Pierre Curie andMarie Curie demonstrating an apparatus that detectsradioactivity. They received the 1903Nobel Prize in Physics for their scientific research; Marie also received the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
"No one in the history of civilization has shaped our understanding of science and natural philosophy more than the great Greek philosopher and scientistAristotle (384–322 BC), who exerted a profound and pervasive influence for more than two thousand years" —Gary B. Ferngren[12]Georgius Agricola gavechemistry its modern name. Generally referred to as the father ofmineralogy and the founder ofgeology as a scientific discipline.[13][14]Johannes Kepler, one of the founders and fathers of modernastronomy, thescientific method,natural andmodern science.[15]Alessandro Volta, the inventor of theelectrical battery and discoverer ofmethane, is widely regarded as one of the greatest scientists in history.Francesco Redi, referred to as the "father of modern parasitology", is the founder of experimental biology.Isaac Newton, who is regarded as "the towering figure of theScientific Revolution",[16] and who achieved thefirst great unification in physics, created classical mechanics, calculus and refined the scientific method.Mary Somerville, for whom the word "scientist" was coined.PhysicistAlbert Einstein developed the general theory of relativity and made many substantial contributions to physics.PhysicistEnrico Fermi is credited with the creation of the world's first atomic bomb and nuclear reactor.Atomic physicistNiels Bohr made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory.Marine BiologistRachel Carson launched the 20th centuryenvironmental movement.
The roles of "scientists", and their predecessors before the emergence of modern scientific disciplines, have evolved considerably over time. Scientists of different eras (and before them, natural philosophers, mathematicians, natural historians, natural theologians, engineers, and others who contributed to the development of science) have had widely different places in society, and thesocial norms,ethical values, andepistemic virtues associated with scientists—and expected of them—have changed over time as well. Accordingly, many different historical figures can be identified as early scientists, depending on which characteristics of modern science are taken to be essential.
Some historians point to theScientific Revolution that began in 16th century as the period when science in a recognizably modern form developed. It was not until the 19th century that sufficient socioeconomic changes had occurred for scientists to emerge as a major profession.[17]
Knowledge about nature in classical antiquity was pursued by many kinds of scholars.Greek contributions to science—including works of geometry and mathematical astronomy, early accounts of biological processes and catalogs of plants and animals, and theories of knowledge and learning—were produced byphilosophers andphysicians, as well as practitioners of various trades. These roles, and their associations with scientific knowledge, spread with theRoman Empire and, with thespread of Christianity, became closely linked to religious institutions in most European countries.Astrology andastronomy became an important area of knowledge, and the role of astronomer/astrologer developed with the support of political and religiouspatronage. By the time of themedieval university system, knowledge was divided into thetrivium—philosophy, includingnatural philosophy—and thequadrivium—mathematics, including astronomy. Hence, the medieval analogs of scientists were often either philosophers or mathematicians. Knowledge of plants and animals was broadly the province of physicians.
During the age of Enlightenment,Luigi Galvani, the pioneer ofbioelectromagnetics, discovered animal electricity. He discovered that a charge applied to the spinal cord of a frog could generate muscular spasms throughout its body. Charges could make frog legs jump even if the legs were no longer attached to a frog. While cutting a frog leg, Galvani's steel scalpel touched a brass hook that was holding the leg in place. The leg twitched. Further experiments confirmed this effect, and Galvani was convinced that he was seeing the effects of what he called animal electricity, the life force within the muscles of the frog. At theUniversity of Pavia, Galvani's colleagueAlessandro Volta was able to reproduce the results, but was sceptical of Galvani's explanation.[26]
Lazzaro Spallanzani is one of the most influential figures in experimental physiology and the natural sciences. His investigations have exerted a lasting influence on the medical sciences. He made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions and animal reproduction.[27]
English philosopher and historian of scienceWilliam Whewell coined the termscientist in 1833, and it first appeared in print in Whewell's anonymous 1834 review ofMary Somerville'sOn the Connexion of the Physical Sciences published in theQuarterly Review.[32] Whewell wrote of "an increasing proclivity of separation and dismemberment" in the sciences; while highly specific terms proliferated—chemist, mathematician, naturalist—the broad term "philosopher" was no longer satisfactory to group together those who pursued science, without the caveats of "natural" or "experimental" philosopher. Whewell compared these increasing divisions with Somerville's aim of "[rendering] a most important service to science" "by showing how detached branches have, in the history of science, united by the discovery of general principles."[33] Whewell reported in his review that members of theBritish Association for the Advancement of Science had been complaining at recent meetings about the lack of a good term for "students of the knowledge of the material world collectively." Alluding to himself, he noted that "some ingenious gentleman proposed that, by analogy withartist, they might form [the word]scientist, and added that there could be no scruple in making free with this term since we already have such words aseconomist, andatheist—but this was not generally palatable".[34]
Whewell proposed the word again more seriously (and not anonymously) in his 1840[35]The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences:
The terminationsize (rather thanise),ism, andist, are applied to words of all origins: thus we have topulverize, tocolonize,Witticism,Heathenism,Journalist,Tobacconist. Hence we may make such words when they are wanted. As we cannot usephysician for a cultivator of physics, I have called him aPhysicist. We need very much a name to describe a cultivator of science in general. I should incline to call him aScientist. Thus we might say, that as an Artist is a Musician, Painter, or Poet, a Scientist is a Mathematician, Physicist, or Naturalist.
He also proposed the termphysicist at the same time, as a counterpart to the French wordphysicien. Neither term gained wide acceptance until decades later;scientist became a common term in the late 19th century in the United States and around the turn of the 20th century inGreat Britain.[32][36][37] By the twentieth century, the modern notion of science as a special brand of information about the world, practiced by a distinct group and pursued through a unique method, was essentially in place.
Marie Curie became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and the first person to win it twice. Her efforts led to the development of nuclear energy and Radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer. In 1922, she was appointed a member of the International Commission on Intellectual Co-operation by the Council of the League of Nations. She campaigned for scientist's right to patent their discoveries and inventions. She also campaigned for free access to international scientific literature and for internationally recognized scientific symbols.
As a profession, the scientist of today is widely recognized[citation needed]. However, there is no formal process to determine who is a scientist and who is not a scientist. Anyone can be a scientist in some sense. Some professions have legal requirements for their practice (e.g.licensure) and some scientists areindependent scientists meaning that they practice science on their own, but to practice science there are no knownlicensure requirements.[38]
After the completion of their training, many scientists pursue careers in a variety of work settings and conditions.[44] In 2017, the Britishscientific journalNature published the results of a large-scale survey of more than 5,700 doctoral students worldwide, asking them whichsectors of the economy they would like to work in. A little over half of the respondents wanted to pursue a career in academia, with smaller proportions hoping to work in industry, government, and nonprofit environments.[45][46]
Other motivations are recognition by their peers and prestige. TheNobel Prize, a widely regarded prestigious award,[47] is awarded annually to those who have achieved scientific advances in the fields ofmedicine,physics, andchemistry.
Some scientists have a desire to apply scientific knowledge for the benefit of people's health, the nations, the world, nature, or industries (academic scientist andindustrial scientist). Scientists tend to be less motivated by direct financial reward for their work than other careers. As a result, scientific researchers often accept lower average salaries when compared with many other professions which require a similar amount of training and qualification.[citation needed]
Scientists includeexperimentalists who mainly perform experiments to test hypotheses, andtheoreticians who mainly developmodels to explain existing data and predict new results. There is a continuum between the two activities and the division between them is not clear-cut, with many scientists performing both tasks.
The number of scientists is vastly different from country to country. For instance, there are only four full-time scientists per 10,000 workers in India, while this number is 79 for the United Kingdom, and 85 for the United States.[51]
Scientists per 10,000 workers for selected countries[51]
According to theNational Science Foundation, 4.7 million people with science degrees worked in theUnited States in 2015, across all disciplines and employment sectors. The figure included twice as many men as women. Of that total, 17% worked in academia, that is, at universities and undergraduate institutions, and men held 53% of those positions. 5% of scientists worked for the federal government, and about 3.5% were self-employed. Of the latter two groups, two-thirds were men. 59% of scientists in the United States were employed in industry or business, and another 6% worked in non-profit positions.[52]
Scientist and engineering statistics are usually intertwined, but they indicate that women enter the field far less than men, though this gap is narrowing. The number of science and engineering doctorates awarded to women rose from a mere 7 percent in 1970 to 34 percent in 1985 and in engineering alone the numbers of bachelor's degrees awarded to women rose from only 385 in 1975 to more than 11000 in 1985.[53][clarification needed]
^"scientist".Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved27 September 2023.
^"Our definition of a scientist". Science Council. Retrieved7 September 2018.A scientist is someone who systematically gathers and uses research and evidence, making a hypothesis and testing it, to gain and share understanding and knowledge.
^Lehoux, Daryn (2011). "2. Natural Knowledge in the Classical World". In Shank, Michael; Numbers, Ronald; Harrison, Peter (eds.).Wrestling with Nature : From Omens to Science. Chicago: University of Chicago, U.S.A. Press. p. 39.ISBN978-0226317830.
^Singer, C. (2008).A Short History of Science to the 19th century. Streeter Press. p. 35.
^Needham, C. W. (1978).Cerebral Logic: Solving the Problem of Mind and Brain. Loose Leaf. p. 75.ISBN978-0-398-03754-3.
^Cahan, David, ed. (2003).From Natural Philosophy to the Sciences: Writing the History of Nineteenth-Century Science. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.ISBN0-226-08928-2.
^Lightman, Bernard (2011). "Science and the Public". In Shank, Michael; Numbers, Ronald; Harrison, Peter (eds.).Wrestling with Nature : From Omens to Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 367.ISBN978-0226317830.
^"Georgius Agricola". University of California - Museum of Paleontology. RetrievedApril 4, 2019.
^Rafferty, John P. (2012).Geological Sciences; Geology: Landforms, Minerals, and Rocks. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing, p. 10.ISBN9781615305445
^On the historical development of the character of scientists and the predecessors, see: Steven Shapin (2008).The Scientific Life: A Moral History of a Late Modern Vocation. Chicago: Chicago University Press.ISBN0-226-75024-8
^Einstein (1954, p. 271). "Propositions arrived at by purely logical means are completely empty as regards reality. Because Galileo realised this, and particularly because he drummed it into the scientific world, he is the father of modern physics—indeed, of modern science altogether."
^Peter Damerow (2004). "Introduction".Exploring the Limits of Preclassical Mechanics: A Study of Conceptual Development in Early Modern Science: Free Fall and Compounded Motion in the Work of Descartes, Galileo and Beeckman. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 6.
^Lindberg, David C.;Numbers, Ronald L. (1986), "Introduction",God & Nature: Historical Essays on the Encounter Between Christianity and Science, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, pp. 5, 12,ISBN978-0-520-05538-4
^Gilley, Sheridan (2006).The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 8, World Christianities C.1815-c.1914. Brian Stanley. Cambridge University Press. p. 164.ISBN0-521-81456-1.
^Lindberg, David. (1992)The Beginnings of Western Science University of Chicago Press. p. 204.
^Friedrich Ueberweg, History of Philosophy: From Thales to the Present Time. C. Scribner's sons v.1, 1887
^Steve Fuller, Kuhn VS. Popper: The Struggle For The Soul Of Science. Columbia University Press 2004. Page 43.ISBN0-231-13428-2
^Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1917. v.45 1917 Jan-Jun.Page 274Archived 2017-03-02 at theWayback Machine.
^abRoss, Sydney (1962)."Scientist: The story of a word".Annals of Science.18 (2):65–85.doi:10.1080/00033796200202722. To be exact, the person coined the termscientist was referred to in Whewell 1834 only as "some ingenious gentleman." Ross added a comment that this "some ingenious gentleman" was Whewell himself, without giving the reason for the identification. Ross 1962, p.72.
^Whewell, William. Murray, John (ed.). "On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences By Mrs. Sommerville".The Quarterly Review.LI (March & June 1834):54–68.
^Holmes, R (2008).The age of wonder: How the romantic generation discovered the beauty and terror of science. London: Harper Press. p. 449.ISBN978-0-00-714953-7.
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