Or more specifically what does it mean when someone says that zoology is a fundamental science?
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Fundamental science is developing knowledge about how the universe works. Zoology, which categorizes animals and investigates their relationships to each other and their environment, is a fundamental science.
Contrasting that are applied sciences, which use the learnings from fundamental science to actually create change. Agriculture, which can utilize the understanding developed by zoology to produce healthier or more profitable herds, is an applied science.
You see something carefully, make an educated guess as to how it works, then conduct experiments to confirm or reject the guess. When you learn how the world works using observation and experimentation, it is called fundamental science.
When you make use of the knowledge you gained from fundamental science to make technology to get any kind of advantage, it is called applied science.
Even though these sciences are These are not two separate things, pure and applied science are are part of a whole. They contribute to progress when used together. For example:
Fundamental science: A physicist observes lenses and screens and learns how light works.
Applied science: An engineer uses the knowledge to develop a telescope.
Fundamental science: An astronomer uses the telescope to observe and learn about the solar system.
If you’re interested, it’s worth looking at the Frascati manual which goes into a lot of detail about research and the definition and classification.
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264239012-en.pdf?expires=1669124456&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=A3C73D27EB1A8CEACADF1149D38075E0
To add to the other answers, fundamental science is the pursuit of knowledge without discrimination. Meaning you do not see things as irrelevant that another scientist, who has practical use as a goal, would see as irrelevant. It is often something that gets little praise, because simple minded people do not understand how this research could ever be of use to humanity. Which is understandable, but they are missing the point. If you do fundamental science you are not interested in practical application. And I mean not at all. It is not what drives this research. Unfortunately, since many people do not see its value, it does not get the recognition it deserves. Even though applied science is built upon this fundamental research.
It’s pretty subjective. There’s a basic version of every discipline. As my old physics teacher used to say, Physics is applied math, Chemistry is applied Physics and Biology is applied Chemistry.
Zoology is an important discipline but I’m not sure I’d call it “fundamental”. Biology is fundamental.
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