DISCIPLINES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
The Remaining Signs of Past
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social Science
• Engaged in the study of phenomena
relating to human groups and their
socio-physical environment.
• Two important context:
o Involves scientific process
o Inquiries about the social
space
Social science and its disciplines involve a
scientific and methodological study of
human and society.
BEGINNING OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
INQUIRY OR RESEARCH
1. Ancient Greek Philosophers
• Inquired on questions of ethics, the
nature of man, society, and the state.
• Their principles became the
foundations of social science.
Plato
o The Republic
o Discussed how human nature or
the soul is a reflection of society
and how a society can achieve
harmony by creating classes or
divisions.
o Best/ideal ruler = philosopher
kings
Aristotle
o The Politics
o “Father of Political Science”
o Discussed how different types of
government can be transformed
into something just or corrupt.
According to Aristotle:
Ruler/s Good Bad
One Monarchy Tyranny
Few Aristocracy Oligarchy
Many Polity Democracy
According to Neo-Political Science:
Ruler/s Good Bad
Many Democracy Mobocracy
Herodotus
o The Histories
o “The Father of History”
o Paid attention to how the
different cultures of society
converged/diverged.
2. Other Scholars
Al-Biruni (973 – 1048)
o Islamic medieval scholar
o Documented the lives of early
population in South Asia, Middle
East, and Mediterranean
Books:
Centuries – a comparative study of
the different calendars of cultures and
civilizations in the Middle East and
South Asia.
Critical Study of What India Says,
whether accepted by Reason or
Refused – detailed account of the
religion and philosophy of India.
Ibn Khaldun (1332 – 1406)
o North African Muslim scholar
o One of the key founders of
demography, history, sociology,
anthropology, and economics.
Book:
Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun (1377)
• “The Introduction of Ibn
Khaldun”
• Used the universal history (world
history) approach that
emphasized history of
humankind as a coherent unit of
analysis, insisting that history be
void of “idle superstition and
uncritical acceptance of
historical data.” This germinated
the practice of “scientific
approach” to the study of human
populations.
(According to Ibn Khaldun, historical data
was written to please the rulers of their
time, to promote their personal, business,
and political interests. He also criticized
historical data because of the fact that
historians back then didn’t use the
‘”scientific approach” of data gathering.)
MEDIEVAL PERIOD
Church
• Concern was the rigorous study of
human nature and the use of Greek
philosophy to support and defend
theological ideas and principles.
• Less concerned on the pursuit of
knowledge in the physical sciences.
• Interest extends only to the degree
when knowledge is in accordance to
its religious dogma and to the sacred
scriptures.
(So basically, since the church’s opinion was
the standard of basing truth, it affected all
the disciplines under social sciences. This
went on for centuries and it required a lot of
effort for great thinkers to break away from
this.)
(But since humans are naturally curious
beings they eventually broke this, and their
desire to seek truth in both physical and except for emergency
metaphysical aspects of humanity became situations/cases.
the ground work for the development of
social science.) Jean-Jacques Rousseau
o Explains that a social contract
exists, which enables a society to
function toward a general will or
a common good.
AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Social Contract
• Particular attention was given to - The state was created through
how societies originated, how they
social contract.
functioned, and how they were
- Happens when you affix your
governed.
signature in a contract.
• Where philosophers began to
question the rule of absolute - Created because of the state of
monarchs and proposed that the nature.
power of any state lies not on its State of nature
government but on its people. o A state where government
is absent
According to Hector S De Leon, o Absolute freedom (no laws
monarchy is divided into two: & punishment)
1. Absolute Monarch o Uncertain and chaotic
2. Limited/Constitutional Monarch Social Contract Theorist:
- Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes - John Locke
- Jean-Jaques Rousseau
Book:
Leviathan - absolute monarchs are
essential to enforce the will of the
people, but argued that the monarch’s REVOLUTIONS, SOCIAL CHANGE,
power came from the people and not AND THE RISE OF MODERN SOCIAL
from divine right. CHANGES

French Revolution (1789-1799)

Divine Right Theory – asserts that a monarch
derived his right to rule directly from the will of
God.
John Locke
Book:
First Treaties of the Government
Second Treaties of the Government
o Argued that the power of the
state to govern is a power given
by the people for the protection
of their inalienable rights.
Inalienable rights – values every human person that
has dignity. Example: Human Rights.
Baron de Montesquieu
o Developed the idea of the
government having a system of
checks and balances and
separation of powers.
o Checks and Balances – where the
3 branches (executive, legislative,
judiciary) check each other so
they wouldn’t abuse the exercise
of their power.
o Separation of Powers – the
exercise of power cannot be
executes by the other branches
• One of the bloodiest revolution
• Caused by economic, social, political
instability in France.
• During the reign of King Louis XVI
3 social classes:
o Clergy
o Nobility
o Masses
Consequences of French Revolution
• Empowerment of the working
classes
• Weakening of the ecclesiastical and
monarchial power
• Montesquieu, Lafayette,
Robespierre, and Condorcet became
the intellectual voices that criticized
the French system of government,
arguing that a reformation of the
monarchy was needed such that it
would be based on a constitution
rather than on the Church’s dictates.
Industrial Revolution (1760-1840)
• A shift from human labor
dependence to machine dependence
which resulted the production of
surplus.
 • It resulted the creation of new social
classes that were based on a
democratic-capitalist orientation. It
saw the rise of middle class in
monarchial Britain.
Economic and political thinkers on
the impacts of industrialization
• Thomas Robert Malthus
o Theory on population – if the
growth of the population is left
unchecked, the scarcity of
food/products will increase.
• Adam Smith
o “Father of Modern Economics”
o The Wealth of Nations or An
Inquiry into the Nature and
Causes of the Wealth of Nations
o free market economy, invisible
hand = the price
Free market economy – the
government should not intervene with
the economic process.
• John Stuart Mill
o Disagreed with Smith saying that
a free market will only favor the
ruling elite and would severely
oppress the working class who
are manning the industries.
o Proponents of Utilitarianism
(Jeremy Bentham & John Stuart
Mill)
Utilitarianism – a decision is correct if
it creates the greatest happiness for
greatest number of people.
• Karl Marx
o “The Father of Communism”
o The Communist Manifesto
(1848) and Das Kapital (1867)
o According to him, the
government is important because
they are the one who’ll distribute
resources to the people for a
classless society.
• Alexis de Tocqueville
o Technology deprived humans of
creativity and freedom as they
were mere appendages to
machines in assembly lines. It
inhibited workers from using
their full mental capacity.
French revolution and industrial revolution
was the backdrop that the disciplines of
social sciences were developed and
implemented.
DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCE
STUDY & RESEARCH
• William Thompson
o Irish political and philosophical
writer
o Coined the term “social science”
in the early 1800s
o “Social science” appeared in his
book “An Inquiry into the
Principles of the Distribution of
Wealth Most Conducive to
Human Happiness: Applied to
the Newly Proposed System of
Voluntary Equality of Wealth”
POSITIVISM & POST-POSITIVISM
APPROACHES IN SOCIAL SCIENCES
• Highly quantitative analysis
o Positivism
o Objective
• Highly qualitative analysis
o Post-positivism/post-modernism
o Subjective
• Auguste Comte
o French philosopher
o “Father of Sociology”
o According to him, social realm
can be understood with the use
of quantitative analysis.
o Argued that there are 3 stages in
the development of reason:
theological, philosophical, and
scientific.
3 ways a person can acquire
knowledge/reason:
• Theological knowledge
• Based on assumptions of
sacred text/scriptures.
• Philosophical knowledge
• Based on critical thinking.
• Scientific knowledge
• Based on a scientific
process/method.
• Most accurate/reliable
because it comes from
positive observation.
Positivist Approach
• Empirical Method
o A phenomenon to be understood
as conducting processes that
include hypothesis building and
testing through observation &
experiment.
o Example: Emile Durkheim’s
study on Suicide
4 TYPES OF SUICIDE (by Emile
Durkheim)
Altruistic – strong ties with society
Egoistic – weak ties with society
Fatalistic – many rules in society, failed

• Empiricism
o Created by John Locke
o Knowledge/reason acquired
through sensual experiences.
o “Empiricist” (someone who
supports the theory of
empiricism)
Post-positivism or Post-modernism
• Social Phenomenon
o Is understood using a
combination of being reasoning
and empirical observation.
o Stated that reality is constructed
by subjective minds.
RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIAL
SCIENCES
- Methods are grouped according to
their research objectives:
o Inductive research – aims to
understand theoretical concepts
from available data.
o Deductive research – aims to
test theories using new observed
data.
- 2 research design strands:
o Quantitative design – relies
heavily on numerical data.
o Qualitative design – relies on
non-numerical data such as texts
and spoken words.
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
- Survey
o Process of gathering the
responses of a certain number of
participants on a topic.
o Responses are numerically coded
and statistically analyzed.
- Key informant interview
o Process of asking individuals a
set of questions face to face.
o Structured/semi-structured
- Participant observation
o Enables the researcher to
understand a social phenomenon
by immersing themselves in the
environment.
o Mostly used in anthropology.
Interdisciplinary Approach
- Allows for a constant sharing of
theories and methodologies among
the disciplines of the social sciences.
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND NATURAL
SCIENCES
- Natural sciences include 3 primary
fields of inquiry :
o Chemistry
o Biology
o Physics
- Aims to discover laws that govern
the order of nature.
- Both social science and natural
science adhere to a scientific
approach in understanding their
topics.
o A scientific approach would
always include a rigorous and
systematic examination of
factors and elements relating to
the topic. (Example: Laboratory
experimentation, observation,
testing)
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND
HUMANITIES
- Humanities traditionally include:
o Philosophy
o Literature
o Creative Writing
- Oriented toward a reflective
interconnection between the subject
and the object.
- Chief aim of humanities is to
produce wisdom by understanding
social realities through reflection.
Social sciences don’t accommodate a pure
reflective approach in understanding social
reality.
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Anthropology comes from the Greek
words: Anthropos (human) and
logos (study)
• holistic study of human beings and
their culture
• as a discipline that includes
everything about humans
DEVELOPMENT OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
The Rise of Empires and States
• Expansions of territories among
ancient civilizations brought a
convergence of people of different
physical characteristics and cultural
practices.
 • Documentation of various human
populations and their
characteristics.
• Comparison between more powerful
and subservient societies.
HERODOTUS (484-420 BCE)
• One of the forerunners of the
discipline of anthropology.
• Works focus on the culture of
Persian.
• Compared and created an analysis of
the culture of the Western
Civilization (Greeks) and Eastern
Civilization (Persians)
• Analytical process of comparing the
self with the other arises and
pervade the anthropological research
agenda.
IBN KHALDUN
• Published extensive documentation
of early civilization and the factors
that affected the rise of power and
their eventual demise.
• Examined the social, psychological,
and economic factors.
• Used a scientific approach instead of
a commonly accepted religious
framework.
• His book is MUQADDIMAH – it
discusses the history of alchemy, the
views of alchemists such as Jabir ibn
Hayyan, and the theories of the
transmutation of metals and the
elixir of life. One chapter of the book
contains a systematic refutation of
alchemy on social, scientific,
philosophical, and religious grounds.
The Dawn of Colonialism and
Imperialism
• European explores seeking new
territories started to encounter
people from other parts of the world.
• Exotic cultures were documented by
European sailors, missionaries, and
scholars.
• Western perspective was used as the
point of comparison.
• Produced a highly Eurocentric view
of the world.
JEAN - JACQUES ROUSSEAU
• Said in his book “DISCOURSE AND
INEQUALITY” that these primitive
societies can, later on, be expected to
progress toward the stage of civilized
societies.
• Morality of primitive societies is
characterized by peace and harmony,
unlike those in the civilized
European Society which was laden
by inequality.
• Was credited for the germination of
the term noble savage, which later
on pervades the discourses in the
discipline anthropology.
• Rise of imperialism pushed the
Western world to engage in cross-
cultural research as they
encountered societies different from
them.
• Global power were in Europe
(Belgium, England, France, Portugal,
and Spain) - Territories that were
subjected to Western domination
were those in Africa, Asia, The
Americas, and the Pacific.
• The shift in the socioeconomic and
political landscapes also shaped how
Europeans interacted with foreign
peoples.
• Another form of migration
significantly affected the distribution
of the human population in the
world.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES IN
ANTHROPOLOGY
1. EDWARD BURNETT TYLOR
• Father of cultural
anthropology and defined it
as the "science of culture"
• culture could be objectively
studied with proper
methodology and theoretical
framework.
• In his work "Primitive
Culture" , concept of
unilineal cultural evolution
was introduced.
• the modern forms of religion
present in civilized societies
are mere survival of past
cultures.
2. LEWIS HENRY MORGAN
• his release his classic work
League of the Ho-de-no-
saunee, or Iroquios
• His version of social/cultural
evolution present three
stages: Savagery, Barbarism,
and Civilization
• he was criticized because of
his Eurocentric approach in
the development of societies
• Both Taylor and Morgan's
brand of evolution was
criticized because they
proposed that all societies
 will have to evolve from
simple to complex.
3. FRANZ BOAS
• did not use science to justify
racism.
• Opposed the armchair
anthropology
• scientific method of doing
anthropological research lead
to the recognition of cultural
relativism as one of
anthropology's key concepts.
• He was regarded as the
father of American
anthropology for four
reasons: 1) he considered
archaeological, biological,
cultural, and linguistics data
to understand culture; 2) he
developed the his theory of
historical particularism in the
United States; 3) He founded
the first department of
anthropology in the United
States at Colombia
University; 4) he trained
future influential scholars of
the discipline.
THE FIELD OF ANTHROPOLOGY
1. THE BRITISH SCHOOL
• Broader cultural
• Biological Fields
2. THE AMERICAN SCHOOL
• Biological/Physical
Anthropology
• engaged in
understanding humans
and their nature as an
animal species.
• it examines human
variation, evolution, and
physical characteristics.
• human's closest relative,
called primatology.
• Archeology
• remains a branch of
anthropology.
• it attempts to reconstruct
the cultures of past
civilizations and human
groups by dealing with
fossils and artifacts.
• Linguistic Anthropology
• examines the relationship
of the language and
culture of a group of
people.
• three subfields in
linguistic anthropology:
historical, descriptive,
and social linguistics.
• Cultural Anthropology
• studies the lifeways and
traditions of human
groups
• key element that this field
interrogates is that of
culture
• There are two ways by
which anthropologist
study culture in depth:
ethnography and
ethnology.
APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
• considered as a new
subdiscipline.
• It uses the
interdisciplinary
approach in resolving
contemporary issues or in
applying the discipline to
practical use.
KEY CONCEPTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
• EVOLUTIONISM - The concept of
evolution was first recognized in the
natural sciences through the works
of Charles Darwin, Gregor
Mendel, Alfred Russel Wallace,
and Charles Lyell.
CHARLES DARWIN (1809-1882)
• who became the forerunner of the
evolution concept in his work “On
the Origin of Species by Natural
Selection”.
• which highlighted specific concepts
like natural selection and
gradualism.
• This perspective was later adapted
by social scientists in understanding
the development of human societies
through the
THEORY OF UNILINEAL
EVOLUTION
• which states that human groups go
through stages of development.
CULTURAL RELATIVISM
• a valuable mental tool used by most
anthropologists as they study other
cultures.
• contrast to ethnocentrism
CULTURE
• key element of study in the field of
anthropology.
• culture can be tangible or intangible.
 • defined as "the totality of the
lifeways of a group of people
which may include their
tradition, beliefs, norms, and
mores that guide the behavior
of people within their society."
RESEARCH METHODS IN
ANTHROPOLOGY
• the most definitive method
employed by most researchers is
ethnography.
• the two most used methods in
ethnography are key informant
interviews and participant
observation.
CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF
ANTHROPOLOGY
• Applied Anthropology
• Forensic Anthropology
• Medical Anthropology
• Public Anthropology
ECONOMICS
• came from the Greek words: Oikos
(house) and Nomos (custom or law)
• First conceived as the study of
allocation of resources within the
household level
• In 19th century, the discipline was
recognized as "political economy"
• -"political" was dropped and the
term "economy" was used to refer to
the discipline that studies
interaction of economic assets and
the system
CHANAKYA (c.350-c.272 BCE)
• An Indian polymath
• His book is entitled
ARTHASHASTRA (THE
SCIENCE OF WEALTH)
• Proposed methods that could be
used to efficiently manage an
economy under a dictatorial regime
THOMAS AQUINAS (Middle Age:
1225-1274)
• Italian theologian and philosopher
• discussed the idea of "just price" in
his book Summa Theologica
MERCANTILISM (16th-18th Century)
• the term was coined by Victor de
Riqueti and Marqui de
Mirabeau
• a strict government regulation of
trade within a territory
• Mercantilism defines an economic
policy or trade practice that
countries adopt to grow their wealth
and power by maintaining a
favorable balance in trade through
increased exports and decreased
imports.
THOMAS MUN (1571-1641)
• English economist
• His book is entitled A DISCOURSE
OF TRADE FROM ENGLAND
UNTO EAST INDIES (1621)
• The prices should increase in order
to gain profit from its economic
activities
ADAM SMITH (1723 – 1790)
• Scottish Philosopher
• The Father of Modern Economics
• Proposed the concept of “free
market” in his book, The Wealth
of Nations
• Invisible hand
ALFRED MARSHALL (I842 – 1924)
▪ in his book, he declared that Smith's
theory is problematic due to:
▪ It focuses too much on wealth
without considering the value of
human welfare.
▪ The invisible hand is only as good as
the market when it's free from
monopoly of the upper class.
PRINCIPLES OF ECONOMICS (1890)
Marshall defined economics as "a study of
man in the ordinary business of life. It
enquires how he gets his income and
how he uses it. Thus, it is on the side,
the study of wealth and on the other
and more important side, a part of the
study of man."
THE FIELD OF ECONOMICS
• MICROECONOMICS
• focuses on small-scale
market interactions that
transpire between
individuals consisting of
business firms and
households.
• MACROECONOMICS
• focuses on analyzing
determinants of national
income.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES
• a British economist, is
one of the key theorists
on the field of
macroeconomics, the
 founder of modern 2. a system where such
macroeconomics. The exchanges of goods
author of the book “The take place
General Theory of 3. a theoretical arena
Employment, Interest where sellers compete
and Money”. for the patronage of
costumers
• MAINSTREAM • SUPPLY AND
ECONOMICS DEMAND
Supply - entirety of
focuses on understanding available goods that the
the interconnection market can offer
between the concepts of Demand- the actual
rationality, individualism, quantity of goods or
and equilibrium. services that the public
requires from the market
• HETERODOX • SPECIALIZATION
ECONOMICS Refers to a method in
production where in the
the shift from process of producing
mainstream economics, goods is concentrated to a
arguing that there is no particular group of
single way of analyzing individuals or region.
economic phenomena. TYPES OF
• ECONOMIC THEORY SPECIALIZATION
an umbrella term that 1. Labor
refers to the explanation specialization
and understanding of the 2. Departmental
processes and specialization
interactions related to the 3. Business
production and specialization
consumption goods. 4. Regional
• APPLIED specialization
ECONOMICS 5. Country
it utilizes economic specialization
theories and formulas to
real world scenarios with • PRODUCTION
the goal of predicting A process wherein raw
possible events and materials are
outcomes. transformed into usable
• POSITIVE goods or commodities.
ECONOMICS
RESEARCH METHODS IN
(OBJECTIVE)
ECONOMICS
the descriptive form of
economics. Its chief aim • BEHAVIORAL
is to describe and explain ECONOMICS
economic phenomena or Provides an analysis that
behavior. fuses economic principles
• NORMATIVE with psychological
ECONOMICS(SUBJEC framework.
TIVE) • CLASSICAL
is focused on providing ECONOMICS
explanations and - derived from the
arguments on how theories of Adam
economic policies should Smith, Thomas
be. Malthus, and David
Ricardo
KEY CONCEPTS IN ECONOMICS
- the market must be free
• MARKET from intervention for it to
1. literally a place where have a dynamic and self-
exchange between perpetuating trajectory
consumers and sellers • COMPUTATIONAL
transpire ECONOMICS
 - involves the development of which in turn affects
mathematical methods with social welfare.
the aid of computers.
- an important tool in
understanding all areas of
economics

• ECONOMETRICS
- the term was founded by
Pawel Ciompa (1910)
- established as a discipline
in 1936 by Ragnar Frisch
- oriented towards the
analysis of economic data
using mathematical and
statistical methods.

• EVOLUTIONARY
ECONOMICS
- highly influenced by
Darwinian concept of the
development of organisms
from simple to complex.
- Vernon Smith is credited as
the founder of this approach

• PRAXEOLOGY
- the argument of
praxeology is that human
actions are done based on
a calculated purpose or
objective.
- theorists in praxeology
use deductive reasoning
wherein they thread from
big ideas to smaller ideas.
CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF
ECONOMICS

• ECONOMICS OF
EDUCATION
- this field of economics
considers the impact of
education as a key point
in analyzing economic
behavior and potentials.
• ENVIRONMENTAL
ECONOMICS
- the process involved in
the harvest and transfer
of raw materials and
products entail
consequences to the
environment.
• WELFARE
ECONOMICS
- this field of economics
focusses its analysis on
the equitable allocation of
resources and goods
among the populace,