Science is the systematic study of the universe—through observation and experiment—in the pursuit of knowledge that allows us to generalise.
Sewell, 2006.
"4. a. In a more restricted sense: A branch of study which is concerned either with a connected body of demonstrated truths or with observed facts systematically classified and more or less colligated by being brought under general laws, and which includes trustworthy methods for the discovery of new truth within its own domain." Oxford English Dictionary, 2002.
"any system of knowledge that is concerned with the physical world and its phenomena and that entails unbiased observations and systematic experimentation. In general, a science involves a pursuit of knowledge covering general truths or the operations of fundamental laws." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2004.
"the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment: the world of science and technology." The New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998.
"1. the systematic study of the nature and behaviour of the material and physical universe, based on observation, experiment, and measurement, and the formulation of laws to describe these facts in general terms." Collins English Dictionary, 1991.
"knowledge ascertained by observation and experiment, critically tested, systematized and brought under general principles, esp in relation to the physical world;" The Chambers Dictionary, 1998.
"Science (at least natural science, which is the focus of this entry) is first and foremost a set of logical and empirical methods that provide for the systematic observation of empirical phenomena in order to understand them." The Skeptic's Dictionary, 2003.
"Even in writings as recent as those of Locke and Hume there are many passages where the words 'science', 'scientific', etc., derived from scieentia (the Latin equivalent of the Greek episteme), are reserved for knowledge of what is necessarily the case. Such knowledge is acquired by rational intuition or by demonstration. This usage goes back to Plato and Aristotle. Well into the eighteenth century, what we call natural science was usually called natural philosophy." The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy, 2000.
"The ongoing search for knowledge about the Universe. Typical of progression in our knowledge is the level of understanding about the solar system. Nicholas Copernicus speculated that the sun was at the centre of the solar system. This could be proved only after detailed naked-eye observations made by Tycho Brahe were correctly interpreted by Johannes Kepler. The fundamental principles of gravitational attraction were discovered by Isaac Newton: Newton's law of gravitation together with his laws of motion explain Kepler's laws. The theory Newton introduced was adequate to enable us to put a man on the moon. Einstein's theory of general relativity introduced further refinements." The New Penguin Dictionary of Science, 2004.
"Science in the broadest sense refers to any knowledge or trained skill, especially (but not exclusively) when this is attained by verifiable means.[1] The word science also describes any systematic field of study or the knowledge gained from such study. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism, as well as to the organized body of knowledge humans have gained by such research. This article focuses on science in the latter sense." Wikipedia, 2006.
The Scientific Method
The scientific method involves formulating hypotheses, assessing evidence and updating one's belief in hypotheses via the calculus of Bayesian inference.
"the study, from a philosophical perspective, of the elements of scientific inquiry and of their validity.
Taken broadly as the progressive improvement of the understanding of nature, the intellectual enterprise of science originally formed an integral part of philosophy, and the two areas of inquiry have never finally separated. Little more than a hundred years ago, theoretical physics—concerned with the fundamental debate about physical nature—was still described as "natural philosophy," as distinguished from the two other chief divisions of abstract discussion, viz., moral philosophy and metaphysical philosophy—the latter including ontology, the study of the deepest nature of reality or being. In fact, only during the 20th century, following the professionalization and specialization of the natural sciences, did the philosophy of science become recognized as a separate discipline.
Methodological and epistemological issues—i.e., issues regarding the investigator's manner of approach to nature—are treated in this article. For issues regarding the substantive character of nature as so revealed—i.e., as it is in and of itself—see nature, philosophy of." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2004.
Scientists
A scientist is someone who pursues science via the scientific method whilst wearing a white coat.
Demarcation of Science
The 'problem of induction', stated by Hume (1748) and formalized by Wolpert (2001) implies that all that remains of science is coherent reasoning in the face of uncertainty. Doing science means being a Bayesian. This is not widely known or believed, but that, my friends, is what science is all about.