Lecture One
Lecture One
Lecture One
The word “science” is derived from the Latin word Scientia, meaning knowledge. To some
people, science refers to difficult high school or college-level courses such as physics, chemistry,
and biology meant only for the brightest students. To others, science is a craft practised by scientists
in white coats using specialized equipment in their laboratories.
However, Science refers to a systematic and organized body of knowledge in any area of
inquiry that is acquired using “the scientific method”. The latter refers to a standardized set of
techniques for building scientific knowledge, such as how to make valid observations, how to
interpret results, and how to generalize those results. The scientific method allows researchers to
independently and impartially test pre-existing theories and prior findings, and subject them to open
debate, modifications, or enhancements. The scientific method must satisfy four key
characteristics:
Any branch of inquiry that does not allow the scientific method to test its basic laws or theories
cannot be called “science.” For instance, theology (the study of religion) is not science because
theological ideas (such as the presence of God) cannot be tested by independent observers using a
logical, confirmable, repeatable, and scrutinizable method.
People in a society often share a similar culture. A culture refers to the beliefs, values and customs
that members of a society often have in common. However, one society can also consist of people
from many different cultures.
People in a society are connected through their relationships to each other. For example, as family
members, neighbours, work or school mates. They may also be members of cultural, business,
religious or political groups.
Societies and their cultures change over time. Recently, the wide spread of technology
helped in a rapid change of cultures and societies.
2. Domains of Science
1. The natural sciences are concerned with the natural environment in which human beings
exist. Natural science is the science of naturally occurring objects or phenomena, such as
light, objects, matter, earth, celestial bodies, or the human body. Natural sciences can be
further classified into physical sciences, earth sciences, life sciences, and others. Physical
sciences consist of disciplines such as physics (the science of physical objects), chemistry
(the science of matter), and astronomy (the science of celestial objects). Earth sciences
consist of disciplines such as geology (the science of the earth). Life sciences include
disciplines such as biology (the science of human bodies) and botany (the science of plants).
2. The humanities/human sciences are concerned with human existence, history, culture,
thought and creativity. They deal with literature, music, art, philosophy...etc.
3. The social sciences: include disciplines such as sociology, economics, psychology,
geography, political science. Social science refers tothe field of human knowledge that deals
with all aspects of the life of human beings. It deals with knowledge concerned with all
aspects of society and human beings themselves.
Practice