FACTUAL SCIENCES: CHARACTERISTICS, OBJECT OF STUDY, EXAMPLES - SCIENCE - 2024

The factual or empirical sciences are those whose main objective is to understand the facts through experience. This means that these sciences are responsible for creating an artificial or mental representation of events as close as possible to how they are in nature or in reality.

To achieve this goal, factual science relies on logic; this allows them to ensure that the facts are not going to contradict each other during the mental representation. They also require experimentation, since this allows them to check if there is a similarity between artificial representation and nature or reality.

Biology and chemistry are considered factual sciences. Source: pixabay.com

That is to say, the empirical sciences are in charge of the experienceable and verifiable reality. As its name suggests, "factual" comes from the Latin term factum, which can be translated as "facts." On the other hand, the term "empirical" comes from the Greek empiria, which translates as "experience".

This is the fundamental difference between the factual sciences and the formal sciences, since the latter have as object of study the systems themselves, such as philosophy or mathematics, which are disciplines interested in mental and abstract objects that do not count. with a representation in reality.

Consequently, the empirical or factual sciences resort to experimentation to approach the universal laws that govern reality. However, the results are usually transitory: a new discovery can put the previous precepts into question and, therefore, vary the way in which the results obtained are interpreted.

The factual sciences have their origins during the first period of the Modern Age, that is, between the 15th and 17th centuries. Previously, some of the knowledge that empirical sciences study already existed; However, it was from this historical moment that these sciences were conceptualized and cataloged.

For example, in the East it was already studied from empiricism, while in the West it was studied from the philosophical knowledge proposed by Aristotle. During modernity, philosophers like Francis Bacon, Tomas Hobbe and David Hume were in charge of distinguishing and cataloging these sciences based on their essays on empiricism.

characteristics

Scientific knowledge is factual in nature

As its name indicates, one of the characteristics of factual sciences is that they start from the facts and culminate with them. The first thing the scientist must do is establish the facts; Once these have been specifically pointed out, it is time to carry out the relevant analysis.

Generally, the empirically-minded scientist breaks down the facts in order to describe their characteristics; this must be done from an impersonal curiosity.

The empirical sciences transcend facts

Sometimes scientists can develop new facts and analyze them, since scientific research is not limited only to what is observed with the naked eye, but can go far beyond the first appearances.

Therefore, scientists can produce new things; If the current theory maintains its authenticity, the scientist can put aside this fact to start a new investigation with another.

The factual sciences are analytical

During the investigation, scientists will try to discern the problem in order to obtain detailed information.

They will achieve this from the explanation of the elements that make up the fact they are investigating. As you go through the analysis, you will be closer to achieving the overall results.

Scientific research is specialized in nature

Scientific research is specialized as a consequence of having followed an analytical approach.

Furthermore, the research will present some dualisms such as experience-reason, and a division of factual science between empirical and rational will emerge.

Accurate and clear scientific knowledge

Although the research has some difficulties, the result must be clear and the definitions must be precise and exact; This is one of the main characteristics of this type of science.

Object of study

As established in previous paragraphs, the main objective of factual sciences consists in the study of objective facts; that is to say, of the events that happen in nature.

For example, the discipline of botany is responsible for studying the changes and transformations that occur in the plant kingdom; consequently, both plants and trees and vegetation are in the tangent reality of man.

It is important to emphasize that, according to its objectives, the factual sciences can be divided into two large groups: natural sciences and social sciences.

Natural Science

The empirical natural sciences are those that are interested in understanding the dynamics of operation within natural reality, both in inanimate matter and living beings.

This means that the natural sciences seek to obtain universal answers about the composition of nature and life. An example of natural science is biology.

Social sciences

On the other hand, the empirical social sciences are interested in a scientific perspective of human phenomena. Examples of this are the constitution of the human mentality, the history of ancient civilizations or economic rules.

Examples of factual science

Chemistry

This discipline is responsible for studying matter and its formation, in addition to the reactions that occur between substances.

biology

Biology is the factual science whose objective is the study of life and all living beings known to man.

Physical

Physics is the discipline that studies the forces that operate in the universe, and that in turn interact with energy and matter.

Economics or economics

The economic sciences are responsible for studying the administration of all resources within societies. Likewise, they study the flow and formation of wealth.

Politology or political science

Political science is the discipline that is dedicated to studying the community management system and government management within different human societies, taking into account their different times and their mechanisms of change and domination.

Psychology

It is the scientific discipline that studies the functioning, formation and dynamics of the human mind. In addition, it can be established that psychology has different perspectives, and each of these has its own methodologies and theories.

To carry out its research, psychology uses introspection through participant observation.

Likewise, the method used by this discipline implies that the observed human beings, despite being different, are not completely different, since they all comply with laws about relationships and reactions to certain stimuli.

Sociology

It is the science that is responsible for studying human societies taking into account their historical and social contexts, which are understood as identifiable systems.

In sociology, different research techniques of an interdisciplinary nature are used, with the aim of approaching society from different theoretical perspectives. In the same way, due to the heterogeneous attitude of sociology, various currents have been produced in it that in some cases may be opposed to each other.

Sexology

Sexology is a discipline whose object of study is human sexual relations, not only from a biological and anatomical point of view, but also from a social and cultural perspective.

History

Some scholars consider that history should be part of humanistic studies. However, many scholars believe that history is a social science that is charged with studying the dynamics of change within humanity, starting from the invention of writing to encompassing the present day.

Law or legal sciences

The legal sciences aim to study the functioning of justice. This means that they analyze the ways and mechanisms in which human communities judge themselves, as well as the way in which they constitute their legal and ethical codes.

geology

It is a factual science that is dedicated to the study of the structure and composition of the Earth, as well as its evolutionary processes throughout geological temporality.

Geology is made up of a series of geosciences that are dedicated to the revision of tectonic plates, and to astrogeology or planetary geology.

Anthropology

Anthropology is understood as the science that studies man from an integral point of view.

For this, it uses a combination of knowledge and tools from other social and natural sciences, with the aim of covering both the biological evolution of the human being and their cultural and linguistic expressions and their way of life. All these elements characterize the complexity of our species.

Paleontology

It is a natural science whose objective of study is to understand the interpretation of recorded fossils.

This work is carried out from fundamentals and methods that are closely linked to geology and biology. Consequently, it can be established that they are sister disciplines.

References

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2. Rafino, M. (2019) Factual Sciences. Retrieved on August 7, 2019 from Concept: concept.de
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4. SA (sf) Factual Sciences. Retrieved on August 7, 2019 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org
5. SA (sf) Empirical science. Retrieved on August 8, 2019 from The Free Dictionary: thefreedictionary.com
6. Uriarte, J. (2017) Formal Sciences and factual sciences. Retrieved on August 7, 2019 from Features: Features.co