The 4 main types of science (and their fields of research)

These are the basic domains of knowledge obtained through scientific methods.

Science is the intellectual and practical activity carried out through the systematic study of the elements of the world. This includes both the level of structural organization and individual behavior, and applies to the physical, natural or social environment.

Thus, being a very broad activity, science can offer explanations of different areas. To facilitate the distinction between one and the other, science is often divided into several types. In this article we will see what types of science exist and how each is described.

What is science?

Science can also be understood as a body of knowledge about a particular subject. In fact, there are different bodies of knowledge that can be considered a particular type of science. The distinction between one and another may be given by their object of study, or they may be distinguished by the methods of investigation that each one uses.

Since when has science existed? Although its general antecedents can be traced back to can be traced back to classical philosophy and the most ancestral practices; the era that is recognized as theThe era that is recognized as the founding era of science as we know it today is modernity.

Science is consolidated from the "scientific revolutions" which, through the paradigm of the which, through the paradigm of universal reason, laid the foundations for the creation of a method that would allow us to systematically know and explain the phenomena of the world.

And not only to know and explain them, but also to propose hypotheses and offer solutions to specific problems. In fact, it is these revolutions, together with important changes at the socioeconomic level, that mark the end of the medieval era and the beginning of modernity in Western societies.

The 4 main types of science (and their differences).

Considering that science can encompass very broad bodies of knowledge, the latter are usually divided according to the specific knowledge they generate. In this sense three main types of science are usually recognizedFormal sciences, natural sciences and social sciences.

All of them are considered to be fundamental sciences, insofar as they have made it possible to generate other, more delimited types of scientific knowledge. other more delimited types of scientific knowledge, e.g., medicineFor example, medicine, psychology, engineering, among others. We will now look at each of the types of science, as well as some of the specific subtypes or disciplines that comprise them.

Formal sciences

The formal sciences are a set of logical and abstract systems that can be applied to different objects of study. Formal sciences are composed of systems of signs. In turn, these systems give rise to a series of abstract structures by means of which organizational patterns are generated and different phenomena are explained once the presuppositions from which they start have been accepted. The latter is what differentiates them from the natural and social sciences.

Among the disciplines that are considered formal sciences are logic, mathematics, statistics and computational systems, among others.among others.

On the other hand, the formal sciences can serve as a basis for the rest of the sciences that we will see (and function both for the analysis of natural physical phenomena and human or social phenomena), but they do not need empirical data to exist, since their scope begins and ends in logical and numerical relations.

2. Factual sciences

This type of science presents opposite characteristics to the previous category, since in this case scientific activity is focused on the study of natural and social phenomena that exist beyond ideas. In other words, models are created that represent objectifiable phenomena that can be located in space-time and measured.

If in the formal sciences one works starting from abstract thought, in the factual sciences one starts from the observation of a phenomenon. we start from the observation of a phenomenon belonging to the empirical sphere, and not from rationality.and not from rationality.

On the other hand, some researchers and philosophers divide this type of science into two other branches, which we will see below: the social sciences and the natural sciences. But we must not lose sight of the fact that this division is to some extent artificial, since all human and social activity is carried out through the laws of nature. all human and social activity is carried out through the laws of nature..

Finally, it should be noted that the following two categories are often referred to without further ado, without considering that they are encompassed in a concept called factual sciences.

3. Natural sciences

As its name indicates, the object of study of the natural sciences is nature and the phenomena that occur in it. It is in charge of describing, explaining, understanding and/or predicting them. These phenomena, in turn, range from biology to the most complex elements of the universe..

In fact, the natural sciences are usually subdivided into two major groups: the physical sciences and the Biological sciences. The former include disciplines such as chemistry, physics, astronomy and geology; while the latter include the various forms of life that exist on our planet. The latter can be human beings, animals, plants and microorganisms. Hence, it includes disciplines such as botany, zoology or veterinary science, anatomy, ecology, genetics or neuroscience, among others.among others.

Unlike the formal sciences, both the natural sciences and the social sciences are fundamentally empirical. That is, the knowledge they produce is based on observable phenomena, which means that their existence can be verified by other observers.

4. Social sciences

The social sciences are the set of disciplines that study human beings in behavioral and social terms. That is to say, their object of study can be both the individual and society.. They are disciplines that were considered as part of science some time after the previous ones; approximately in the 19th century after they transferred the scientific method to the study of the individual and the social.

However, given that in some cases it was very difficult to complete this transfer, the social sciences have constantly problematized the methods of approaching their object of study. In general, there are two main ways, which are not always considered to be mutually exclusive: quantitative and qualitative methodology.

Examples of disciplines that make up the social sciences are sociology, economics, psychology, archaeology, communication, history, geography, linguistics, political science, among others.

Bibliographical references:

• Cleland, C. (2001). Historical science, experimental science, and the scientific method. Geology, 29(11): 987 - 990.
• Cohen, M. (1934). An introduction to logic and scientific method. Oxford, England: Harcourt, Brace.
• Lakatos, I. (1983). La metodología de los programas de investigación científica. Alianza Universidad: Madrid.