Human

=== Science and philosophy ===
{{Main|Science|Philosophy}}
[[File:Dunhuang star map.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Dunhuang map]], a [[star map]] showing the North Polar region. China circa 700.]]
An aspect unique to humans is their ability to [[Knowledge transfer|transmit knowledge]] from one generation to the next and to continually build on this information to develop tools, [[scientific law]]s and other advances to pass on further.<ref>{{cite web|last=Di Christina |first=Mariette |author-link=Mariette DiChristina |title=A Very Human Story: Why Our Species Is Special|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-very-human-story-why-our-species-is-special/|access-date=27 September 2020|website=Scientific American|date=September 2018 |language=en|archive-date=24 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124160953/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-very-human-story-why-our-species-is-special/|url-status=live}}</ref> This accumulated knowledge can be tested to answer questions or make predictions about how the universe functions and has been very successful in advancing human ascendancy.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Andersen | first1=Hanne | author1-link=Hanne Andersen | last2=Hepburn |first2=Brian | title=Scientific Method|date=2020|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/scientific-method/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|veditors=Zalta EN|edition=Winter 2020|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=8 October 2020|archive-date=23 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223174917/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/scientific-method/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Aristotle]] has been described as the first scientist,<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Lo Presti R|date=2014|title=History of science: The first scientist|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=512|issue=7514|pages=250–251|doi=10.1038/512250a|bibcode=2014Natur.512..250L|s2cid=4394696|issn=1476-4687|doi-access=free}}</ref> and preceded the rise of scientific thought through the [[Hellenistic period]].<ref>{{Cite book|vauthors=Russo L|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/883392276|title=The forgotten revolution : how science was born in 300 BC and why it had to be reborn|date=2004|isbn=978-3-642-18904-3|page=1|publisher=Springer |oclc=883392276|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=30 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730033309/https://www.worldcat.org/title/forgotten-revolution-how-science-was-born-in-300-bc-and-why-it-had-to-be-reborn/oclc/883392276|url-status=live}}</ref> Other early advances in science came from the [[Science and technology of the Han dynasty|Han Dynasty]] in China and during the [[Islamic Golden Age]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Needham |author-link=Joseph Needham|first=J |author2=Wang Ling|author2-link=Wang Ling (historian)|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/779676|title=Science and civilisation in China|year=1954|isbn=0-521-05799-X|page=111|publisher=Cambridge University Press |oclc=779676|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=30 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730033311/https://www.worldcat.org/title/science-and-civilisation-in-china/oclc/779676|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Renima-2016" /> The [[Scientific Revolution|scientific revolution]], near the end of the [[Renaissance]], led to the emergence of [[modern science]].<ref>{{Cite book|vauthors=Henry J|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/615209781|title=The scientific revolution and the origins of modern science|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2008|isbn=978-1-137-07904-6|edition=3|location=Houndsmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire|chapter=Renaissance and Revolution|oclc=615209781|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=30 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730033313/https://www.worldcat.org/title/scientific-revolution-and-the-origins-of-modern-science/oclc/615209781|url-status=live}}</ref>

A chain of events and influences led to the development of the [[scientific method]], a process of observation and experimentation that is used to differentiate science from [[pseudoscience]].<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Hansson SO | veditors = Zalta EN |year=2017|title=Science and Pseudo-Science|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-science/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611061811/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-science/|archive-date=11 June 2017|access-date=3 July 2017|website=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University}}</ref> An understanding of [[mathematics]] is unique to humans, although other species of animals have some [[numerical cognition]].<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Olmstead MC, Kuhlmeier VA | title = Comparative Cognition | publisher = Cambridge University Press | date = 2015 | pages = 209–210 | isbn = 978-1-107-01116-8 }}</ref> All of science can be divided into three major branches, the [[formal sciences]] (e.g., [[logic]] and [[mathematics]]), which are concerned with [[formal systems]], the [[applied sciences]] (e.g., engineering, medicine), which are focused on practical applications, and the empirical sciences, which are based on [[empirical observation]] and are in turn divided into [[natural sciences]] (e.g., [[physics]], [[chemistry]], [[biology]]) and [[social sciences]] (e.g., [[psychology]], economics, sociology).<ref>{{cite web|title=Branches of Science|url=https://pmr.uchicago.edu/sites/pmr.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/BranchesofSciencePresentation.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423062909/https://pmr.uchicago.edu/sites/pmr.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/BranchesofSciencePresentation.pdf|archive-date=23 April 2017|access-date=26 June 2017|publisher=[[University of Chicago]]}}</ref>

Philosophy is a field of study where humans seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves and the world in which they live.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is Philosophy? |work=Department of Philosophy |publisher=Florida State University |url=https://philosophy.fsu.edu/undergraduate-study/why-philosophy/What-is-Philosophy |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=23 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223102725/https://philosophy.fsu.edu/undergraduate-study/why-philosophy/What-is-Philosophy |url-status=live }}</ref> Philosophical inquiry has been a major feature in the development of humans' intellectual history.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Philosophy |encyclopedia=Definition, Systems, Fields, Schools, & Biographies |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=23 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210223162559/https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy |url-status=live }}</ref> It has been described as the "no man's land" between definitive scientific knowledge and dogmatic religious teachings.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Kaufmann F, Russell B|date=1947|title=A History of Western Philosophy and its Connection with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2102800|journal=Philosophy and Phenomenological Research|volume=7|issue=3|page=461|doi=10.2307/2102800|jstor=2102800|access-date=30 July 2022|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331234443/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2102800|url-status=live}}</ref> Philosophy relies on reason and evidence, unlike religion, but does not require the empirical observations and experiments provided by science.<ref>{{cite web|vauthors=Messerly JG|date=25 March 2016|title=What is the Difference Between Philosophy, Science, and Religion?|url=https://ieet.org/index.php/IEET2/more/messerly20160325|access-date=8 August 2020|website=ieet.org|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304193914/https://archive.ieet.org/articles/messerly20160325.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Major fields of philosophy include [[metaphysics]], [[epistemology]], [[Logic (philosophy)|logic]], and [[axiology]] (which includes [[ethics]] and [[aesthetics]]).<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Hassan NR, Mingers J, Stahl B |date=4 May 2018|title=Philosophy and information systems: where are we and where should we go? |journal=European Journal of Information Systems | volume=27|issue=3|pages=263–277|doi=10.1080/0960085X.2018.1470776|s2cid=64796132|issn=0960-085X|doi-access=free|hdl=2086/16128|hdl-access=free}}</ref>