2 SCIENCE 



edge that I prefer Brahms over Bartok, and I can give a dozen systemati- 

 cally arranged reasons why. I "know" that the mountains are beautiful 

 any time of year; given a year I could prove it to you. Does this "know- 

 ing" make me a scientist? Perhaps, but usually such matters of taste 

 and judgment are excluded from science. Apparently we must specify 

 the subject matter of science also. 



To many people science is not "knowledge" at all; science is an 

 activity. "Science is investigation"; "Science is discovering new knowl- 

 edge"; "Science is what scientists do." All these definitons have been 

 suggested by college students. The last leads to some difficulties in logic 

 when the next question, "What is a scientist?" is answered, "A person 

 who works in science." 



Probably the easiest way to resolve this problem is to refer to the 

 work of a philosopher of science who has given considerable thought 

 to this subject. Although we have our choice of many of these, Lach- 

 man presents a concise yet comprehensive statement: "Science refers 

 to those systematically organized bodies of accumulated knowledge con- 

 cerning the finite universe which have been derived exclusively through 

 techniques of direct objective observation." ^ This description implies a 

 continuous activity of adding to the body of knowledge. 



Inasmuch as science concerns itself with the whole finite universe, 

 no one can hope to comprehend it all. We must recognize our human 

 limitations; for this reason, science is subdivided in a number of ways. 

 There are physical sciences, biological sciences, and behavioral or social 

 sciences. There is pure or basic science and its partner, applied science 

 or technology. 



Biological sciences are also subdivided— on several different bases— 

 into specialties, examples of which are given here: 



(1) On the basis of the kind of organisms studied: 



Zoology— animals Botany— plants 



Entomology— insects Bacteriology— bacteria 



Protozoology— protozoa Bryology— bryophytes 



(2) On the basis of the approach or the features of the organisms: 



Taxonomy— naming and classification 

 Morphology— structure and form 

 Physiology— functions or processes 

 Ecology— relationships to environment 



1 Sheldon J. Lachman, The Foundations of Science (Detroit: Hamilton Press, 

 1956), p. 15. 



