Science is one of the most important areas of human activity at the present stage of development of world civilization. Today, there are hundreds of different disciplines: technical, social, humanitarian, natural sciences. What are they learning? How did natural science develop in a historical aspect?
Natural science is ...
What is natural science? When did it originate and what directions does it consist of?
Natural science is a discipline that studies natural phenomena and phenomena that are external to the subject of research (man). The term "natural science" in Russian comes from the word "nature", which is a synonym for the word "nature".
The foundation of natural science can be considered mathematics, as well as philosophy. From them, by and large, came all modern natural sciences. At first, naturalists tried to answer all questions regarding nature and its various manifestations. Then, as the subject of research became more complex, natural science began to split into separate disciplines, which over time became more and more isolated.
In the context of modern time, natural science is a complex of scientific disciplines about nature, taken in their close relationship.
History of the formation of natural sciences
The development of the natural sciences was gradual. However, human interest in natural phenomena manifested itself in antiquity.
Natural philosophy (in fact, science) was actively developed in ancient Greece. Ancient thinkers, using primitive research methods and, sometimes, intuition, were able to make a number of scientific discoveries and important assumptions. Even then, natural philosophers were convinced that the Earth revolved around the Sun, could explain solar and lunar eclipses, and measured the parameters of our planet quite accurately.
In the Middle Ages, the development of natural science slowed down noticeably and was heavily dependent on the church. Many scientists at this time were persecuted for the so-called dissent. All scientific research and research, in fact, came down to the interpretation and justification of the scriptures. Nevertheless, in the era of the Middle Ages, logic and theory developed significantly. It is also worth noting that at this time the center of natural philosophy (direct study of natural phenomena) geographically shifted towards the Arab-Muslim region.
In Europe, the rapid development of natural science begins (resumes) only in the XVII-XVIII centuries. This is a time of large-scale accumulation of factual knowledge and empirical material (the results of "field" observations and experiments). The natural sciences of the 18th century are also based in their studies on the results of numerous geographical expeditions, voyages, studies of newly discovered lands. In the 19th century, logic and theoretical thinking came first again. At this time, scientists are actively processing all the facts collected, putting forward various theories, formulating patterns.
The most outstanding natural scientists in the history of world science include Thales, Eratosthenes, Pythagoras, Claudius Ptolemy, Archimedes, Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Nikola Tesla, Mikhail Lomonosov and many other famous scientists.
The problem of classification of natural sciences
The basic natural sciences include: mathematics (also often referred to as the “queen of sciences”), chemistry, physics, biology. The problem of the classification of natural sciences has existed for a long time and worries the minds of more than a dozen scientists and theorists.
Friedrich Engels, a German philosopher and scientist who is better known as a close friend of Karl Marx and co-author of his most famous work called Capital, was the best at handling this dilemma. He was able to identify two basic principles (approaches) of the typology of scientific disciplines: this is an objective approach, as well as the principle of development.
The most detailed classification of sciences was proposed by the Soviet methodologist Bonifaty Kedrov. She has not lost its relevance in our days.
Natural sciences
The whole complex of scientific disciplines is usually divided into three large groups:
- humanitarian (or social) sciences;
- technical;
- natural.
The latter study nature. A complete list of natural sciences is presented below:
- astronomy;
- Physiography;
- biology;
- the medicine;
- geology;
- soil science;
- physics;
- natural science;
- chemistry;
- botany;
- zoology;
- psychology.
As for mathematics, scientists have no consensus on which group of scientific disciplines it should be assigned. Some consider it a natural science, others - an exact one. Some methodologists classify mathematics as a separate class of so-called formal (or abstract) sciences.
Chemistry
Chemistry is a vast field of natural science, the main object of study of which is matter, its properties and structure. This science considers natural bodies and objects at the atomic-molecular level. She also studies the chemical bonds and reactions that occur during the interaction of various structural particles of matter.
For the first time, the theory that all natural bodies consist of smaller (not visible to humans) elements was put forward by the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus. He suggested that each substance includes smaller particles, just as words are made up of different letters.
Modern chemistry is a complex science that includes several dozen disciplines. These are inorganic and organic chemistry, biochemistry, geochemistry, even cosmochemistry.
Physics
Physics is one of the oldest sciences on Earth. The laws discovered by her are the basis, the foundation for the entire system of natural sciences.
For the first time, the term "physics" was used by Aristotle. In those days, it was almost identical to philosophy. Physics began to turn into an independent science only in the 16th century.
Today, physics is understood as a science that studies matter, its structure and motion, as well as the general laws of nature. In its structure there are several main sections. These are classical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum physics, the theory of relativity and some others.
Physiography
The distinction between the natural sciences and the humanities in bold line went through the "body" of the once unified geographical science, dividing its individual disciplines. So, physical geography (in contrast to economic and social) was in the bosom of natural science.
This science studies the geographical shell of the Earth as a whole, as well as the individual natural components and systems that make up its composition. Modern physical geography consists of a number of industry sciences. Among them:
- landscape science;
- geomorphology;
- climatology;
- hydrology;
- oceanology;
- soil science and others.
Natural sciences and humanities: unity and differences
Humanities, natural sciences - are they so far apart, as it may seem?
Of course, these disciplines differ in the object of research. The natural sciences study nature, the humanities concentrate their attention on man and society. The humanities cannot compete exactly with the natural sciences; they are not able to mathematically prove their theories and confirm hypotheses.
On the other hand, these sciences are closely related, intertwined with each other. Especially in the 21st century. So, mathematics has long been embedded in literature and music, physics and chemistry - in art, psychology - in social geography and economics, and so on. In addition, it has long become apparent that many important discoveries are made just at the junction of several scientific disciplines, which, at first glance, have absolutely nothing in common.
Finally...
Natural science is a branch of science that studies natural phenomena, processes, and phenomena. There are a lot of such disciplines: these are chemistry and physics, mathematics and biology, geography and astronomy.
Natural sciences, despite numerous differences in the subject and methods of research, are closely related to social and humanitarian disciplines. This connection is especially pronounced in the 21st century, when all sciences come together and intertwine.