History of science

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The history of science is the study of the historical development of science and scientific knowledge, including both the natural sciences and social sciences. (The history of the arts and humanities is termed as the history of scholarship.) From the 18th century through late 20th century, the history of science, especially of the physical and biological sciences, was often presented in a progressive narrative in which true theories replaced false beliefs.[1]

Science is a body of empirical, and Procedural knowledge about and used on Nature, produced by scientists who emphasize the observation, explanation, and prediction of real world phenomena. Historiography of science, in contrast, often draws on the historical methods of both intellectual history and social history. However, the English word scientist is relatively recent—first coined by William Whewell in the 19th century. Previously, people investigating nature called themselves natural philosophers.

While empirical investigations of the natural world have been described since classical antiquity (for example, by Thales, Aristotle, and others), and scientific methods have been employed since the Middle Ages (for example, by Ibn al-Haytham, and Roger Bacon), the dawn of modern science is often traced back to the early modern period and in particular to the scientific revolution that took place in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. Humboldtian science refers to the early 19th century approach of combining scientific field work with the age of Romanticism sensitivity, ethics and aestetic ideals.[2] It helped to install natural history as a separate field, gave base for ecology and was based on the role model of scientist, naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt.[3] The later 19th century positivism asserted that all authentic knowledge allows verification and that all authentic knowledge assumes that the only valid knowledge is scientific.[4] The mid 20th century saw a series of studies relying to the role of science in a social context, starting from Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962. It opened the study of science to new disciplines by suggesting that the evolution of science was in part sociologically determined and that positivism did not explain the actual interactions and strategies of the human participants in science. Further studies, e.g. Jerome Ravetz 1971 Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems referred to the role of the scientific community, as a social construct, in accepting or rejecting (objective) scientific knowledge.[5] The Science wars of the 1990 were about the influence of especially French philosophers, which denied the objectivity of science in general or seemed to do so. They described as well differences between the idealized model of a pure science and the actual scientific practice; while scientism, a revival of the positivism approach, saw in precise measurement and rigorous calculation the basis for finally settling enduring metaphysical and moral controversies. [6][7]

Scientific methods are considered to be so fundamental to modern science that some consider earlier inquiries into nature to be pre-scientific.[8] As Thomas Kuhn has put it, the history of science may be seen in more nuanced terms, such as that of competing paradigms or conceptual systems in a wider matrix that includes intellectual, cultural, economic and political themes outside of science. "Partly by selection and partly by distortion, the scientists of earlier ages are implicitly presented as having worked upon the same set of fixed problems and in accordance with the same set of fixed canons that the most recent revolution in scientific theory and method made seem scientific."[9] Traditionally, historians of science have defined science sufficiently broadly to include those inquiries.[10]

Early cultures[edit]

See also: Protoscience and Alchemy

In prehistoric times, advice and knowledge was 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.[11][12][13] Similarly, archaeological evidence indicates the development of astronomical knowledge in preliterate societies.[14][15]

The development of writing enabled knowledge to be stored and communicated across generations with much greater fidelity. Combined with the development of agriculture, which allowed for a surplus of food, it became possible for early civilizations to develop, because more time could be devoted to tasks other than survival[further explanation needed].

Many ancient civilizations collected astronomical information in a systematic manner through simple observation. Though they had no knowledge of the real physical structure of the planets and stars, many theoretical explanations were proposed. Basic facts about human physiology were known in some places, and alchemy was practiced in several civilizations.[16][17] Considerable observation of macrobiotic flora and fauna was also performed.

Ancient Near East[edit]


From their beginnings in Sumer (now Iraq) around 3500 BC, the Mesopotamian people began to attempt to record some observations of the world with numerical data. But their observations and measurements were seemingly taken for purposes other than for scientific laws. A concrete instance of Pythagoras' law was recorded, as early as the 18th century BC: the Mesopotamian cuneiform tablet Plimpton 322 records a number of Pythagorean triplets (3,4,5) (5,12,13). ..., dated 1900 BC, possibly millennia before Pythagoras, [2] but an abstract formulation of the Pythagorean theorem was not.[18]


Ancient Egypt made significant advances in astronomy, mathematics and medicine.[20] Their development of geometry was a necessary outgrowth of surveying to preserve the layout and ownership of farmland, which was flooded annually by the Nile river. The 3-4-5 right triangle and other rules of thumb were used to build rectilinear structures, and the post and lintel architecture of Egypt. Egypt was also a center of alchemy research for much of the Mediterranean.

The Edwin Smith papyrus is one of the first medical documents still extant, and perhaps the earliest document that attempts to describe and analyse the brain: it might be seen as the very beginnings of modern neuroscience. However, while Egyptian medicine had some effective practices, it was not without its ineffective and sometimes harmful practices. Medical historians believe that ancient Egyptian pharmacology, for example, was largely ineffective.[21] Nevertheless, it applies the following components to the treatment of disease: examination, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis,[3] which display strong parallels to the basic empirical method of science and according to G. E. R. Lloyd[22] played a significant role in the development of this methodology. The Ebers papyrus (c. 1550 BC) also contains evidence of traditional empiricism.

Greco-Roman world[edit]


The earliest Greek philosophers, known as the pre-Socratics,[23] provided competing answers to the question found in the myths of their neighbors: "How did the ordered cosmos in which we live come to be?"[24] The pre-Socratic philosopher Thales (640-546 BC), dubbed the "father of science", was the first to postulate non-supernatural explanations for natural phenomena, for example, that land floats on water and that earthquakes are caused by the agitation of the water upon which the land floats, rather than the god Poseidon.[25] Thales' student Pythagoras of Samos founded the Pythagorean school, which investigated mathematics for its own sake, and was the first to postulate that the Earth is spherical in shape.[26] Leucippus (5th century BC) introduced atomism, the theory that all matter is made of indivisible, imperishable units called atoms. This was greatly expanded by his pupil Democritus.

Subsequently, Plato and Aristotle produced the first systematic discussions of natural philosophy, which did much to shape later investigations of nature. Their development of deductive reasoning was of particular importance and usefulness to later scientific inquiry. Plato founded the Platonic Academy in 387 BC, whose motto was "Let none unversed in geometry enter here", and turned out many notable philosophers. Plato's student Aristotle introduced empiricism and the notion that universal truths can be arrived at via observation and induction, thereby laying the foundations of the scientific method.[27] Aristotle also produced many biological writings that were empirical in nature, focusing on biological causation and the diversity of life. He made countless observations of nature, especially the habits and attributes of plants and animals in the world around him, classified more than 540 animal species, and dissected at least 50. Aristotle's writings profoundly influenced subsequent Islamic and European scholarship, though they were eventually superseded in the Scientific Revolution.




and again:

Schematic of the Antikythera mechanism (150-100 BC).
Octahedral shape of a diamond.




In Hellenistic Egypt, the mathematician Euclid laid down the foundations of mathematical rigor and introduced the concepts of definition, axiom, theorem and proof still in use today in his Elements, considered the most influential textbook ever written.[33] Archimedes, considered one of the greatest mathematicians of all time,[34] is credited with using the method of exhaustion to calculate the area under the arc of a parabola with the summation of an infinite series, and gave a remarkably accurate approximation of Pi.[35] He is also known in physics for laying the foundations of hydrostatics, statics, and the explanation of the principle of the lever.





Indian astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata (476-550), in his Aryabhatiya (499) introduced a number of trigonometric functions (including sine, versine, cosine and inverse sine), trigonometric tables, and techniques and algorithms of algebra. In 628 AD, Brahmagupta suggested that gravity was a force of attraction.[38][39] He also lucidly explained the use of zero as both a placeholder and a decimal digit, along with the Hindu-Arabic numeral system now used universally throughout the world. Arabic translations of the two astronomers' texts were soon available in the Islamic world, introducing what would become Arabic numerals to the Islamic World by the 9th century.[40][41] During the 14th–16th centuries, the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics made significant advances in astronomy and especially mathematics, including fields such as trigonometry and analysis. In particular, Madhava of Sangamagrama is considered the "founder of mathematical analysis".[42]




Medicine: Findings from Neolithic graveyards in what is now Pakistan show evidence of proto-dentistry among an early farming culture.[45] Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine that originated in ancient India before 2500 BC,[46] and is now practiced as a form of alternative medicine in other parts of the world. Its most famous text is the Suśrutasamhitā of Suśruta, which is notable for describing procedures on various forms of surgery, including rhinoplasty, the repair of torn ear lobes, perineal lithotomy, cataract surgery, and several other excisions and other surgical procedures.

Metallurgy: The wootz, crucible and stainless steels were discovered in India, and were widely exported in Classic Mediterranean world. It was known from Pliny the Elder as ferrum indicum. Indian Wootz steel was held in high regard in Roman Empire, was often considered to be the best. After in Middle Age it was imported in Syria to produce with special techniques the "Damascus steel" by the year 1000.[47]


Henry Yule quoted the 12th-century Arab Edrizi.[48]


Lui Hui's Survey of sea island


Although the first attempts at an axiomatisation of geometry appear in the Mohist canon in 330 BC, Liu Hui developed algebraic methods in geometry in the 3rd century AD and also calculated pi to 5 significant figures. In 480, Zu Chongzhi improved this by discovering the ratio \tfrac{355}{113} which remained the most accurate value for 1200 years.

One of the star maps from Su Song's Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao published in 1092, featuring a cylindrical projection similar to Mercator projection and the corrected position of the pole star thanks to Shen Kuo's astronomical observations.[49]



A modern replica of Zhang Heng's seismometer of 132 CE

Seismology: To better prepare for calamities, Zhang Heng invented a seismometer in 132 CE which provided instant alert to authorities in the capital Luoyang that an earthquake had occurred in a location indicated by a specific cardinal or ordinal direction.[51] Although no tremors could be felt in the capital when Zhang told the court that an earthquake had just occurred in the northwest, a message came soon afterwards that an earthquake had indeed struck 400 km (248 mi) to 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Luoyang (in what is now modern Gansu).[52] Zhang called his device the 'instrument for measuring the seasonal winds and the movements of the Earth' (Houfeng didong yi 候风地动仪), so-named because he and others thought that earthquakes were most likely caused by the enormous compression of trapped air.[53] See Zhang's seismometer for further details.





Science in the Middle Ages[edit]


While the Byzantine Empire still held learning centers such as Constantinople, Western Europe's knowledge was concentrated in monasteries until the development of medieval universities in the 12th and 13th centuries. The curriculum of monastic schools included the study of the few available ancient texts and of new works on practical subjects like medicine[57] and timekeeping.[58]

Islamic world[edit]

15th-century manuscript of Avicenna's The Canon of Medicine.

Muslim scientists placed far greater emphasis on experiment than had the Greeks.[59] This led to an early scientific method being developed in the Muslim world, where significant progress in methodology was made, beginning with the experiments of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) on optics from c. 1000, in his Book of Optics. The law of refraction of light was known to the Persians.[60] The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, which began among Muslim scientists. Ibn al-Haytham is also regarded as the father of optics, especially for his empirical proof of the intromission theory of light. Some have also described Ibn al-Haytham as the "first scientist" for his development of the modern scientific method.[61]

In mathematics, the Persian mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to the concept of the algorithm, while the term algebra is derived from al-jabr, the beginning of the title of one of his publications. What is now known as Arabic numerals originally came from India, but Muslim mathematicians did make several refinements to the number system, such as the introduction of decimal point notation. Sabian mathematician Al-Battani (850-929) contributed to astronomy and mathematics, while Persian scholar Al-Razi contributed to chemistry and medicine.

In astronomy, Al-Battani improved the measurements of Hipparchus, preserved in the translation of Ptolemy's Hè Megalè Syntaxis (The great treatise) translated as Almagest. Al-Battani also improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the Earth's axis. The corrections made to the geocentric model by al-Battani, Ibn al-Haytham,[62] Averroes and the Maragha astronomers such as Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Mo'ayyeduddin Urdi and Ibn al-Shatir are similar to Copernican heliocentric model.[63][64] Heliocentric theories may have also been discussed by several other Muslim astronomers such as Ja'far ibn Muhammad Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi,[65] Abu-Rayhan Biruni, Abu Said al-Sijzi,[66] Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi, and Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī.[67]

Muslim chemists and alchemists played an important role in the foundation of modern chemistry. Scholars such as Will Durant[68] and Fielding H. Garrison[69] considered Muslim chemists to be the founders of chemistry. In particular, Jābir ibn Hayyān is "considered by many to be the father of chemistry".[70][71] The works of Arabic scientists influenced Roger Bacon (who introduced the empirical method to Europe, strongly influenced by his reading of Persians writers),[72] and later Isaac Newton.[73]

Ibn Sina (Avicenna) is regarded as the most influential philosopher of Islam.[74] He pioneered the science of experimental medicine[75] and was the first physician to conduct clinical trials.[76] His two most notable works in medicine are the Kitāb al-shifāʾ ("Book of Healing") and The Canon of Medicine, both of which were used as standard medicinal texts in both the Muslim world and in Europe well into the 17th century. Amongst his many contributions are the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases,[75] and the introduction of clinical pharmacology.[77]

Some of the other famous scientists from the Islamic world include al-Farabi (polymath), Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (pioneer of surgery),[78] Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (pioneer of Indology,[79] geodesy and anthropology),[80] Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī (polymath), and Ibn Khaldun (forerunner of social sciences[81] such as demography,[82] cultural history,[83] historiography,[84] philosophy of history and sociology),[85] among many others.

Islamic science began its decline in the 12th or 13th century, before the Renaissance in Europe, and due in part to the 11th–13th century Mongol conquests, during which libraries, observatories, hospitals and universities were destroyed.[86] The end of the Islamic Golden Age is marked by the destruction of the intellectual center of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid caliphate in 1258.[86]


An intellectual revitalization of Europe started with the birth of medieval universities in the 12th century. The contact with the Islamic world in Spain and Sicily, and during the Reconquista and the Crusades, allowed Europeans access to scientific Greek and Arabic texts, including the works of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Jābir ibn Hayyān, al-Khwarizmi, Alhazen, Avicenna, and Averroes. European scholars had access to the translation programs of Raymond of Toledo, who sponsored the 12th century Toledo School of Translators from Arabic to Latin. Later translators like Michael Scotus would learn Arabic in order to study these texts directly. The European universities aided materially in the translation and propagation of these texts and started a new infrastructure which was needed for scientific communities. In fact, European university put many works about the natural world and the study of nature at the center of its curriculum,[87] with the result that the "medieval university laid far greater emphasis on science than does its modern counterpart and descendent."[88]

As well as this, Europeans began to venture further and further east (most notably, perhaps, Marco Polo) as a result of the Pax Mongolica. This led to the increased influence of Indian and even Chinese science on the European tradition. Technological advances were also made, such as the early flight of Eilmer of Malmesbury (who had studied Mathematics in 11th century England),[89] and the metallurgical achievements of the Cistercian blast furnace at Laskill.[90][91]

At the beginning of the 13th century, there were reasonably accurate Latin translations of the main works of almost all the intellectually crucial ancient authors, allowing a sound transfer of scientific ideas via both the universities and the monasteries. By then, the natural philosophy contained in these texts began to be extended by notable scholastics such as Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, Albertus Magnus and Duns Scotus. Precursors of the modern scientific method, influenced by earlier contributions of the Islamic world, can be seen already in Grosseteste's emphasis on mathematics as a way to understand nature, and in the empirical approach admired by Bacon, particularly in his Opus Majus. Pierre Duhem's provocative thesis of the Catholic Church's Condemnation of 1277 led to the study of medieval science as a serious discipline, "but no one in the field any longer endorses his view that modern science started in 1277".[92] However, many scholars agree with Duhem's view that the Middle Ages were a period of important scientific developments.[93][94][95][96]

The first half of the 14th century saw much important scientific work being done, largely within the framework of scholastic commentaries on Aristotle's scientific writings.[97] William of Ockham introduced the principle of parsimony: natural philosophers should not postulate unnecessary entities, so that motion is not a distinct thing but is only the moving object[98] and an intermediary "sensible species" is not needed to transmit an image of an object to the eye.[99] Scholars such as Jean Buridan and Nicole Oresme started to reinterpret elements of Aristotle's mechanics. In particular, Buridan developed the theory that impetus was the cause of the motion of projectiles, which was a first step towards the modern concept of inertia.[100] The Oxford Calculators began to mathematically analyze the kinematics of motion, making this analysis without considering the causes of motion.[101]

In 1348, the Black Death and other disasters sealed a sudden end to the previous period of massive philosophic and scientific development. Yet, the rediscovery of ancient texts was improved after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, when many Byzantine scholars had to seek refuge in the West. Meanwhile, the introduction of printing was to have great effect on European society. The facilitated dissemination of the printed word democratized learning and allowed a faster propagation of new ideas. New ideas also helped to influence the development of European science at this point: not least the introduction of Algebra. These developments paved the way for the Scientific Revolution, which may also be understood as a resumption of the process of scientific inquiry, halted at the start of the Black Death.

Impact of science in Europe[edit]

Galileo made experiments and observations that were essential to modern science.[102][102][103][104]

The renewal of learning in Europe, that began with 12th century Scholasticism, came to an end about the time of the Black Death, and the initial period of the subsequent Italian Renaissance is sometimes seen as a lull in scientific activity. The Northern Renaissance, on the other hand, showed a decisive shift in focus from Aristoteleian natural philosophy to chemistry and the biological sciences (botany, anatomy, and medicine).[105] Thus modern science in Europe was resumed in a period of great upheaval: the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation; the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus; the Fall of Constantinople; but also the re-discovery of Aristotle during the Scholastic period presaged large social and political changes. Thus, a suitable environment was created in which it became possible to question scientific doctrine, in much the same way that Martin Luther and John Calvin questioned religious doctrine. The works of Ptolemy (astronomy) and Galen (medicine) were found not always to match everyday observations. Work by Vesalius on human cadavers found problems with the Galenic view of anatomy.[106]



Age of Enlightenment[edit]

Further information: Age of Enlightenment

The Age of Enlightenment was a European affair. The 17th century "Age of Reason" opened the avenues to the decisive steps towards modern science, which took place during the 18th century "Age of Enlightenment". Directly based on the works[107] of Newton, Descartes, Pascal and Leibniz, the way was now clear to the development of modern mathematics, physics and technology by the generation of Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), Leonhard Euler (1707–1783), Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765) and Jean le Rond d'Alembert (1717–1783), epitomized in the appearance of Denis Diderot's Encyclopédie between 1751 and 1772. The impact of this process was not limited to science and technology, but affected philosophy (Immanuel Kant, David Hume), religion (the increasingly significant impact of science upon religion), and society and politics in general (Adam Smith, Voltaire), the French Revolution of 1789 setting a bloody cesura indicating the beginning of political modernity[citation needed]. The early modern period is seen as a flowering of the European Renaissance, in what is often known as the Scientific Revolution, viewed as a foundation of modern science.[108]

Romanticism in science[edit]


Modern science[edit]

The Scientific Revolution established science as a source for the growth of knowledge.[109] During the 19th century, the practice of science became professionalized and institutionalized in ways that continued through the 20th century. As the role of scientific knowledge grew in society, it became incorporated with many aspects of the functioning of nation-states.

The history of science is marked by a chain of advances in technology and knowledge that have always complemented each other. Technological innovations bring about new discoveries and are bred by other discoveries, which inspire new possibilities and approaches to longstanding science issues.

Natural sciences[edit]


Main article: History of physics


In 1687, Isaac Newton published the Principia Mathematica, detailing two comprehensive and successful physical theories: Newton's laws of motion, which led to classical mechanics; and Newton's Law of Gravitation, which describes the fundamental force of gravity. The behavior of electricity and magnetism was studied by Faraday, Ohm, and others during the early 19th century. These studies led to the unification of the two phenomena into a single theory of electromagnetism, by James Clerk Maxwell (known as Maxwell's equations).

Diagram of the expanding universe


The atomic bomb ushered in "Big Science" in physics.



Main article: History of chemistry

Modern chemistry emerged from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries through the material practices and theories promoted by alchemy, medicine, manufacturing and mining.[110] A decisive moment came when 'chymistry' was distinguished from alchemy by Robert Boyle in his work The Sceptical Chymist, in 1661; although the alchemical tradition continued for some time after his work. Other important steps included the gravimetric experimental practices of medical chemists like William Cullen, Joseph Black, Torbern Bergman and Pierre Macquer and through the work of Antoine Lavoisier (Father of Modern Chemistry) on oxygen and the law of conservation of mass, which refuted phlogiston theory. The theory that all matter is made of atoms, which are the smallest constituents of matter that cannot be broken down without losing the basic chemical and physical properties of that matter, was provided by John Dalton in 1803, although the question took a hundred years to settle as proven. Dalton also formulated the law of mass relationships. In 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev composed his periodic table of elements on the basis of Dalton's discoveries.



Main article: History of geology


Plate tectonicsseafloor spreading and continental drift illustrated on a relief globe


James Hutton, the father of modern geology





Main article: History of astronomy



George Gamow, Ralph Alpher, and Robert Herman had calculated that there should be evidence for a Big Bang in the background temperature of the universe.[112] In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson[113] discovered a 3 Kelvin background hiss in their Bell Labs radiotelescope (the Holmdel Horn Antenna), which was evidence for this hypothesis, and formed the basis for a number of results that helped determine the age of the universe.


Biology, medicine and genetics[edit]

Semi-conservative DNA replication


Perhaps the most prominent, controversial and far-reaching theory in all of science has been the theory of evolution by natural selection put forward by the British naturalist Charles Darwin in his book On the Origin of Species in 1859. Darwin proposed that the features of all living things, including humans, were shaped by natural processes over long periods of time. The theory of evolution in its current form affects almost all areas of biology.[115] Implications of evolution on fields outside of pure science have led to both opposition and support from different parts of society, and profoundly influenced the popular understanding of "man's place in the universe". In the early 20th century, the study of heredity became a major investigation after the rediscovery in 1900 of the laws of inheritance developed by the Moravian[116] monk Gregor Mendel in 1866. Mendel's laws provided the beginnings of the study of genetics, which became a major field of research for both scientific and industrial research. By 1953, James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins clarified the basic structure of DNA, the genetic material for expressing life in all its forms.[117] In the late 20th century, the possibilities of genetic engineering became practical for the first time, and a massive international effort began in 1990 to map out an entire human genome (the Human Genome Project).


Main article: History of ecology
Earthrise over the Moon, Apollo 8, NASA. This image helped create awareness of the finiteness of Earth, and the limits of its natural resources.

The discipline of ecology typically traces its origin to the synthesis of Darwinian evolution and Humboldtian biogeography, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Equally important in the rise of ecology, however, were microbiology and soil science—particularly the cycle of life concept, prominent in the work Louis Pasteur and Ferdinand Cohn. The word ecology was coined by Ernst Haeckel, whose particularly holistic view of nature in general (and Darwin's theory in particular) was important in the spread of ecological thinking. In the 1930s, Arthur Tansley and others began developing the field of ecosystem ecology, which combined experimental soil science with physiological concepts of energy and the techniques of field biology. The history of ecology in the 20th century is closely tied to that of environmentalism; the Gaia hypothesis, first formulated in the 1960s, and spreading in the 1970s, and more recently the scientific-religious movement of Deep Ecology have brought the two closer together.

Social sciences[edit]

Successful use of the scientific method in the physical sciences led to the same methodology being adapted to better understand the many fields of human endeavor. From this effort the social sciences have been developed.

Political science in Ancient India[edit]

The most studied literature on political science from Ancient India is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names Kautilya[118] and Viṣhṇugupta,[119] who are traditionally identified with Chāṇakya (c. 350–-283 BCE). In this treatise, the behaviors and relationships of the people, the King, the State, the Government Superintendents, Courtiers, Enemies, Invaders, and Corporations are analysed and documented. Roger Boesche describes the Arthaśāstra as "a book of political realism, a book analysing how the political world does work and not very often stating how it ought to work, a book that frequently discloses to a king what calculating and sometimes brutal measures he must carry out to preserve the state and the common good."[120]

Political science in the Western and Islamic Cultures[edit]

While, in the Western Culture, the study of politics is first found in Ancient Greece, political science is a late arrival in terms of social sciences[citation needed]. However, the discipline has a clear set of antecedents such as moral philosophy, political philosophy, political economy, history, and other fields concerned with normative determinations of what ought to be and with deducing the characteristics and functions of the ideal form of government. In each historic period and in almost every geographic area, we can find someone studying politics and increasing political understanding.



With the fall of the Roman Empire, there arose a more diffuse arena for political studies. The rise of monotheism and, particularly for the Western tradition, Christianity, brought to light a new space for politics and political action[citation needed]. During the Middle Ages, the study of politics was widespread in the churches and courts. Works such as Augustine of Hippo's The City of God synthesized current philosophies and political traditions with those of Christianity, redefining the borders between what was religious and what was political. Most of the political questions surrounding the relationship between Church and State were clarified and contested in this period.


During the Italian Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli established the emphasis of modern political science on direct empirical observation of political institutions and actors. Later, the expansion of the scientific paradigm during the Enlightenment further pushed the study of politics beyond normative determinations[citation needed]. In particular, the study of statistics, to study the subjects of the state, has been applied to polling and voting.

Modern political science[edit]

Main article: Political science


At the beginning of the 21st century, political scientists have increasingly deployed deductive modelling and systematic empirical verification techniques (quantitative methods) bringing their discipline closer to the scientific mainstream[citation needed].




Main article: History of economics




The above "history of economics" reflects modern economic textbooks and this means that the last stage of a science is represented as the culmination of its history (Kuhn, 1962). The "invisible hand" mentioned in a lost page in the middle of a chapter in the middle of the to "Wealth of Nations", 1776, advances as Smith's central message. It is played down that this "invisible hand" acts only "frequently" and that it is "no part of his [the individual's] intentions" because competition leads to lower prices by imitating "his" invention. That this "invisible hand" prefers "the support of domestic to foreign industry" is cleansed—often without indication that part of the citation is truncated.[121] The opening passage of the "Wealth" containing Smith's message is never mentioned as it cannot be integrated into modern theory: "Wealth" depends on the division of labour which changes with market volume and on the proportion of productive to Unproductive labor.


Main article: History of psychology





Main article: History of sociology









Emerging disciplines[edit]

During the 20th century, a number of interdisciplinary scientific fields have emerged. These examples include:





Academic study[edit]




Theories and sociology of the history of science[edit]



Since the publication of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1962,[128] historians, sociologists, and philosophers of science have debated the meaning and objectivity of science.

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

  2. ^ Böhme, Hartmut: Ästhetische Wissenschaft, in: Matices, Nr. 23, 1999, S. 37-41
  3. ^ Jardine et al., Cultures of Natural History, p. 304


  5. ^ Ravetz, Jerome R. (1979). Scientific knowledge and its social problems. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-519721-6. 
  7. ^ Sorell, Thomas 'Tom' (1994), Scientism: Philosophy and the Infatuation with Science, Routledge, pp. 1ff .
  8. ^ Hendrix, Scott E. (2011). "Natural Philosophy or Science in Premodern Epistemic Regimes? The Case of the Astrology of Albert the Great and Galileo Galilei". Teorie vědy / Theory of Science 33 (1): 111–132. Retrieved 20 February 2012. 
  11. ^ Matsuoka, Yoshihiro; Vigouroux, Yves; Goodman, Major M.; Sanchez G., Jesus; Buckler, Edward; Doebley, John (April 30, 2002). "A single domestication for maize shown by multilocus microsatellite genotyping". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99 (9): 6080–6084. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99.6080M. doi:10.1073/pnas.052125199. PMC 122905. PMID 11983901. 
  12. ^ Sean B. Carroll (May 24, 2010),"Tracking the Ancestry of Corn Back 9,000 Years" New York Times.
  13. ^ Francesca Bray (1984), Science and Civilisation in China VI.2 Agriculture pp 299, 453 writes that teosinte, 'the father of corn' helps the success and vitality of corn when planted between the rows of its 'children', maize.
  14. ^ Hoskin, Michael (2001). Tombs, Temples and their Orientations: a New Perspective on Mediterranean Prehistory. Bognor Regis, UK: Ocarina Books. ISBN 0-9540867-1-6. 
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Further reading[edit]

  • Agar, Jon (2012) Science in the Twentieth Century and Beyond (Polity Press, Cambridge, 2012. ISBN 978-0-7456-3469-2.)
  • Agassi, Joseph (2007) Science and Its History: A Reassessment of the Historiography of Science (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 253) Springer. ISBN 1-4020-5631-1, 2008.
  • Boorstin, Daniel (1983). The Discoverers : A History of Man's Search to Know His World and Himself. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-40229-4. OCLC 9645583. 
  • Bowler, Peter J. The Norton History of the Environmental Sciences (1993)
  • Brock, W. H. The Norton History of Chemistry (1993)
  • Bronowski, J. The Common Sense of Science (Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., London, 1951. ISBN 84-297-1380-8.) (Includes a description of the history of science in England.)
  • Bruno, Leonard C. (1989). The Landmarks of Science. ISBN 0-8160-2137-6 
  • Byers, Nina and Gary Williams, ed. (2006) Out of the Shadows: Contributions of Twentieth-Century Women to Physics, Cambridge University Press ISBN 978-0-521-82197-1
  • Heilbron, John L., ed. (2003). The Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-511229-6. 
  • Herzenberg, Caroline L. 1986. Women Scientists from Antiquity to the Present Locust Hill Press ISBN 0-933951-01-9
  • Kuhn, Thomas S. (1996). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-45807-5.  (3rd ed.)
  • Kumar, Deepak (2006). Science and the Raj: A Study of British India, 2nd edition. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-568003-0
  • Lakatos, Imre History of Science and its Rational Reconstructions published in The Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes: Philosophical Papers Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1978
  • Levere, Trevor Harvey. Transforming Matter: A History of Chemistry from Alchemy to the Buckyball (2001)
  • Lindberg, David C.; Shank, Michael H., eds. (2013). The Cambridge History of Science. 2, Medieval Science. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-59448-6. 
  • Margolis, Howard (2002). It Started with Copernicus. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-138507-X
  • Mayr, Ernst. The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance (1985)
  • Needham, Joseph. Science and Civilisation in China. Multiple volumes (1954–2004).
  • North, John. The Norton History of Astronomy and Cosmology (1995)
  • Nye, Mary Jo, ed. The Cambridge History of Science, Volume 5: The Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences (2002)
  • Park, Katharine, and Lorraine Daston, eds. The Cambridge History of Science, Volume 3: Early Modern Science (2006)
  • Porter, Roy, ed. The Cambridge History of Science, Volume 4: The Eighteenth Century (2003)
  • Rousseau, George and Roy Porter, eds., The Ferment of Knowledge: Studies in the Historiography of Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980). ISBN 0-521-22599-X
  • Sambursky, Shmuel (1974). Physical Thought from the Presocratics to the Quantum Physicists: an anthology selected, introduced and edited by Shmuel Sambursky. New York: Pica Press. p. 584. ISBN 0-87663-712-8 

Indian Ancient Sciences : Archaeology Based, ISBN 978-3-8383-9027-7, Lap Lambert-Germany.

External links[edit]