WHAT IS THE OBJECT OF STUDY OF SCIENCE? - SCIENCE - 2025

The object of study of science are the phenomena that occur in nature and society, whose knowledge allows us to explain events and predict them rationally. Explaining them rationally means that we do not let any preconceived ideas, political or religious, get in the way of studying science.

The object of study of science raises questions once it is observed. Science tries to solve the questions through an experimental design. This defines the object of study of science and sets the limits to the research to be carried out.

Classification of science based on the object of study

We can organize the sciences based on their object of study.

Formal or eidetic science

Formal science is one that studies ideas. This means that it is not responsible for studying objects or realities, but what surrounds them. Through the deductive method, models are proposed that can be applied to reality.

It studies ideal objects that are created by man, and unlike the natural sciences, which verify their results empirically; the formal sciences argue its validity with theories based on propositions, definitions, axioms and rules of inference. Within the formal sciences are logic and mathematics.

Logic

The object of study of logic is inference. We can define inference as the evaluation that the mind makes between propositions. In worldly words, we can define it as how to derive one consequence from another.

Logic investigates why some inferences are valid and others are not. An inference is acceptable when it has a logical structure. There are two kinds of inferences, deductions and inductions.

Induction example

All cows are mammals and have lungs, all humans are mammals and have lungs, therefore probably all mammals have lungs

Deduction example

All my classmates are students, they are students, therefore, I am a student.

As we see in the example, the object of study of logic are ideas, it does not focus on a specific event that happens, but on the ideas that surround it.

Maths

For mathematics, the object of study is the properties and relationships between abstract entities such as numbers, geometric figures or symbols. It is a set of formal languages ​​that are used to pose problems in an unambiguous way.

For example, we can say that X is greater than Y, and that Y is greater than Z. To put it more simply, we can use mathematical language, and it results in a statement X> Y> Z.

Mathematics simplifies the language used in abstract concepts to explain problems. The natural sciences use mathematics to explain and demonstrate their theories and provide them with coherence.

Factual science

These sciences are those whose object of study is facts. These are studied through facts based on observation and experimentation. Within the factual sciences we can make another distinction based on the object of study, between natural sciences and social sciences.

Natural Sciences

The natural sciences are those that study the functioning of the universe and the world that surrounds us. They have nature as an object of study and use an experimental method to prove their hypotheses.

To limit their object of study, natural sciences study the physical aspects of reality, trying to avoid human actions within their hypotheses.

Even having an object of study so different from the eidetic sciences, the natural sciences rely on these to develop their study model, especially in logic and mathematics. All sciences rely on logical reasoning for explanations of their hypotheses.

Within the natural sciences, we can distinguish two broad categories, the physical sciences and the biological sciences.

Within the physical sciences we first come across astronomy. In astronomy the object of study is the celestial bodies. We continue with physics, whose object of study is space, time, matter and energy.

In addition to geology, which studies the Earth and chemistry, which studies the composition of matter and its reactions.

On the other hand, in the biological sciences the object of study is living beings. The major branch of study is biology, which in turn is divided into small sections defining its object of study. Botany and zoology are two of its branches, where the object of study are plants and animals respectively.

Biology, in human study, only focuses on the physical characteristics of the body, since interaction in society is the object of study of the social sciences.

Social Sciences

The social sciences are characterized because their object of study are human beings within society and their interactions. It is important to distinguish between social studies and social studies.

Although the object of research is the same, within the social sciences a mixed inductive method has to be followed, which is the one used for the study of natural sciences. However, social studies are based on reasoning and observations, and despite following logical reasoning, they do not follow the science model.

Within the social sciences we find several groups depending on the object of their study. There are the social sciences whose object of study is the interaction of society, such as political science, anthropology, economics and sociology.

On the other hand, we also have the sciences that focus on the object of study of the human cognitive system. Within these we find linguistics, semiology and psychology.

Finally, there are the social sciences that base their object of study on the evolution of societies, such as archeology, demography, history, human ecology and geography.

References

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