Science
Science (Latin: scientia "knowledge") is the application of the scientific method, a form of epistemology, to observable phenomena in order to gain knowledge. Science typically relies on testable explanations or predictions and a skepticism towards established customs or traditions. While rigorous and skeptical schools of thought have existed around the world for millennia, modern science as we know it is heavily reliant on the rise of independent scientific organizations funded by the state or by private individuals during the European Renaissance. In Western culture, this field of study was considered a sub-branch of philosophy and termed as "natural philosophy" until its replacement by "science" in the 19th century.
In some languages, such as German, the term science (German: Wissenschaft) includes not only "natural (or 'hard') sciences" but also "soft sciences" like history, psychology, and sociology, a distinction which is relevant to the discussion of Marxism as a science.