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The branches of science, also referred to as sciences, scientific fields or scientific disciplines, are commonly divided into three major groups:
- Formal sciences: the study of formal systems, such as those under the branches of logic and mathematics, which use an a priori, as opposed to empirical, methodology. They study abstract structures described by formal systems.
- Natural sciences: the study of natural phenomena (including cosmological, geological, physical, chemical, and biological factors of the universe). Natural science can be divided into two main branches: physical science and life science (or biology).
- Social sciences and the humanities: the study of human behavior in its social and cultural aspects.[1]
Scientific knowledge must be based on observable phenomena and must be capable of being verified by other researchers working under the same conditions.[2] This verifiability may well vary even within a scientific discipline.[3][4]
Natural, social, and formal science make up the fundamental sciences, which form the basis of interdisciplinarity - and applied sciences such as engineering and medicine. Specialized scientific disciplines that exist in multiple categories may include parts of other scientific disciplines but often possess their own terminologies and expertises.[5]
- ^ "social science | History, Disciplines, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
- ^ Popper 2002, p. 20.
- ^ Davide Castelvecchi, Nature Magazine (2015-12-23). "Is String Theory science?". Scientific American. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
- ^ Editorial Staff (2016-03-03). "Psychology's reproducibility problem". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2016.19498. S2CID 147141798. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
- ^ Editorial Staff (March 7, 2008). "Scientific Method: Relationships among Scientific Paradigms". Seed magazine. Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
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