Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciences

LESSON 1: DEFINING SOCIAL SCIENCES AS THE STUDY OF SOCIETY

ABOUT THE SUBJECT

• Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences discusses various concepts, theories, and principles in the social
sciences to enable students to analyze social problems and issues, propose solutions, and identify ways to take
action in service of their community and country.

PRACTICAL WAYS OF CATEGORIZING HUMAN KNOWLEDGE

 NATURAL SCIENCE
 SOCIAL SCIENCE
 HUMANITIES

WHAT IS SOCIAL SCIENCE?

 The Social Science are the field of scientific knowledge that study social groups and more generally human
society.
 Each Disciplines of Social Science represents specific facets of human behavior in various environment.
 Social science are a group of academic disciplines dedicated to examining society..
 This branch of science studies how people interact with each other, behave, develop as a culture and influence
the world.

IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

• Study of Social Science makes us an efficient citizen of a democracy, and it also helps us to solve the practical
problems in our daily life. It is essential for communities and organizations

BRANCHES OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

A E G H P2 S D L
LINGUISTICS
GEOGRAPHY

DEMOGRAPHY
Y
ANTHROPOLOG

ECONOMICS

POLITICAL SCIENCE
PSYCHOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
HISTORY

WHAT IS NATURAL SCIENCE?

A major branch of science that deals with the description, prediction and understanding of natural phenomena basically
based on observational and empirical evidence.

TWO BRANCHES OF NATURAL SCIENCE

LIFE SCIENCE
 Biological science
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
 Physics
 Astronomy
 Chemistry
 Earth science
SOCIAL SCIENCE VS. NATURAL SCIENCE
Things in Common
 Both sciences employ the scientific model in order to gain information.
 Both science use empirical and measured data evidence that can be seen and discerned by the senses.
 Both sciences, theories can be tested to yield theoretical statement and general positions.
Differences

Natural Science Social Science

Started during the 16th and 17th century. Arose 300 years later.
Deals with object. Deals with subject. (human being)
Characterized by exactness, controlled variables and It is spontaneous, unpredictable and uncontrollable, as it
predictability. deals with human emotions and behavior.
 Experimental Data. Experimental Data.
The typical method of science is doing repetitive and Typically involves alternative methods of observation and
conventional laboratory experiment. interaction with people within community
Closed system. Open system

WHAT IS HUMANITIES?

 Refers to the study of the ways in which the human experience is processed and documented.
 Encompasses the field of philosophy, literature, religion, art, music, history, and language
 The humanities are the study of what we are, what we have been, and what we can become. They are
concerned with values and choices, and with making intellectual, moral, and spiritual sense of the world. The
humanities help us to analyze our complex society, and to make thoughtful, reasoned decisions.
 From an academic standpoint, the humanities include the study of history, philosophy and religion, modern and
ancient languages and literatures, fine and performing arts, media and cultural studies, and other fields.
 Humanities research adds to our knowledge of the world, as scholars investigate differences between cultures
and communities around the world and across time, consider the ways art is made and received, or unveil the
undercurrents that have shaped history.
 Humanities education encourages students to think creatively and critically, to reason, and ask questions. And,
as the humanities offer insight into nearly every aspect of life, they have been considered a core element of a
well-rounded education since ancient times.
 Put simply, the humanities help us understand and interpret the human experience, as individuals and societies.

SOCIAL SCIENCES VS. HUMANITIES

Things in common
 Both humanities and social science are concerned with human aspect like, law, politics, linguistics, economics,
and psychology.
 Both the humanities and social sciences are concerned with human lives and nature.
Differences
FUNCTIONS

To better appreciate the and purpose of the human

To analyze, explain and possibly predict and produce
experience – both broadly in the nature of the human
new knowledge of factual information.
condition, as well as within each individual

To reveal wisdom to better explore and address the big To generate and produce new knowledge or factual
questions and meet the challenges in human condition. information.

HUMANITIES SOCIAL SCIENCE

Emerged in the 15th century.
Humanities involved a more of a scientific approach.
Deemed to be more philosophical and concerned with
heritage and the question of what makes us human.
Comprise application of an interpretative methodology.
Influence by and developed after the French revolution
and the industrial revolution.
Social science deal with more scientific approach.
Involves application of an empirical, rational, and
objective methodology (such as the use of validity and
reliable test) to present facts.

IMPORTANCE OF HUMANITIES

Because it reflects upon the following in an inter-disciplinary manner:

 The nature of basic values
 Issues that confront us as citizens and as human beings in life and in society
 The various policies and practices that are proposed to address these issues
 The experiences and perceptions of others
 The ways in which time, place and culture affect attitudes and perceptions

It is the core of human values and experiences… Without it we have no context for understanding our past,
present or future as individuals or as nations

THE EMERGENCE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

• Social Science History is dedicated to the study of social theory within an empirical historical context. Our
interdisciplinary readership includes anthropologists, demographers, economists, geographers, historians,
political scientists, and sociologists, all in pursuit of a deep understanding of societies, past and present.

• Social Science as an academic field of study developed out of the Age of Enlightenment (or the age of Reason),
which flourished through much of 18th century in Europe.

• Adam Smith was among the big intellectuals at the time who laid the foundations for the study of Social
Sciences in the Western World.

• The history of social science has origin in the common stocks of Western Philosophy and shares various
precursors, but began most intentionally in the early 19th century with the Positivist Philosophy Of Science

• Since the mid-20th century, the term “Social Science” has come to refer more generally, not just to sociology, but
to all the those disciplines which analyze society and culture; from anthropology to linguistics to media studies.