---
title: "Protoscience"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoscience"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:44:56.796921+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

=== Science field ===
A science field is a research field that satisfies 12 conditions: 1) all components of the science field invariably change over time from research in the field, especially logical/mathematical tools and specific background/presuppositions from other fields; 2) the research community has special training, "hold strong information links", initiates or continues the "tradition of inquiry"; 3) researchers have autonomy to pursue research and receive support from the host society; 4) the researchers worldview is the real world as contains "lawfully changing concrete" objects, an adequate view of the scientific method, a vision of organized science achieving truthfull descriptions and explanations, ethical principles for conducting research, and the free search for truthful, deep and systematic understanding; 5) up-to-date logical/mathematical tools precisely determine and process information;   
6) the domain of research are real objects/entities; 7) specific background knowledge is up-to-date, confirmed data, hypotheses and theories from relevant neighboring fields; 8) the set of problems investigated are from the domain of inquiry or within the research field; 9) the accumulated knowledge includes worldview-compatible, up-to-date testworthy/testable theories, hypotheses and data, and special knowledge previously accumlated in the research field; 10) the aims are find and apply laws and theories in the domain of inquiry, systemize acquired knonwledge, generalized information into theories, and improve research methods; 11) appropriate scientific methods are "subject to test, correction and justification"; 12) the research field is connected with a wider research field with similar capable researchers capable of "scientific inference, action and discussion", similar hosting society, a domain of inquiry containing the domain of inquiry of the narrower field, and shared worldview, logical/mathematical tools, background knowledge, accumulated knowledge, aims and methods.

=== Protoscience ===
Philosophers define protoscience as an undeveloped science field, undeveloped meaning an incomplete or approximate science field.  Mario Bunge defined a protoscience as a research field that approximately satisfies a similar set of the 12 science conditions.  A protoscience that is evolving to ultimately satisfy all 12 conditions is an emerging or developing science.  Bunge states, "The difference between protoscience and pseudoscience parallels that between error and deception." A protoscience may not survive or evolve to a science or pseudoscience.  Kuhn was skeptical about any remedy that would reliably transform a protoscience to a science stating, "I claim no therapy to assist the transformation of a proto-science to a science, nor do I suppose anything of this sort is to be had."
Raimo Tuomela defined a protoscience as a research field that satisfies 9 of the 12 science conditions; a protoscience fails to satisfy the up-to-date conditions for logic/mathematical tools, specific background knowledge from neighboring fields, and accumulated knowledge (5, 7, 9), and there is reason to believe the protoscience will ultimately satisfy all 12 conditions.  Protosciences and belief fields are both non-science fields, but only a protoscience can become a science field.  Tuomela emphasizes that the cognitive field concept refers to "ideal types" and there may be some persons within a science field with non-scientific "attitudes, thinking and actions"; therefore, it may be better to apply scientific and non-scientific to "attitudes, thinking and actions" rather than directly to cognitive fields.

== Developmental stages of science ==
Bunge stated that protoscience may occur as the second stage of a five-stage process in the development of science.  Each stage has a theoretical and empirical aspect:

Prescience has unchecked speculation theory and unchecked data.
Protoscience has hypotheses without theory accompanied by observation and occasional measurement, but no experiment.
Deuteroscience has hypotheses formulated mathematically without theory accompanied by systematic measurement, and experiment on perceptible traits of perceptible objects.
Tritoscience has mathematical models accompanied by systematic measurements and experiments on perceptible and imperceptible traits of perceptible and imperceptible objects.
Tetartoscience has mathematical models and comprehensive theories accompanied by precise systematic measurements and experiments on perceptible and imperceptible traits of perceptible and imperceptible objects.

== Origin of protoscience ==
Protoscience may arise from the philosophical inquiry that anticipates science.  Philosophers anticipated the development of astronomy, atomic theory, evolution and linguistics.  The Greek philosopher Anaximander (610–546 BC) viewed the earth as a non-moving free-floating cylinder in space.  The atomist doctrine of Democritus (460–370 BC) to Epicurus (341–270 BC) was that objects were composed of non-visible small particles.  Anaximander had anticipated that humans may have developed from more primitive organisms.  Wittgenstein's study of language preceded the linguistic studies of J. L. Austin and John Searle.  Popper describes how scientific theory arises from myths such as atomism and  the corpuscular theory of light.  Popper states that the Copernican system was "inspired by a Neo-Platonic worship of the light of the Sun who had to occupy the center because of his nobility", leading to "testable components" that ultimately became "fruitful and important."
Some scholars use the term "primitive protoscience" to describe ancient myths that help explain natural phenomena at a time prior to the development of the scientific method.

== Protoscience examples ==

=== Physical science ===
Ancient astronomical protoscience was recorded as astronomical images and records inscribed on stones, bones and cave walls.
Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1658–1730) contributed to protoscience oceanography, describing the ocean currents of the Bosporus and physical oceanography, and Benjamin Franklin contributed by identifying the currents of the Gulf Stream.
Philosophers consider physics before Galileo and Huygens, chemistry before Lavoisier, medicine before Virchow and Bernard, electricity before the mid-eighteenth century, and the study of heredity and phylogeny before the mid-nineteenth century as protosciences that eventually became established science.
Prior to 1905, leading scientists, Ostwald and Mach, viewed atomic and molecular-kinetic theory as a protoscience, a theory indirectly supported by chemistry and statistical thermodynamics; however, Einstein's theory of Brownian motion, and Perrin's experimental verification led to widespread acceptance of atomic and molecular-kinetic theory as established science.
The early stage of plate tectonics, beginning with Wegener's theory of continental drift, was a protoscience until experimental research confirmed the theory many years later. The initial widespread rejection of Wegener's theory is an example of the importance of not dismissing a protoscience.

=== Psychology ===
Critics state that psychology is a protoscience because some practices occur that prevent falsification of research hypotheses.  Folk psychology and coaching psychology are protosciences.

=== Medicine ===
The use of scientifically invalid biomarkers to identify adverse outcomes is a protoscience practice in medicine.  The process for reporting adverse medical events is a protoscience because it relies on uncorroborated data and unsystematic methods.

=== Technology ===
Hatleback describes cybersecurity as a protoscience that lacks transparency in experimentation,  scientific laws, and sound experimental design in some cases; however cybersecurity has the potential to become a science.

== See also ==
History of science
Hypothesis
Pseudoscience
Methodical culturalism
Natural philosophy
Obsolete scientific theories
Pathological science

== Notes ==

== References ==

== External links ==
"Questions to help distinguish a pseudoscience from a protoscience". 7 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-07.