Scientific disciplines

Scientific disciplines (also called ”branches of science”, “sciences” or “fields of science”) are subdivisions of science and branches of knowledge that use a rigorous and systematic method to study a particular area of knowledge. Scientific disciplines are characterized by the use of the scientific method to test hypotheses, collect data, and formulate explanatory theories about the functioning and history of the natural and social world, and even abstract worlds. Each scientific discipline has its own objects of study, concepts, methods and research standards. But this apparent independence does not prevent numerous collisions between the different fields of science, nor even the existence of common points between certain disciplines allowing classifications to be drawn up.

Scientific disciplines are distinguished from literary disciplines. If literary disciplines can have the same object of study as scientific disciplines (such as human nature, values, culture, or history) they adopt a very different approach. While scientific disciplines strive to establish new objective and verifiable knowledge, based on concrete facts, literary disciplines resort to more subjective techniques, relating to the interpretation of texts, symbols and artistic productions. The results of literary research are therefore often more open to interpretation and subjectivity. The boundary between scientific disciplines and literary disciplines can be porous, as many fields of study overlap and intersect.

Drawing up an inventory of the different scientific disciplines is a delicate exercise because the exact scope of the latter is not unanimous, because it is common for two distinct disciplines to relate to the same object of study, and because these subjects are living and do not stop evolving.

(Includes texts translated and adapted from Wikipedia by Nicolae Sfetcu)