

• Science offers solutions to improve the health of society through research and the creation of drugs that cure diseases, for example.
• Thanks to science, penicillin was discovered in 1928. It was the scientist Alexander Fleming who managed to discover this medicine that is so important for humanity since many lives are saved every day by its use.
• The study and understanding of natural laws. All this has allowed natural disasters to be foreseen, actions to prevent them, and research to delve much deeper into all these issues. These forecasts have saved many lives.
• Improvement of everyday life. Thanks to science, systems, appliances and devices have been achieved that facilitate people’s daily lives. All this has allowed multiple tasks to be carried out saving time, money and that serve to improve day to day.
• The light bulb. Thomas Edison is responsible for this, which has marked a before and after in the history of humanity. The light bulb was a milestone.

All the branches of Science

It is obvious to say it, but we believe that it is important to emphasize it once again: at present, human knowledge is very vast and there is a great diversity of scientific disciplines or fields of knowledge, according to the object of study that they take into account. Reality is made up of many elements –some of which we can perceive with our senses and others not-, and to analyze it in detail, it has been necessary to classify it into branches or sectors: these are the branches of Science . First of all, we want to tell you that in our virtual platform we are dedicated to revealing all the areas of study that are relevant in the 21st century and, with a greater or lesser degree of homogeneity, in all the countries of the world. That said, in each of the articles that we elaborate we reflect the different branches of Science , with the goal of sharing concrete and true information about them. We do not want to confuse you or waste your time. Posts full of verbiage are not our thing; That’s why we bring you peer-reviewed facts, helpful examples, and proven links in every article. If you really want to discover what are the main branches of Science , you have to continue reading this analysis to get a complete picture. Then, you can go directly to the article on the discipline that interests you most. To begin, it is necessary to know the traditional division that is usually made between “human” and “exact” sciences. In the former, themes such as art, history, literature, law and all those that deal with the mind, spirit, soul, talents, desires or aspirations of the human being as such predominate. On the other hand, in the second ones, the most “cerebral” side of the subjects is taken into account and for this reason they bring together disciplines where there are numbers, calculations, statistics, graphs… that is, more exact and verifiable data in a more tangible way. Thus, below we will address the different branches of Science taking into account this classic separation. In the first place we will talk about the ramifications of the Human Sciences and secondly, of the derivations belonging to the Exact Sciences .

Branches of Human Science

• Philosophy

This is the science of thought par excellence. It represents the way in which the human mind apprehends the reality that surrounds it, but also a way through which it manages to conceive of itself in its condition. Philosophy , among other questions, asks about the existence of God, the origin of the Universe, the aesthetic perceptions of art, the ontology of the material things that surround us, self-knowledge, etc.

• Right

You don’t have to be a genius to figure out what this discipline consists of; however, perhaps you did not know that it constitutes one of the current branches of Science . Well, all that field of knowledge that has a methodology of study and specific analysis, can be considered as a science. Law is essential to regulate the life in society of all the people who inhabit this world . It is a set of legal ordinances that provide rules for doing business, getting married, crossing from one country to another, working, paying taxes, enjoying the protection of the State and much more.

• Public Law

Although in the previous section we talked about Law as one of the branches of Science that we can study, we believe that it is necessary to distinguish between two different types of Law : Public and Private . The first regulates all those relationships that can occur between individuals and the State as a public entity. Thanks to Public Law , citizens who are part of a society can enjoy constitutional guarantees and make their rights effective. In addition, through these regulations state activity is regulated to promote good management of public financial administration.

• Private right

In opposition to the previous one, Private Law regulates the actions of people without State intervention; for example, in cases of business or economic activities ( Commercial Law ) or for family relations ( Civil Law ). It consists of a set of provisions that regulates the personal, private and intimate life of people; hence its name. Each country has a different configuration of all the types of Law that exist and the established norms are modified over time for reasons of politics, social evolution, cultural trends, etc. This is made possible through the sanction of laws that can be carried out by the Parliament of a country.

• Psychology

Perhaps until a few years ago Psychology was not considered one of the branches of Science ; however, it is a solid disciplinary field with its own analysis procedures and great ability to check results. The experimental subjects of Psychology – of course – are people and their minds. Psychology takes into account thoughts, feelings, emotions, intuitions, personalities, traumas, education and all those internal traits that make up the way of being of individuals . It is a fantastic way to get to know yourself and others better.

• Geography

Perhaps you thought that Geography consisted only of studying the relief of the land and the constitution of the sea (after all, that is what they teach at school), but no: it is much more than that. This discipline analyzes all the features and accidents of our planet as such, and is thus divided into branches such as Cosmology , Biogeography , Hydrography , Climatology , Geology and many other areas of interest. It takes into account human and natural life, atmospheric, climatic and spatial phenomena, certain social, historical and cultural movements… its field of study is truly vast.

• Anthropology

The history of Man through the centuries, his way of living and relating in a society, the historical and cultural changes that have affected his way of being or vice versa (the influence of the human being on his environment) are the subject of study of Anthropology . This is one of the most interesting and challenging branches of Human Science . As you have surely guessed, it maintains deep connections with other disciplines, due to its comprehensive and general nature. Anthropology is linked to Philosophy , Psychology and other fields of current knowledge .

• Sociology

Surely you are not unaware that the human being is a social entity; Thus, all the relationships that are configured by life in society, from the most intimate and personal to the most general and public, are the object of study of Sociology . Thanks to the contributions of this discipline, man can better understand the historical and cultural changes that occur within a society, as well as the origin of the various social movements in his country and in the world.

Branches of Natural or Exact Science

• biology

It is probably not a mystery to you: the prefix “bio” means “life”, and thus, Biology is the science that studies -in a more comprehensive way- life on planet Earth. Objects of study in this area are animals, plants, proto-cellular microorganisms, biomes and even man as a biologically constituted being. Among the branches of Science that exist, this is one of the first to appear in the popular imagination: maps, microscopes and laboratories are part of the research methods of Biology .

• Physical

Life on planet Earth, living beings and the objects we see are regulated by natural laws that Physics studies . Phenomena such as speed, temperature, movement, heat, light are those on which the physical sciences are based to understand the world around us. At the same time, thanks to the discovery of certain principles of Physics , it has been possible to design new electronic, medical, transportation devices, etc.; First, it was known how the world worked and what were the phenomena that had to be mastered in order to transfer them to artificial systems or machines.

• Chemistry

We are facing one of the most exact branches of Science that exist. Chemistry deals with studying the composition of matter at the molecular, atomic, chemical level . It seeks to understand the constitution of the different natural and artificial elements that surround us, through scientific experimentation, observation and analysis. The advances of Chemistry have been transferred to many fields of human activity. Thanks to their contributions, it has been possible to develop fuels, medicines, vaccines, cosmetics, industrialized foods and a wide variety of consumer goods that we use today.

• Ecology

If you are interested in caring for the environment and the natural processes carried out by our planet to maintain the balance of its biomes seem interesting, this science is for you. Ecology consists of the study of life on earth from an integral point of view, taking into account the relationships established by all living kingdoms (plants, animals, man) among themselves to guarantee survival. Ecology considers the mode of organization of the different species, tries to understand the causes of their migrations and extinction, studies measures to protect the different ecosystems that are part of our world, and a long etcetera.

• Math

Perhaps you did not know that Mathematics is counted among the branches of Science . Well, that’s right: they consist of a rigorous discipline, with its own methods of calculation, analysis and obtaining information and results. This field of knowledge includes numerous derivations such as Arithmetic , Trigonometry and Algebra , to give just a few known examples. If you like hard sciences and have a knack for calculations, you can’t miss our post on the various branches of Mathematics . You will be surprised to discover the large number of areas to which this science can be applied.

• Medicine

Among the branches of Science that we have reviewed, this is one of the largest. Medicine takes into account all the devices and systems that the human body possesses, and each of them has developed a separate discipline. For example, Nephrology studies the kidneys, Cardiology the heart and Neurology the brain. Medicine is responsible for both the exploration of each organ or system as well as the development of new procedures to prevent, treat and cure a host of diseases. Every day a step further is taken in the knowledge of the human organism and thus improve our expectation and quality of life.

• Economy

Everything that has to do with finance, business administration, capital management, accounting… in short, everything related to the “vile metal” (it is none other than money) is part of the Economy . It is a fundamental discipline to understand how finances work within the National State as well as internationally, and even in the daily life of each person. Through the instruments of the Economy (analysis of inflation, capital, interest, rates, country risk, etc.), we can measure the economic reality at a micro or macro level.

• Anatomy

According to some experts on the subject, this discipline constitutes one of the current branches of Medicine ; however, given its great importance, it has seemed pertinent to treat it separately. From this link you will be able to know all the branches of Anatomy that today are taken into account in medical, academic and labor fields. Anatomy , in a general way, takes into account the physical constitution of the human body (and also of other living beings) understanding it as a complex network of systems and devices.

• Statistics

If there is any science that is capable of anticipating results and making predictions about all kinds of situations, it is Statistics . Its measuring instruments allow constants of phenomena to be obtained over time and therefore it is capable of predicting how a certain event will develop or end. Statistics is one of the most exact branches of Science , since it works with percentages, calculations, numbers, probabilities; however, it constitutes much more than this, so we invite you to read our article on the different branches of Statistics .

What are the 7 Branches of Science?

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Mathematics
• Computer science
• Economics

Types of Science

• Applied Sciences
• Exact Sciences
• Human Sciences
• Empirical Sciences
• Pseudo Sciences
• Factual Sciences

Science examples

This is the list of twenty branches of science, Including with two formal sciences, then nine exact sciences are indicated, and finally nine human sciences: