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The Oxford History of Science

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The Oxford History of Science offers an accessible and entertaining introduction to the history of science as well as a valuable and authoritative reference work. It provides a chronological account of the variety of human efforts to understand the natural world over three millennia, from the ancient world to the present day. Written by leading scholars, it offers chapters on the ancient world, Islamic science, and the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. It shows how the transformations that have taken place in the ways in which humans have tried to understand the world around them are very much the products of the cultures in which they took place.

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Essays on The History of Science

14 March 2001 | Contact HSS | Contact the Web Editor | Return Home © 1995-2001 by the History of Science Society, All Rights Reserved

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History of Science

This is a general paper dealing with the history of the history of science, with a special focus on historians and epistemologists who bolster their historiographic approach by making reference and/or relying on science, e.g. Popper, Bachelard, and Canguilhem

Related Papers

Perspectives on Science

Richard Burian

Jerry Obi-Okogbuo and Obinna Victor Obiagwu (Eds.), Owerri: Advanced Graphics, 2019, 22-56

Jude Onyeakazi

This Chapter serves as handy, reliable and comprehensive guide for students to grapple with the problems of the historical development of science. It will help the reader comprehend easily the course of scientific development beginning from the ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, through the ancient Greek philosophers/scientists, down to the present century. This historical analysis is very timely because it serves to erase the erroneous impression that the Greeks and the Western world were the originators of philosophy and science. The truths of African origin of these disciplines are re-established here. We warmly recommend that this chapter be carefully studied with interest.

Helena Sheehan

Andrej Démuth

The presented text focuses rather on enabling access to philosophical aspects and ideological residuals found in several scientific approaches and issues. It means, analyses of conceptual schemes but also of phenomena present in their implicitly perceived background are to be dealt with. It is essays on science, its roots, and essence but also on relations of science and philosophy and also on heritage which philosophers left in science that I thematize. And it is in this sense that the presented text represents a textbook. It should try to teach how to comprehend explanatory bases and limits of philosophical and scientific knowledge but also to view things creatively, in other than a traditional way. Its task is to make bases complicated and surmise boundaries, and also to find creatively inspirations and new possible outcomes. The text is a philosophical essay (in the original sense of this word: an examination, (re)consideration, experiment). It is an attempt to ponder on a nature of sciences, methods and procedures, evidences and also on axioms and explanatory bases, but at the same time it represents an attempt to assess them. From this viewpoint, it rather complicates issues than provides answers to them and that is what the author’s intention aspires to: to induce students not to take things for granted and to try to view the world differently from the way they perceived it before. A vision of the world, clarity, looking at and thematizing of an issue which represents amatter of course (and thus which is frequently implicit and beyond doubt), noticing of an issue scientists and philosophers thought and did not thought about, but also why they believed in what they believed that is what represents the main object of the presented research.

Alvin Young

Charles Kay Smith

Contrary to what I was taught in high school in the mid-1940s, science is no longer defined as an inductive methodology for immaculately conceiving culture-free truth after sifting through a huge data base of objective facts. For without some prior hypothesis to guide her, a scientist would not be able to decide which facts were relevant. Nowadays hypotheses can come from anywhere in the imagination or culture within which the scientist is working. The importance of a scientific hypothesis is that it be framed in such a way that it can be falsified when tested. Science now has a history and is part of human cultural evolution. The major premise of both these recent books is that scientific innovation needs to be understood as intricately bound to the particular time and cultural milieu in which it occurred.

Fabiano Ardigó

The Making of the Humanities

Bart Karstens

zeynep bakir

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The HSS Annual Meeting brings together hundreds of scholars, students, and researchers from around the world.

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The Society produces several influential publications in the history of science .

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History as Science

History is generally considered part of the humanities, a discipline alongside literature and languages, philosophy and the arts. The humanistic study of history focuses on the interpretation of the written word and other cultural artifacts created by humans in ages past. The invention of writing marks the division between “history” and “pre-history.” Writing developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt beginning around 3200 BCE, in the Indus Valley around 2200 BCE, in China around 1300 BCE, and in Mesoamerica around 600 BCE. There are debates about which of these scripts originated independently and which were the result of cultural diffusion.

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Science’s humanities gap.

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Existing on the Berkeley campus since 1973, the Office for History of Science and Technology (OHST) promotes research, intellectual exchange, and public engagement in the history of science and technology. The Office cooperates with the Department of History to offer an MA/PhD in the history of science .  Now an integral part of the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, & Society, the Office continues to provide research facilities and assistance to scholars and students, as well as organizing international exchanges, conferences, public colloquia and a working group. Among the publications of the Office is Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences , a leading journal in the field, and a monograph series: the Berkeley Papers in History of Science . The Office welcomes visiting scholars from all over the world.

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• Introduction

Philosophy and natural science

Logical positivism and logical empiricism.

• Logics of discovery and justification
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• Underdetermination
• The work of Carl Hempel
• Difficulties
• Other approaches to explanation
• Scientific laws
• The axiomatic conception
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• “Piecemeal” realism
• Scientific truth
• Science as a social activity
• Feminist themes
• Progress and values

• Where did Auguste Comte go to school?
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• What did Werner Heisenberg do during World War II?
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philosophy of science , the study, from a philosophical perspective, of the elements of scientific inquiry. This article discusses metaphysical , epistemological, and ethical issues related to the practice and goals of modern science . For treatment of philosophical issues raised by the problems and concepts of specific sciences, see biology, philosophy of ; and physics, philosophy of .

From natural philosophy to theories of method

The history of philosophy is intertwined with the history of the natural sciences. Long before the 19th century, when the term science began to be used with its modern meaning , those who are now counted among the major figures in the history of Western philosophy were often equally famous for their contributions to “natural philosophy,” the bundle of inquiries now designated as sciences. Aristotle (384–322 bce ) was the first great biologist; René Descartes (1596–1650) formulated analytic geometry (“Cartesian geometry”) and discovered the laws of the reflection and refraction of light ; Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) laid claim to priority in the invention of the calculus ; and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) offered the basis of a still-current hypothesis regarding the formation of the solar system (the Kant-Laplace nebular hypothesis ).

In reflecting on human knowledge, the great philosophers also offered accounts of the aims and methods of the sciences, ranging from Aristotle’s studies in logic through the proposals of Francis Bacon (1561–1626) and Descartes, which were instrumental in shaping 17th-century science. They were joined in these reflections by the most eminent natural scientists. Galileo (1564–1642) supplemented his arguments about the motions of earthly and heavenly bodies with claims about the roles of mathematics and experiment in discovering facts about nature. Similarly, the account given by Isaac Newton (1642–1727) of his system of the natural world is punctuated by a defense of his methods and an outline of a positive program for scientific inquiry. Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743–94), James Clerk Maxwell (1831–79), Charles Darwin (1809–82), and Albert Einstein (1879–1955) all continued this tradition, offering their own insights into the character of the scientific enterprise.

Although it may sometimes be difficult to decide whether to classify an older figure as a philosopher or a scientist—and, indeed, the archaic “natural philosopher” may sometimes seem to provide a good compromise—since the early 20th century, philosophy of science has been more self-conscious about its proper role. Some philosophers continue to work on problems that are continuous with the natural sciences, exploring, for example, the character of space and time or the fundamental features of life . They contribute to the philosophy of the special sciences, a field with a long tradition of distinguished work in the philosophy of physics and with more-recent contributions in the philosophy of biology and the philosophy of psychology and neuroscience ( see mind, philosophy of ). General philosophy of science, by contrast, seeks to illuminate broad features of the sciences, continuing the inquiries begun in Aristotle’s discussions of logic and method. This is the topic of the present article.

A series of developments in early 20th-century philosophy made the general philosophy of science central to philosophy in the English-speaking world. Inspired by the articulation of mathematical logic, or formal logic , in the work of the philosophers Gottlob Frege (1848–1925) and Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) and the mathematician David Hilbert (1862–1943), a group of European philosophers known as the Vienna Circle attempted to diagnose the difference between the inconclusive debates that mark the history of philosophy and the firm accomplishments of the sciences they admired. They offered criteria of meaningfulness, or “cognitive significance,” aiming to demonstrate that traditional philosophical questions (and their proposed answers) are meaningless. The correct task of philosophy, they suggested, is to formulate a “logic of the sciences” that would be analogous to the logic of pure mathematics formulated by Frege, Russell, and Hilbert. In the light of logic, they thought, genuinely fruitful inquiries could be freed from the encumbrances of traditional philosophy.

To carry through this bold program, a sharp criterion of meaningfulness was required. Unfortunately, as they tried to use the tools of mathematical logic to specify the criterion, the logical positivists (as they came to be known) encountered unexpected difficulties. Again and again, promising proposals were either so lax that they allowed the cloudiest pronouncements of traditional metaphysics to count as meaningful, or so restrictive that they excluded the most cherished hypotheses of the sciences ( see verifiability principle ). Faced with these discouraging results, logical positivism evolved into a more moderate movement, logical empiricism. (Many historians of philosophy treat this movement as a late version of logical positivism and accordingly do not refer to it by any distinct name.) Logical empiricists took as central the task of understanding the distinctive virtues of the natural sciences. In effect, they proposed that the search for a theory of scientific method — undertaken by Aristotle, Bacon, Descartes, and others—could be carried out more thoroughly with the tools of mathematical logic. Not only did they see a theory of scientific method as central to philosophy, but they also viewed that theory as valuable for aspiring areas of inquiry in which an explicit understanding of method might resolve debates and clear away confusions. Their agenda was deeply influential in subsequent philosophy of science.

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Essay on Science for Students and Children

500+ words essay on science.

Essay on science:  As we look back in our ancient times we see so much development in the world. The world is full of gadgets and machinery . Machinery does everything in our surroundings. How did it get possible? How did we become so modern? It was all possible with the help of science. Science has played a major role in the development of our society. Furthermore, Science has made our lives easier and carefree.

Science in our Daily Lives

As I have mentioned earlier Science has got many changes in our lives. First of all, transportation is easier now. With the help of Science it now easier to travel long distances . Moreover, the time of traveling is also reduced. Various high-speed vehicles are available these days. These vehicles have totally changed. The phase of our society. Science upgraded steam engines to electric engines. In earlier times people were traveling with cycles. But now everybody travels on motorcycles and cars. This saves time and effort. And this is all possible with the help of Science.

Secondly, Science made us reach to the moon. But we never stopped there. It also gave us a glance at Mars. This is one of the greatest achievements. This was only possible with Science. These days Scientists make many satellites . Because of which we are using high-speed Internet. These satellites revolve around the earth every day and night. Even without making us aware of it. Science is the backbone of our society. Science gave us so much in our present time. Due to this, the teacher in our schools teaches Science from an early age.

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Science as a Subject

In class 1 only a student has Science as a subject. This only tells us about the importance of Science. Science taught us about Our Solar System. The Solar System consists of 9 planets and the Sun. Most Noteworthy was that it also tells us about the origin of our planet. Above all, we cannot deny that Science helps us in shaping our future. But not only it tells us about our future, but it also tells us about our past.

When the student reaches class 6, Science gets divided into three more subcategories. These subcategories were Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. First of all, Physics taught us about the machines. Physics is an interesting subject. It is a logical subject.

Furthermore, the second subject was Chemistry . Chemistry is a subject that deals with an element found inside the earth. Even more, it helps in making various products. Products like medicine and cosmetics etc. result in human benefits.

Last but not least, the subject of Biology . Biology is a subject that teaches us about our Human body. It tells us about its various parts. Furthermore, it even teaches the students about cells. Cells are present in human blood. Science is so advanced that it did let us know even that.

Leading Scientists in the field of Science

Finally, many scientists like Thomas Edison , Sir Isaac Newton were born in this world. They have done great Inventions. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. If he did not invent that we would stay in dark. Because of this Thomas Edison’s name marks in history.

Another famous Scientist was Sir Isaac Newton . Sir Isaac Newton told us about Gravity. With the help of this, we were able to discover many other theories.

In India Scientists A..P.J Abdul was there. He contributed much towards our space research and defense forces. He made many advanced missiles. These Scientists did great work and we will always remember them.

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Know about the history of science

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Latest Update 19 Jan, 2024

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An Insight into the Science History

When you are studying the history of science, it means you will be reading about how science developed over time. In simple words, science refers to knowledge about the natural world. Since the appearance of Homo Sapiens, humankind has to know many truths and rules of nature to ensure that they survive in the long run. One such understanding of nature that actually falls in the category of scientific knowledge is the rotational movements of the Sun and the Moon. The daily movement of the sun is quite easy to notice and understand, but the annual movement is challenging to fathom. Both these movements cause essential events related to the physical world. Day and night help the human race to survive, and the various seasons determine the movement and habitation of the animals on whom human beings are dependent on food and other items. Once human beings learned to cultivate vegetables, the importance of season change became all the more important. Thus, it became essential to understand the cycle of the seasons to make sure that the right plant gets cultivated at the right time. It was all science from the very beginning of humanity that worked as knowledge of the natural occurrences.

It should be kept in mind that the necessary recognition of the regularities of nature does not entirely constitute towards the meaning of science. This is primarily because the routines can simply be the constructions of the human mind and might not have any scientific base. Human minds tend to jump to conclusions. Given the fact that the human mind does not handle chaos very well, it tends to draw certain regularities in a situation where none actually exists. For example, in the Middle Ages, there prevailed an astronomical observation that announced the sight of comets hinted at some great danger as the Norman Conquest of the British Empire happened after the 1066 comet. This is why it is essential to establish accurate data that are not biased and are not based on a single detached event. Therefore throughout the history of the development of science, it has been seen that science tends to add a certain amount of skepticism to make sure there is no unnecessary generalization of the found data.

There are certain regularities that are expressed through mathematics as nature’s law and yet are not entirely satisfactory to everyone. Many people believe that there should be an explanation behind the cause of any incident to make sure that the understanding of that incident is correct. However, in the field of defining objectives, there exist many conflicts. For example, the area of modern quantum mechanics has stopped searching for causation and ultimately believes in the descriptions provided by mathematics. On the other hand, modern biology depends entirely on various chains that help in the understanding of the evolutionary process of the physical activities of the bodily organisms like cells, molecules, etc.

Even if both explanation and causation are taken to be necessary, there will still be a dispute over the types of causes that are possible or permissible in the field of science. In order to make sense out of the history of science, it is essential to deal with that history on its own term, and the truth here is that for the most part of the development of science the ancient philosophers believe in causes that would be readily rejected by the modern-day scientists. Both divine and spiritual forces were taken to be necessary and real till the 18th-century end, and in areas of biology, it existed till the 19th century as well.

Certain conventions in society appealed to gods or God or even to spirits. It was considered to be sure about the works of spirits and gods could not be random, and there must be some kind of reason behind their actions. This conviction made the response to these actions rationally investigative and not merely based on propitiation. Given the fact the human beings believed that the divine did hold some meaning or rationality, it was possible for them to look for logical reasons behind the occurrences of the nature. The interesting point here is that faith in the rationality of the creator of the world actually helped people to dig deeper into scientific studies as they firmly believed there was some logical flow of reason behind the natural incidents. Be it Newton’s absolute space of Kepler’s law or the rejection of Einstein of the randomness of quantum mechanics; all were inspired by theological assumptions, not scientific ones.

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The history of science refers to the development of the subject as a way of perceiving the world and studying it as well. It starts right from the primitive days of humankind that consisted of noting the various occurrences of nature and trying to find a pattern in them to the understanding of reality in 20th-century physics. The development of the history of science refers to this entire process and helps us understand how modern science has reached the stage that it stands on today. In order to understand modern science, it is essential to know the history that shaped it.

Thus the history of science presents science in a light that defines it as a consideration of the regularities of nature that are subjected to somewhat skepticism and are tried to be explained by causes of rationality. However, one thing should be kept in mind here. Nature can be known only with the help of senses like sight, hearing, and touch. Human beings perceive the reality of things and occurrences through these senses only. Thus, the invention of the microscope or the telescope helped in understanding a massive range of natural phenomena that could previously be perceived only with the help of the senses. The knowledge gained through science thus remains partial, and the progress of science is nothing but the procedure that enables human beings to understand the occurring phenomena.

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