The implication is that there is one, fixed, thing called science, and that it’s free from politics. Is there really one single thing called science, and has it ever been apolitical? As for those who actually did the systematic study, until the 1830s they were not called scientists, because it was only then that the word was coined. Most often, those conducting research on the physical universe were called natural philosophers, and their area of study natural philosophy. Rather than politics following the science, politics is why we use the words science and scientist today.

Source: The Irish Times March 11, 2021 00:56 UTC