prescientific
Prior to empiricism
Prescientific describes ideas, beliefs, or practices that existed before the development of modern scientific method.
The term often carries a dismissive tone, suggesting approaches that relied on superstition, tradition, or speculation rather than systematic observation and testing: prescientific notions about disease, prescientific cosmology.
Sometimes used more neutrally to describe historical periods or cultures: prescientific societies understood the natural world through myth.
Great age, ancient era
- prehistoryEra before writing
- bronze ageNotable but subprime period
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
hunter-gatherer · agrarian · nomadic · ancient civilizations · archaic · premodern · medieval · classical antiquity
Culture passed by speech
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
- fablesDidactic animal stories
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
- folktalesTraditional oral narratives
storytelling · griot · bard · saga · lore · ballads · parables · proverbs
Unrecorded expertise within groups
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- oral historyRecorded interviews about the past
elders · tradition · generational · customary · totemic · kinship · cultural memory · ethnobotany
Baseless belief in omens
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
- unverifiedNot yet proven true
- unfoundedWithout factual support
assumption · guesswork · unsubstantiated · anecdotal · intuitive · observational · trial and error · received wisdom
All gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- creation mythsTraditional origin-of-everything tales
- oracleAuthoritative wisdom source
prophecy · mythos · demigods · monsters · underworld · titans · animism · divine intervention
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- elixirMythical healing draught
- hermeticismAirtight, impervious condition
- alembicDistillation apparatus
crucible · quintessence · magnum opus · distillation · sublimation · calcination · mercury · sulfur
antiquity
Great age, ancient era
- prehistoryEra before writing
- bronze ageNotable but subprime period
- paleolithicEarliest tool-making period
neolithic · hunter-gatherer · agrarian · nomadic · ancient civilizations · archaic · premodern · medieval · classical antiquity · dark ages
oral tradition
Culture passed by speech
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
- fablesDidactic animal stories
- superstitionBaseless belief in omens
folktales · storytelling · griot · bard · saga · lore · ballads · parables · proverbs · old wives tales
tribal knowledge
Unrecorded expertise within groups
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- indigenousOriginating in a region
oral history · elders · tradition · generational · customary · totemic · kinship · cultural memory · ethnobotany · dreamtime
superstition
Baseless belief in omens
- speculationUnproven theorizing or risky investment
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
- unverifiedNot yet proven true
unfounded · assumption · guesswork · unsubstantiated · anecdotal · intuitive · observational · trial and error · received wisdom · dogma
pantheon
All gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- creation mythsTraditional origin-of-everything tales
oracle · prophecy · mythos · demigods · monsters · underworld · titans · animism · divine intervention · supernatural
transmutation
Complete change of form
- philosopher's stoneLegendary substance enabling transmutation
- elixirMythical healing draught
- hermeticismAirtight, impervious condition
alembic · crucible · quintessence · magnum opus · distillation · sublimation · calcination · mercury · sulfur · salt
prescientificscientific
Of or using research methods
empirical · evidence-based · rational · experimental · methodological
prescientificscientific
Of or using research methods
modern · contemporary · Enlightenment · advanced · developed
science, scientist, scientific, conscience, omniscient, prescience, prescient, scientifically, omniscience