wissenschaft

Wissenschaft is a German term that denotes systematic knowledge or the body of knowledge produced by disciplined inquiry. Etymologically, it combines wissen (to know) with -schaft, and the word thus denotes the state or discipline of knowing. In common usage, Wissenschaft covers both the natural sciences and the humanities, and is not limited to laboratory-based disciplines. The term encompasses the organized methods, concepts, and institutions by which knowledge is pursued, taught, and validated.

In contrast to everyday conceptions of "science" as only experimental natural science, Wissenschaft encompasses Naturwissenschaften (natural sciences) and Geisteswissenschaften (humanities and social sciences), as well as interdisciplinary fields. The German tradition emphasizes systematic method, justification, and critical scrutiny as essential to knowledge, and the adjective wissenschaftlich signifies methodical, evidence-based, and verifiable inquiry.

Historically, the concept is tied to the development of modern universities and the Humboldtian model, which united teaching and research under a unified Wissenschaft. This framework shaped German and broader European higher education and influenced notions of scholarly credibility, peer review, and academic autonomy.

Today, Wissenschaft remains a broad umbrella for scholarly disciplines and for research policy in German-speaking countries. Related terms include Geisteswissenschaften, Naturwissenschaften, Wissenschaftstheorie (philosophy of science), and the general idea of wissenschaftliche Arbeit (scientific work).