Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systemati...
Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.

An older and closely related meaning still in use today is that f...
An older and closely related meaning still in use today is that found for example in Aristotle, whereby "science" refers to the body of reliable knowledge itself, of the type that can be logically and rationally explained (see "History and etymology" section below).

Since classical antiquity science as a type of knowledge was clos...
Since classical antiquity science as a type of knowledge was closely linked to philosophy.

In the early modern era the two words, "science" and "philosophy"...
In the early modern era the two words, "science" and "philosophy", were sometimes used interchangeably in the English language.

By the 17th century, "natural philosophy" (which is today called ...
By the 17th century, "natural philosophy" (which is today called "natural science") had begun to be considered separately from "philosophy" in general.

However, "science" continued to be used in a broad sense denoting...
However, "science" continued to be used in a broad sense denoting reliable knowledge about a topic, in the same way it is still used in modern terms such as library science or political science.

In modern use, "science" is a term which more often refers to a w...
In modern use, "science" is a term which more often refers to a way of pursuing knowledge, and not the knowledge itself.

It is "often treated as synonymous with ‘natural and physical sci...
It is "often treated as synonymous with ‘natural and physical science’, and thus restricted to those branches of study that relate to the phenomena of the material universe and their laws, sometimes with implied exclusion of pure mathematics.

" This narrower sense of "science" developed as a part of science...
" This narrower sense of "science" developed as a part of science became a distinct enterprise of defining "laws of nature", based on early examples such as Kepler's laws, Galileo's laws, and Newton's laws of motion.

In this period it became more common to refer to natural philosop...
In this period it became more common to refer to natural philosophy as "natural science".

Over the course of the 19th century, the word "science" became in...
Over the course of the 19th century, the word "science" became increasingly associated with the disciplined study of the natural world including physics, chemistry, geology and biology.

This sometimes left the study of human thought and society in a l...
This sometimes left the study of human thought and society in a linguistic limbo, which was resolved by classifying these areas of academic study as social science.

Similarly, several other major areas of disciplined study and kno...
Similarly, several other major areas of disciplined study and knowledge exist today under the general rubric of "science", such as formal science and applied science.

The word "science" is from Old French, and in turn from Latin sci...
The word "science" is from Old French, and in turn from Latin scientia which was one of several words for "knowledge" in that language.

In philosophical contexts, scientia and "science" were used to tr...
In philosophical contexts, scientia and "science" were used to translate the Greek word epistemē, which had acquired a specific definition in Greek philosophy, especially Aristotle, as a type of reliable knowledge which is built up logically from strong premises, and can be communicated and taught.

From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, science or scientia co...
From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, science or scientia continued to be used in this broad sense, which was still common until the 20th century.

"Science" therefore had the same sort of very broad meaning that ...
"Science" therefore had the same sort of very broad meaning that philosophy had at that time.

In other Latin influenced languages, including French, Spanish, P...
In other Latin influenced languages, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, the word corresponding to science also carried this meaning.

Until the 18th century, the preferred term for the study of natur...
Until the 18th century, the preferred term for the study of nature among English speakers had been "natural philosophy", while other philosophical disciplines (e.

, logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and aesthetics) were t...
, logic, metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and aesthetics) were typically referred to as "moral philosophy".

) Science only became more strongly associated with natural philo...
) Science only became more strongly associated with natural philosophy than other sciences gradually with the strong promotion of the importance of experimental scientific method, by people such as Francis Bacon.

The word "science" in English was still however used in the 17th ...
The word "science" in English was still however used in the 17th century to refer to the Aristotelian concept of knowledge which was secure enough to be used as a prescription for exactly how to accomplish a specific task.

With respect to the transitional usage of the term "natural philo...
With respect to the transitional usage of the term "natural philosophy" in this period, the philosopher John Locke wrote in 1690 that "natural philosophy is not capable of being made a science".

However, it may be that Locke was not using the word 'science' in...
However, it may be that Locke was not using the word 'science' in the modern sense, but suggesting that 'natural philosophy' could not be deduced in the same way as mathematics and logic.

Many fundamental physical laws are mathematical consequences of v...
Many fundamental physical laws are mathematical consequences of various symmetries of space, time, or other aspects of nature.

Specifically, Noether's theorem connects some conservation laws t...
Specifically, Noether's theorem connects some conservation laws to certain symmetries.

For example, conservation of energy is a consequence of the shift...
For example, conservation of energy is a consequence of the shift symmetry of time (no moment of time is different from any other), while conservation of momentum is a consequence of the symmetry (homogeneity) of space (no place in space is special, or different than any other).

The indistinguishability of all particles of each fundamental typ...
The indistinguishability of all particles of each fundamental type (say, electrons, or photons) results in the Dirac and Bose quantum statistics which in turn result in the Pauli exclusion principle for fermions and in Bose-Einstein condensation for bosons.

The rotational symmetry between time and space coordinate axes (w...
The rotational symmetry between time and space coordinate axes (when one is taken as imaginary, another as real) results in Lorentz transformations which in turn result in special relativity theory.

Symmetry between inertial and gravitational mass results in gener...
Symmetry between inertial and gravitational mass results in general relativity.

The inverse square law of interactions mediated by massless boson...
The inverse square law of interactions mediated by massless bosons is the mathematical consequence of the 3-dimensionality of space.

One strategy in the search for the most fundamental laws of natur...
One strategy in the search for the most fundamental laws of nature is to search for the most general mathematical symmetry group that can be applied to the fundamental interactions.

Unlike in previous centuries when the community of scholars were ...
Unlike in previous centuries when the community of scholars were all members of learned societies and similar institutions, there are no singular bodies which can be said today to speak for all of science.

In the United States the National Academy of Science sometimes ac...
In the United States the National Academy of Science sometimes acts as a surrogate when the opinions of the scientific community need to be ascertained by policy makers or the national government, but the statements of the National Academy are not binding on scientists nor do they necessarily reflect the opinions of every scientist in the community.

Nevertheless, general scientific consensus is a concept which is ...
Nevertheless, general scientific consensus is a concept which is often referred to when dealing with questions that can be subject to scientific methodology.

While the consensus opinion of the community is not always easy t...
While the consensus opinion of the community is not always easy to ascertain, generally the standards and utility of the scientific method have tended to ensure that scientists agree on a standard, mainstream corpus of fact explicated by scientific theory while rejecting ideas which run counter to this realization.

Scientific consensus is of such importance to science pedagogy, t...
Scientific consensus is of such importance to science pedagogy, the evaluation of new ideas, and research funding that critics of the consensus often bitterly complain that there is a closed shop bias within the scientific community toward new ideas (see articles on protoscience, fringe science, and pseudoscience).

In response skeptical organizations have devoted considerable amo...
In response skeptical organizations have devoted considerable amounts of time and money to debunking the claims of those who balk at scientific consensus.

Philosophers of science argue over the epistemological limits of ...
Philosophers of science argue over the epistemological limits of such a consensus and some, including Thomas Kuhn, have pointed to the existence of scientific revolutions in the history of science as being an important indication that scientific consensus can, at times, be wrong.

Nevertheless, the sheer explanatory power of science in its abili...
Nevertheless, the sheer explanatory power of science in its ability to make accurate and precise predictions and aid in the design and engineering of new technology has ensconced "science" and, by proxy, the opinions of the scientific community as a highly respected form of knowledge both in the academy and in popular culture.