This distinction between science and history has its origins in 19th-century German academe, which distinguished between Naturwissenschaften (the sciences) and Geisteswissenschaften (the humanities), or between Gesetzwissenschaften (the law - giving sciences) and Geschichtswissenschaften (history).
此种科学与历史间的差别源自於19世纪的德国学术界，他們区分Naturwissenschaften（科学）与Geisteswissenschaften（人文学），或区分Gesetzwissenschaften（提出定律的科学）与Geschichteswissenschaften（历史学）。