ur-science

English

Etymology

From ur- (“primitive, original”) +‎ science.

Noun

ur-science (countable and uncountable, plural ur-sciences)

1. Early, original, or foundational science
   • 2009, Shahid Rahman, John Symons, Dov M. Gabbay, Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science - Volume 1 - Page 256:

     It would be natural to suppose that it is classical logic (or some near thing) that lays rightful claim on the status of this ur-science.

   • 2015, Peter J. Boettke, Christopher J. Coyne, The Oxford Handbook of Austrian Economics - Page 19:

     The second key distinction is between praxeology and history, which Mises considers the two ur-sciences of human action (Mises [1949] 1996, 30–32); praxeology studies the theoretical and necessary characteristics of action, while history studies its contingent characteristics and manifestations.

Synonyms

• proto-science