Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences

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Dominant Approaches and Ideas – Part 2

ST. ANDREW MONTESSORI AND HIGH SCHOOL INC.,

NANCAYASAN, URDANETA CITY, PANGASINAN
S.Y. 2020-2021

Dominant Approaches and Ideas – Part 2

The following are the objectives for this module:
1. Determine the relationship between gender ideology and gender
inequality
2. Analyze significance of data
3. Distinguish the ways by which human-environment interactions shape
cultural and natural landscapes
4. Interpret thematic and mental maps to understand landscape changes
and an individual’s sense of place
5. Explain environmental and social issues through the analysis of spatial
distributions and spatial processes

Feminist Theory
The Development and Origin

Most European countries before have largely patriarchal societies, meaning that almost
all aspects of society are governed by men, thereby leading to a reduced role for women.
Even as early as the ancient civilizations, some of them have a lesser view of the woman . For
centuries, women have let this situation reign, until the rise of a movement that changed the
dynamics of society. This is known as the emergence of feminism or the feminist theory.
This theory, apart from being something individual, is also significant when it comes to how
society functions today.
Charles Fourier was known to coin the term feminisme. The word feminist or feminism
emerged in Europe around the later years of the 1800s and in the United States in 1910.
(Goldstein, 1989) Each culture that had a group of feminists had different goals to achieve, but
the primary reason for the movement is the improvement and addition of women’s rights, be it
when it comes to voting, participation in government, and contribution to the solving of public
issues. There are three important waves of feminism: first-wave feminism, second-wave
feminism, and third-wave feminism.

Key Thinker: Simone de Beauvoir

Renowned feminist and French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir was born in Paris on the
9th of January, year 1908. She studied Mathematics and philosophy at the University of Paris
and eventually studied mathematics at the Institut Catholique de Paris and literature at the
Institut de Sainte-Marie. She then pursued philosophy again at the Sorbonne. De Beauvoir
taught philosophy at different schools in France together with another French philosopher,
Jean-Paul Sartre. She died on the 14th of April, 1986.
The most important work of de Beauvoir that contributed to feminist theory is her work
The Second Sex. In this book, de Beauvoir talks about the role of the woman in society. She
mentions how women have been treated differently over the years, and that a woman is not
born a woman, but becomes one. (de Beauvoir, 2011) She is an important figure for feminist
theory because hers is the most extensive of all feminist writings, and that a large number of
feminist theories of today draw from her work.

The Theory
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 In the 20th century, ‘first-wave’ feminists had demanded civil and political equality. In
the 1970s, ‘second-wave’ feminism concentrated on, and gave great prominence to,
sexual and family rights for women. It is these demands, now, that have become the main
target of reaction. ‘The personal is the political’ was a popular 1970s slogan that some
contemporary feminists seem to want to reverse. The political is reduced to the merely
personal, to questions of sexuality and family life – which, of course, also have political
implications which still, and urgently, need to be considered. (Walters, 2005)
There are three major waves of feminist theory.
The first-wave feminists called for equality when it came to the political sector. This
includes champions for women suffrage, and the ability to participate in public forums and
even hold government positions. First-wave feminism is primarily geared to the advancement
of women’s rights.
Second-wave feminism concentrated on the social sector, pushing not for exact rights,
but for social recognition and a new identity. Second-wave feminism reacts negatively to the
age-old view of women: weak and undetermined. Simone de Beauvoir and bell hooks were
some of the most prominent second-wave feminists that pushed for a renewed identity for
women.
The last wave of feminism, also known as third-wave feminism, is a reaction to the
second-wave and is a critique of sorts of the preceding wave. Third-wave feminism
distinguished itself from the second wave around issues of sexuality, challenging female
heterosexuality and celebrating sexuality as a means of female empowerment. (Holt &
Cameron, 2010) In other words, feminism of this type is different from the previous forms of
feminism in a sense that it is a kind of critique of the latter.

Hermeneutical Phenomenology
The Development and Origin
There are two important fields within the study of philosophy that should be discussed
when talking about the origins of hermeneutical phenomenology or phenomenological
hermeneutics. These are the fields of hermeneutics and phenomenology as separate from each
other.
Phenomenology as a field of philosophy traces back to the early Greek thinkers when they
sought to perceive the sustaining element of reality. The word phenomenology comes from the
Greek words ‘phainomenon’ and ‘logos,’ translated as ‘study of phenomenon or reality.’ The father
of modern phenomenology is the philosopher Edmund Husserl who sought to develop a
‘phenomenological philosophy’ or a philosophy that could be the very foundation of all the
sciences according to external observation of reality.
Hermeneutics, on the other hand, comes from the Greek word ‘hermeneutikos’ meaning
‘interpret.’ Hermeneutics started out as interpretation of sacred texts, later being used for
interpretation of things in general. Key thinkers of hermeneutics include Friedrich Ast, Friedrich
Schleiermacher, and August Wolf.

Key Thinker: Hans Georg Gadamer

What makes hermeneutical phenomenology so precise is its use of both elements from two
separate fields of philosophy. The most extensive of which comes from the writings of German
philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer. Gadamer was born in Marburg, Germany on the 11th of
February 1900. He studied classics and philosophy at the University of Breslau and the University
of Marburg. Gadamer was a professor during the time of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, but was
exempt from service due to his illness. Gadamer died when he was 102 years old on March 13,
2002.

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 Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences
3
Dominant Approaches and Ideas – Part 2

Gadamer’s most famous work is Truth and Method, where he highlights his use of
hermeneutics and the phenomenological underpinnings it has within. Gadamer endorses the
insight that humans are fundamentally beings who are given to understanding. Our task, if we are
to truly know ourselves, is to figure out what such understanding entails, taking into account both
its possibilities and limitations. (Barthold, 2005) This main thrust of Gadamer is what enables him
to be called a hermeneutical phenomenologist, for he makes the connection between human
beings as interpretative beings and the function of human beings to interpret phenomena. This
makes him the key thinker for this theory.
The Theory
The definition of hermeneutic phenomenology is “historical phenomena (or the world
outside) is interpreted differently in proper context through one’s consciousness. True to the
purpose of the two separate strands of philosophy, hermeneutic phenomenology is the
interpretation of external reality. Other thinkers who gave varying interpretations of hermeneutic
phenomenology include the German philosopher Martin Heidegger and Paul Ricoeur.

Human-Environment Systems
The Development and Origin
As a social science, the origins of human-environment systems did not actually begin
with society itself, but rather with ecological themes. This dominant ideology began with the
study of ecology, the natural science. Ecology is defined as “the branch of biology that deals with
the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.” This includes all living
things, and their daily co-existence with the environment. At this level, ecology has not yet reached
the level of human-environment systems or what others call ‘human ecology.’ However, the basic
principle of ecology serves as one of the foundations of human-environment systems.
The Theory
There is no clear definition for huma-environment system, as it crosses multiple disciplines
at once such as ecology, sociology and environmental demographics. However, one good
description of human-environment system can be seen in environmental sociology.
Environmental sociology is typically defined as the sociological study of societal-
environmental interactions, although this definition immediately presents the problem of
integrating human cultures with the rest of the environment. (Schaefer, 2016)
The primary thrust of this theory is that the two parties: humans and the environment,
are in a state of continuous interaction and integration. “Although the focus of the field is the
relationship between society and environment in general, environmental sociologists typically
place special emphasis on studying the social factors that cause environmental problems, the
societal impacts of those problems, and efforts to solve the problems. In addition, considerable
attention is paid to the social processes by which certain environmental conditions become
socially defined as problems.” (Schaefer, 2016)
What makes this theory a dominant ideology is the fact that it incorporates society’s daily
function and process with it’s external environment, and how nature itself plays a role in the total
picture of social daily living. Human-environment system means that society does not live in a
blank, dysfunctional world, but rather a world that affects society greatly.

Course Module
Glossary
 Feminism – a theory that emphasizes gender as key basis of structured inequality,
challenges conventional distinctions between public and private, and problematizes
the fundamentally political relationship between gender and power.
 Hermeneutic Phenomenology – Historical phenomena (or the world outside) is
interpreted differently in proper context through one’s consciousness.
 Environment – surroundings; the totality of things that in any way may affect an
organism, including both physical and cultural conditions; a region characterized by
a certain set of physical conditions.
 Environmental Sociology – the sociological study of societal environmental
interactions.
References
 Bair, Deirdre (1990). Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography. New York: Summit Books.
 Cesare, Donatella Di (2007). Gadamer: A Philosophical Portrait. Niall Keane (trans.).
Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press.
 Macionis, J. (2012). Sociology (14th Edition). Singapore: Pearson Education South
Asia Pte Ltd.
 Schaefer, R. (2006). Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher
Education.
 White, Robert (2004). Controversies in Environmental Sociology. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Activity: Answer the following questions in a long bond paper:

1. What is the importance of feminist theory in the society now a days?
2. What is feminist theory in the present time?
3. What is gender equality and equity?
4. What is the purpose of hermeneutical phenomenology?
5. Explain the nature of hermeneutical phenomenology
6. How will you apply the study of human-environment system into the society most probably
under the discipline of sociology?

Prepared by:

Reynaldo C. Paris
Subject Teacher

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