SCIENCE_HISTORY

  "BRIEF HISTORY OF SCIENCE"

 

The term science comes from the Latin word "Scientia," meaning “knowledge”. It can be defined as a systematic attempt to discover, by means of observation and reasoning, particular facts about the world, and to establish laws connecting facts with one another and, in some cases, to make it possible to predict future occurrences. There are other ways to define science, but all definitions refer in one way or another to this attempt to discover specific facts and the ability to figure out patterns in which these facts are connected.

 

“Science and technology are so integral to the way our own society functions that suddenly people are interested and the field,” says Appuhn, who works on environmental history and the history of science, technology, and medicine. “It’s important to maintain our position as the preeminent nation of science and technology.”


But what exactly is a science historian? What does that discipline look like? And why does it matter, both to history and to science?


“I’m not even sure that my mother knows what I do,” says Robert J. Malone, executive director of the History of Science Society (HSS). “Historians are confused because they’re not quite sure if we’re historians or scientists. And then scientists—I think for maybe some justifiable reasons—are leery, because what we’re doing is looking at practice and looking at how they do things, and I think that can make individuals uncomfortable.”

There is an interesting quote from Carl Sagan about the scientific attitude:

If we lived on a planet where nothing ever changed, there would be little to do. There would be nothing to figure out. There would be no impetus for science. And if we lived in an unpredictable world, where things changed in random or very complex ways, we would not be able to figure things out. But we live in an in-between universe, where things change, but according to patterns, rules, or as we call them, laws of nature. If I throw a stick up in the air, it always falls down. If the sun sets in the west, it always rises again the next morning in the east. And so it becomes possible to figure things out. We can do science, and with it we can improve our lives. (Carl Sagan)

On the simplest level, science is knowledge of the world of nature. There are many regularities in nature that humankind has had to recognize for survival since the emergence of Homo sapiens as a species. The Sun and the Moon periodically repeat their movements. Some motions, like the daily “motion” of the Sun, are simple to observe, while others, like the annual “motion” of the Sun, are far more difficult. Both motions correlate with important terrestrial events. Day and night provide the basic rhythm of human existence. The seasons determine the migration of animals upon which humans have depended for millennia for survival. With the invention of agriculture, the seasons became even more crucial, for failure to recognize the proper time for planting could lead to starvation. Science defined simply as knowledge of natural processes is universal among humankind, and it has existed since the dawn of human existence.



The Ancient Greeks were the first scientists. Greek philosophers tried to explain what the world is made of and how it works. Empedocles (c. 494-434 BC) said that the world is made of four elements, earth, fire, water, and air. Aristotle (384-322 BC) accepted the theory of the four elements. However, he also believed that the Sun, Moon, and planets are made of a fifth element and are unchanging. Aristotle also studied zoology and attempted to classify animals.

Aristotle also believed the body was made up of four humors or liquids (corresponding to the four elements). They were phlegm, blood, yellow bile, and black bile. If a person had too much of one humor they fell ill.

Although some of their ideas were wrong the Greeks did make some scientific discoveries. A man named Aristarchus believed the Earth revolved around the Sun. Unfortunately, his theory was not accepted. However, Eratosthenes (c.276-194 BC) calculated the circumference of the Earth. 


 Science in a broad sense existed before the modern era and in many historical civilizations. Modern science is distinct in its approach and successful in its results, so it now defines what science is in the strictest sense of the term. Science in its original sense was a word for a type of knowledge, rather than a specialized word for the pursuit of such knowledge. In particular, it was the type of knowledge which people can communicate with each other and share. For example, knowledge about the working of natural things was gathered long before recorded history and led to the development of complex abstract thought. This is shown by the construction of complex calendars, techniques for making poisonous plants edible, public works at national scale, such as those which harnessed the floodplain of the Yangtse with reservoirs, dams, and dikes, and buildings such as the Pyramids. However, no consistent conscious distinction was made between knowledge of such things, which are true in every community, and other types of communal knowledge, such as mythologies and legal systems.

 
In prehistoric times, technique and knowledge were passed from generation to generation in an oral tradition. For example, the domestication of maize for agriculture has been dated to about 9,000 years ago in southern Mexico, before the development of writing systems. Similarly, archaeological evidence indicates the development of astronomical knowledge in preliterate societies. The development of writing enabled knowledge to be stored and communicated across generations with much greater fidelity.
Many ancient civilizations systematically collected astronomical observations. Rather than speculate on the material nature of the planets and stars, the ancients charted the relative positions of celestial bodies, often inferring their influence on human society. This demonstrates how ancient investigators generally employed a holistic intuition, assuming the interconnections of all things, whereas modern science rejects such conceptual leaps.
Basic facts about human physiology were known in some places, and alchemy was practiced in several civilizations. Considerable observation of macroscopic flora and fauna was also performed.

  
EARLY SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT 

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