Formal science is a branch of science studying disciplines concerned with abstract structures described by , such as logic, mathematics, statistics, theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, information theory, game theory, systems theory, decision theory and theoretical linguistics. Whereas the and seek to characterize physical systems and , respectively, using theory and empirical methods, the formal sciences use language tools concerned with characterizing abstract structures described by formal systems and the deductions that can be made from them. The formal sciences aid the natural and social sciences by providing information about the structures used to describe the physical world, and what inferences may be made about them.
Branches
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Logic (also a branch of philosophy)
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Mathematics
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Statistics
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Systems science
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Data science
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Information theory
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Computer science
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Cryptography
Differences from other sciences
Because of their non-empirical nature, formal sciences are construed by outlining a set of
axioms and
definitions from which other statements (
theorems) are deduced. For this reason, in
Rudolf Carnap's logical-positivist conception of the epistemology of science, theories belonging to formal sciences are understood to contain no synthetic statements, instead containing only analytic statements.
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See also
Further reading
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Mario Bunge (1985). Philosophy of Science and Technology. Springer.
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Mario Bunge (1998). Philosophy of Science. Rev. ed. of: Scientific research. Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, 1967.
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C. West Churchman (1940). Elements of Logic and Formal Science, J.B. Lippincott Co., New York.
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James Franklin (1994). The formal sciences discover the philosophers' stone. In: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 513–533, 1994
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Stephen Leacock (1906). Elements of Political Science. Houghton, Mifflin Co, 417 pp.
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Bernt P. Stigum (1990). Toward a Formal Science of Economics. MIT Press
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Marcus Tomalin (2006), Linguistics and the Formal Sciences. Cambridge University Press
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William L. Twining (1997). Law in Context: Enlarging a Discipline. 365 pp.
External links
