<text><span class="style10">he History of Science (1 of 2)</span><span class="style7">If we consider science as the systematic investigation of reality by observation, experimentation and induction, then among early civilizations science did not exist. Certainly discoveries were made, but they were piecemeal. Myth and religion dominated as modes for explaining the world.This began to change with the speculations of the early Greek philosophers, who excluded supernatural causes. By the 3rd century bc Greek science was highly sophisticated and producing theoretical models that have shaped the development of science ever since.With the fall of Greece to the Roman Empire, science fell from grace. Few important advances were made outside medicine, and the work done was firmly within the Greek traditions and conceptual frameworks.For several centuries from the fall of Rome in the 5th century ad, science was practically unknown in Western Europe. Islamic culture alone preserved Greek knowledge and later transmitted it back to the West. Between the 13th and 15th centuries some advances were made in the fields of mechanics and optics, while men like Roger Bacon insisted on the importance of personal experience and observation.The 16th century marked the coming of the so-called ‘Scientific Revolution’, a period of scientific progress beginning with Copernicus and culminating with Newton. Not only did science break new conceptual ground but it gained enormously in prestige as a result. Science and its trappings became highly fashionable from the later 17th century, and also attracted a great deal of royal and state patronage. The founding of the Académie des Sciences by Louis XIV in France and the Royal Society by Charles II in Britain were landmarks in this trend.In the course of the 19th century science became professionalized, with clear-cut career structures and hierarchies emerging, centered on universities, government departments and commercial organizations. This trend continued into the 20th century, which has seen science become highly specialized and dependent on technological advances. These have not been lacking.Modern science is immense and extremely complex. It is virtually impossible to have an informed overview of what science as a whole is up to. This has made many people regard it with some suspicion. Nevertheless Western civilization is fully committed to a belief in the value of scientific progress as a force for the good of humanity. While some of the world’s greatest dangers and horrors have their roots in scientific endeavor, there is some hope that science will also eventually provide viable solutions to them.BB</span></text>
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<text><span class="style10">n experiment with a bird in a steampump </span><span class="style7">(1768) by Joseph Wright. Although great advances in science were made during the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, much science was still dressed up as entertainment to obtain an audience, and the practical application of much of the new knowledge was limited.</span></text>
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<text>ΓÇó ASTRONOMYΓÇó PHYSICSΓÇó CHEMISTRYΓÇó THE SCIENTIFIC METHODΓÇó MATHEMATICSΓÇó EARTH SCIENCESΓÇó LIFE SCIENCESΓÇó THE HISTORY OF MEDICINEΓÇó TECHNOLOGY</text>
