(1) Knowledge system about the laws of development of nature, society and thinking. It is produced and developed on the basis of people's social practice, and it is a summary of practical experience. There are two categories: natural science and social science, and philosophy is the generalization and summary of them. (2) scientific. (Xinhua Dictionary Business Edition, 200 1 revised edition, pp555)
Dampier said in his famous book History of Science that science is:
"Systematic knowledge about natural phenomena can be said to be a rational study of the relationship between various concepts expressing natural phenomena."
But based on the above definition, it is still difficult for us to understand what science is. For example, what is "phenomenon", what is "knowledge", what is "concept" and what is "rationality", these words seem even more unfamiliar than "science".
Since a simple definition can't help us understand what science is, another way is to simply list all the fields we think are science. For example, physics is generally regarded as a model of science, and astronomy, chemistry and biology are also regarded as science. And we will find that there is obviously a hierarchical relationship here. Biology is based on chemistry, chemistry is based on physics and astronomy is based on physics.
So does math count? This is controversial. Some people think that mathematics counts, others think that mathematics doesn't, because it doesn't depend on experience and experiment. So does economics, linguistics, philosophy and history count? This is even more controversial. Most scholars who work in these fields think that these fields are science, or at least think that they are pursuing some kind of science. We generally don't think art is science, and artists generally don't pursue science.
To sum up, we generally call it physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology and so on. As a natural science, their characteristic is (1) quantitative research, which emphasizes accuracy and is based on controllable and quantifiable experiments. Feynman once used Dirac number as an example to say:
"The experimental value of Dirac number is1.0011596 5221,while the theoretical value is 1.00 15965246. For example, if you are so accurate in measuring the distance from L.A. to new york, you are as accurate as a hair.
(2) In principle, they can all be attributed to the laws of physics. We often say that the basis of modern science is "quantum mechanics" and "relativity", which is what we mean.
This can be called a narrow division of science, and science in English refers more to natural science. Physicists are mostly supporters of this narrow division. Feynman, for example, thinks that only quantitative knowledge such as systematic theory and physics can be regarded as science. Rutherford made it clear: "Except physics, all sciences are stamp collecting." Of course, Rutherford's decision has its historical background. In Rutherford's time, only physics formed a strict system and theoretical framework, while other sciences, such as biology, remained in the stage of classification and speculation to a great extent.
Rutherford also said many famous sayings about science, such as: "Social science can only get: some can, some can't." In other words, social science is descriptive and classified.
"Don't let me see someone in our department talking about the universe." This sentence reflects Rutherford's attitude of opposing metaphysics and attaching importance to practical work, but ironically, it is quantum physics pioneered by Rutherford that opens the door to talking about the universe. In today's physics department, cosmology is a standard topic rather than a deviant one.
Such a simple list definition is convenient and concrete for scientists engaged in natural science research. But it seems arbitrary to the public, but we must also admit that this division has gained some authority, because natural scientists, especially physicists, have the greatest scientific discourse power in modern times. For the convenience of discussion, when we talk about science, we mean natural science, without special statement.
Now we will also find that traditional social sciences, such as economics, are increasingly showing the characteristics of quantitative research, such as the study of the stock market, so that a new field of economic physics has emerged. Similarly, we can cite many examples, such as psychology and linguistics, and more and more quantitative research methods are adopted. As for whether economics, psychology and linguistics can be attributed to the laws of physics, or even to the two basic knowledge of quantum mechanics and relativity. This is largely a matter of faith. Although it is difficult to prove that it can be done, it is equally difficult to prove that it cannot be done. Physicists have a deep-rooted belief that "there is only one physics", and it is impossible to obey quantum mechanics in the atomic field, but it is subject to another physics in the stock market. There is also a saying that there are different effective theories at different levels, and these effective theories are not necessarily related, but high-level theories (such as life) should not contradict low-level theories (such as quarks). [ 1]
In this way, the field of scientific research is actually expanding, and physics is the most expansive and permeable subject. If we look at the history of science, we can find many such examples. For example, early biologists generally believed in the "vitality theory", that is, imagining a special entity that only applies to life to explain biology. However, scientists have found that there is no special entity only applicable to life, and life phenomena conform to the basic laws of physics and chemistry. The final establishment of this belief is marked by the discovery of DNA double helix structure. In this process, physical theory (quantum mechanics) and experimental technology (X-ray diffraction) played a key role, so biology is no longer stamp collecting as Rutherford said.
From this point of view, the field of scientific research has been in constant evolution since ancient times. This urges us to look at science from an evolutionary perspective. It is generally believed that science was born in the modern west, marked by the establishment of Newtonian mechanics. The roots of his thoughts and methods can be traced back to ancient Greek philosophy. In ancient Greece, the word corresponding to science was episteme, which means knowledge; Episteme comes from epistashai, which means to know. The word epistashai consists of the prefix epi-(over, near)+histasthai (standing). This means that in order to acquire knowledge, we must find a foothold on which we can stand, and then proceed from there to acquire reliable knowledge. There are two problems involved here: (1) How can we find a foothold? (2) How to achieve the same reliable knowledge from a reliable standpoint.
For the problem of (1), Descartes (1596- 1650) thinks that the self-evident of a proposition is the standard for determining a foothold. Descartes further explained that, except for "I think therefore I am" [2], "as long as I think it is clear and reliable, it is not as good as a geometer's before. For question (2), Descartes emphasized the method of geometry (mathematics), and the rigor of mathematical derivation ensured that we could get reliable knowledge from a reliable standpoint. Descartes also showed how his method worked with the analytic geometry he invented. Bacon (156 1- 1626), who was earlier than Descartes, emphasized the importance of experience and induction. Of course, we can trace Descartes and Bacon's thoughts back to Plato and Aristotle respectively. Whitehead said: "The most definite general feature of European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato. "Modern European science has indeed inherited the tradition of ancient Greek philosophy in thought and practice, so that some people now call ancient Greek philosophy philosophy-science (the common sense of Chen Jiaying's philosophy science).
Descartes is not only the pioneer of modern European philosophy, but also the pioneer of modern European science. His analytic geometry and conservation of motion (conservation of momentum) are of great significance in the history of science. Of course, if the establishment of Newtonian mechanics is the symbol, besides Descartes, there are many people whose names have to be mentioned, such as Copernicus, tycho brahe, Kepler and Hooke. Newton said that he stood on the shoulders of giants, which was really not modesty. It is interesting and thought-provoking to tell the birth and evolution of science and track the evolution of thought and society in this process. It is helpful for us to understand what science is, especially for ordinary people who are not engaged in specific scientific studies but are interested in science. In fact, due to the power of modern science, we have been able to realize Descartes' prediction and become the masters of nature. Obviously, science has been a prominent school in the west since ancient Greece, and now it has become a prominent school in the world. Studying the history of scientific evolution is of great significance for us to understand western civilization and China's modernization.
We can also study the concept of science in people's minds today from how to use the word science in peacetime. For example:
1. The textbook says: scientific outlook on life.
2. The news said: Scientific Outlook on Development.
3. The forum said: Is TCM a science?
4. Health lecture: Is garlic cancer prevention science?
To sum up, in these examples, science means: credibility. If you make a replacement, it is:
1. Believe in science and oppose pseudoscience.
2. Believe in organization and oppose individualism.
3. Believe in God and oppose heresy.
......
As can be seen from the above examples, in the context of China, (1) the concept of science has a specific political meaning and becomes a weapon to oppose or suppress a certain point of view; (2) Science embodies a strong utilitarian and practical color, and correctness and effectiveness have become important features of science.
the second part
It is worth noting that in the context of China, science is often mentioned together with democracy, that is, the so-called "Mr. De" and "Mr. Sai". Science and democracy are concepts introduced from the west. Since 1840 Opium War, China has been seeking self-improvement and modernization to adapt to this changed world. The introduction and use of the concepts of democracy and science are the most worthwhile topics in this process. Of course, the first step in introducing concepts is translation, and science is translated into science in Chinese. [3]
Modern thinkers in China first used "Wu Ge" or "Gezhi" to translate science. The word "the study of Wu Ge" originated from The Book of Rites and was repeatedly explained by Zhu and other philosophers, which became the core concept of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties. A simple understanding of "knowing knowledge by studying things" is as follows (for a systematic discussion on this issue, please refer to: Wang Hui's "Mr. Sai's Fate in China-the Concept of Science in China's Modern Thought and Its Application", The Economist, Part I, pp49):
"Things" are things or things opposite to "I", "Ge" means meeting and approaching, and "Ge" means treating people and things, sweeping the floor and carrying water in daily life. Of course, today we can also say that we are conducting a specific scientific research, such as whether I am studying carbon nanotubes or H 1N 1. What does "to" mean to reach, get and get? It is "knowledge". "Knowledge" and "wisdom" mean that I have acquired knowledge and reached an understanding of my own "sex" and "sex".
It can be seen that in China's traditional thought, "material-based knowledge" still takes ethical practice as the core, pointing to "self-cultivation, keeping the family in harmony with the world" and "harmony between man and nature". Although it also implies the meaning of observing and studying natural phenomena to obtain natural laws, it mainly talks about grasping the general laws of morality through reading and moral practice, which "science" does not have.
The earliest person who translated science into science was the Western Zhou Dynasty in Japan (1829- 1897). He translated science into science for the first time in Liu Ming magazine in 1874. Science is a newly coined word, which will not be confused with Gezhi in usage, and is consistent with the Latin etymology of science, scientia. Scientia means knowledge, and its verb root is scire, which means to know. It can be traced back to skei-PIE in the original Indo-European language, which means to cut, separate or distinguish. That is, science is a hundred sciences, that is, knowledge that can be learned in different categories. (Refer to English Wikipedia)
Now, let's discuss the word "science" in Chinese again:
"Branch" means: (1) grade and category; (2) legal provisions; (3) The imperial examination system takes scholars' names. (4) quantifiers, trees. We found that except (4), all of them are related to our understanding of science. Category (1) reminds us that science is divided into different fields according to disciplines, which is exactly what Aristotle once emphasized, that is, science is divided into fields and has its own basic principles in different fields. In this way, it is very important to divide the research fields reasonably, and it is often difficult to make progress in too broad and ambitious research. Gradation means that science is graded, physics is the most basic subject, and other disciplines cannot conflict with physics, or other disciplines can belong to physics in principle. (2) Legal provisions mean higher regulations that must be observed, logical self-consistency and the need for legislators and interpreters. (3) Imperial examination means practicality and prominence.
"Learning" means: (1) learning; (2) learning; (3) schools; In other words, science should be teachable and learnable knowledge. Therefore, it has some universality, not a person's private ability or insight, but public knowledge that can be recognized by everyone and obtained through learning (communication).
It should be said that the translation of "science" with the word "science" is quite in place, which embodies the original characteristics and historical development of science.
Naturally, we will have a question: Was there science in ancient China? If we think that there was no science in ancient China, then we can ask ourselves the second question: Can ancient China produce science from its own development?
There is no denying that ancient China once possessed advanced technology, such as four famous inventions (papermaking, printing, compass, gunpowder), silk, ceramics, traditional Chinese medicine and so on. However, if we carefully examine the ancient technologies in China, they are all based on experience, lacking systematic theory and strict concept system, so they do not conform to our definition of science. Knowledge based on experience often depends on individuals, which is not conducive to the dissemination, migration and development of knowledge. The development of science depends less on individuals, scientific theories and methods can be mastered through systematic learning, and the problems that need to be solved are unanimously recognized and pursued by the scientific community, so science can achieve stable and rapid development.
This problem is the famous Needham problem in the history of science, that is, the technology in ancient China was very developed, but the developed technology did not lead to the emergence of science. What is the reason?
To answer Needham's question, we should first examine how science came into being in the West, and analyze the ideological resources and historical conditions necessary to produce science.
We know that modern science is gradually developed on the basis of ancient Greek philosophy. Its process can be roughly described as: ancient Greece (rationality)->; The middle ages (Christianity)-> after the Renaissance (empiricism)
Under this simplified framework, rationality, Christian belief and empiricism are three important factors in the scientific process. Undeniably, technology is also an important foundation for scientific development, but here we pay more attention to discussing the ideological resources on which the birth of science depends. Needham's admiration for China's ancient scientific and technological achievements is also exaggerated. Today, when we visit the Metropolitan Museum in New York, we will also admire the scientific and technological achievements of ancient civilizations such as Egypt, Babylon, Greece and Persia. It can be said that where there are human activities, there are corresponding technological achievements, but the purpose of technological pursuit is different from that of scientific pursuit.
Technology is utilitarian, aiming at solving problems, while the most essential feature of science has nothing to do with utilitarianism. Its purpose is to pursue truth (reliable knowledge) and understand natural phenomena (even the whole world). From this point of view, the scientific definition of German Wissenschaft is very attractive.