Query: Fundamental physics and global climate models both make testable predictions as to how the global climate should change in response to anthropogenic warming.

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Theory <=SEP=> A theory is a contemplative and rational type of abstract or generalizing thinking , or the results of such thinking . Depending on the context , the results might , for example , include generalized explanations of how nature works . The word has its roots in ancient Greek , but in modern use it has taken on several different related meanings .   Theories guide the enterprise of finding facts rather than of reaching goals , and are neutral concerning alternatives among values . A theory can be a body of knowledge , which may or may not be associated with particular explanatory models . To theorize is to develop this body of knowledge .   As already in Aristotle 's definitions , theory is very often contrasted to `` practice '' ( from Greek praxis , πρᾶξις ) a Greek term for doing , which is opposed to theory because pure theory involves no doing apart from itself . A classical example of the distinction between `` theoretical '' and `` practical '' uses the discipline of medicine : medical theory involves trying to understand the causes and nature of health and sickness , while the practical side of medicine is trying to make people healthy . These two things are related but can be independent , because it is possible to research health and sickness without curing specific patients , and it is possible to cure a patient without knowing how the cure worked .   It is possible to distinguish between three types of theories . Explanatory theory , also known as descriptive or empirical , helps to explain why and under what conditions , certain situations take place . The second type is interpretive theory or constitutive theory and this imposes meaning on events and issues with the objective to understand , instead of explaining , the world . The last one is called normative theory , also referred to as prescriptive , which prescribes values and standards of conduct : that means dealing with how the world should be instead of what it is .   In modern science , the term `` theory '' refers to scientific theories , a well-confirmed type of explanation of nature , made in a way consistent with scientific method , and fulfilling the criteria required by modern science . Such theories are described in such a way that any scientist in the field is in a position to understand and either provide empirical support ( `` verify '' ) or empirically contradict ( `` falsify '' ) it . Scientific theories are the most reliable , rigorous , and comprehensive form of scientific knowledge , in contrast to more common uses of the word `` theory '' that imply that something is unproven or speculative ( which is better characterized by the word ` hypothesis ' ) . Scientific theories are distinguished from hypotheses , which are individual empirically testable conjectures , and from scientific laws , which are descriptive accounts of how nature behaves under certain conditions .

Science <=SEP=> Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe .   Contemporary science is typically subdivided into the natural sciences , which study the material universe ; the social sciences , which study people and societies ; and the formal sciences , which study logic and mathematics . The formal sciences are often excluded as they do not depend on empirical observations . Disciplines which use science , like engineering and medicine , may also be considered to be applied sciences .   From classical antiquity through the 19th century , science as a type of knowledge was more closely linked to philosophy than it is now , and in the Western world the term `` natural philosophy '' once encompassed fields of study that are today associated with science , such as astronomy , medicine , and physics . However , during the Islamic Golden Age foundations for the scientific method were laid by Ibn al-Haytham in his Book of Optics . While the classification of the material world by the ancient Indians and Greeks into air , earth , fire and water was more philosophical , medieval Middle Easterns used practical and experimental observation to classify materials .   In the 17th and 18th centuries , scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of physical laws . Over the course of the 19th century , the word `` science '' became increasingly associated with the scientific method itself as a disciplined way to study the natural world . It was during this time that scientific disciplines such as biology , chemistry , and physics reached their modern shapes . That same time period also included the origin of the terms `` scientist '' and `` scientific community '' , the founding of scientific institutions , and the increasing significance of their interactions with society and other aspects of culture .

Scientific theory <=SEP=> A scientific theory is an explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can , in accordance with the scientific method , be repeatedly tested , using a predefined protocol of observations and experiments . Established scientific theories have withstood rigorous scrutiny and are a comprehensive form of scientific knowledge .   It is important to note that the definition of a `` scientific theory '' ( often ambiguously contracted to `` theory '' for the sake of brevity , including in this page ) as used in the disciplines of science is significantly different from the common vernacular usage of the word `` theory '' . Per NAS 2008 : `` The formal scientific definition of theory is quite different from the everyday meaning of the word . It refers to a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence . '' In everyday non-scientific speech , `` theory '' can imply that something is an unsubstantiated and speculative guess , conjecture , idea , or , hypothesis ; such a usage is the opposite of the word `` theory '' in science . These different usages are comparable to the differing , and often opposing , usages of the term `` prediction '' in science versus `` prediction '' in vernacular speech , denoting a mere hope .   The strength of a scientific theory is related to the diversity of phenomena it can explain . As additional scientific evidence is gathered , a scientific theory may be rejected or modified if it does not fit the new empirical findings ; in such circumstances , a more accurate theory is then desired . In certain cases , the less-accurate unmodified scientific theory can still be treated as a theory if it is useful ( due to its sheer simplicity ) as an approximation under specific conditions ( e.g. , Newton 's laws of motion as an approximation to special relativity at velocities that are small relative to the speed of light ) .   Scientific theories are testable and make falsifiable predictions . They describe the causal elements responsible for a particular natural phenomenon , and are used to explain and predict aspects of the physical universe or specific areas of inquiry ( e.g. , electricity , chemistry , astronomy ) . Scientists use theories as a foundation to gain further scientific knowledge , as well as to accomplish goals such as inventing technology or curing disease .   As with other forms of scientific knowledge , scientific theories are both deductive and inductive in nature and aim for predictive power and explanatory capability .   Paleontologist , evolutionary biologist , and science historian Stephen Jay Gould said , `` ... facts and theories are different things , not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty . Facts are the world ′ s data . Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts . ''