THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE THREE FACES OF THE SOCIAL

UNDERSTANDING CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND POLITICS

Lectured by Mr. Jojo L. Dela Cruz

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE THREE FACES OF THE SOCIAL

Social science is an academic discipline which consists of many sub fields including
economics, political science,
human geography, demography, psychology, sociology, anthropology, archaeology, history,
and linguistics.

Sociology is one of the major sub branches of Social Science that deals with.

Social refers mostly to the relations of persons or groups within society. It is used to promote
companionship.

Socialize is defined to mingle with others.

Socialite is a term for a person with prominent (usually privileged, wealthy, or aristocratic
background) status in
society.

Antisocial is behaviours that harm or lack consideration for others that opposes to social
order or the principles of
society.

Asocial refers to someone who avoids engaging in society due to lack of interest. (Introvert)

Societal relates to the spontaneous and/or directed structuration and organization of society
as a whole.

THREE FACES OF THE SOCIAL

1. Sociology- social forces

2. Anthropology- cultural practices

3. Political Science- power relations

DEFINING SOCIOLOGY
-comes from the Latin word “SOCIUS” meaning friend, member, or ally and “LOGOS” meaning
study of.
-it is the study of interaction and social lives of people, groups, and societies.
-social forces influence, force, and pressure people to behave, interact with others, and think
in certain ways: sex,
gender, religion, class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and the like.
-it was born on Europe.

SOCIETY is group of people involved in social interaction. It composes of social institutions.

TYPES OF SOCIAL INSTITUTION

1. Family is the basic unit of society with the unique function or producing and rearing the
young. (e.g. mother, father,
siblings, etc.).

2. Education is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of
people are transferred from
one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. (e.g. teachers, principals,
classmates).

3. Religion is a system of beliefs and rituals that serves to bind people together through
shared worship (e.g. priests,
church mates, catechist, etc.).

4. Economics deals with the distribution of goods and services (e.g. businessmen, workers,
entrepreneurs, etc.)

5. Government makes and carries out those rules of action which are necessary to enable men
to live in a social state
(e.g. politicians, officers, electoral, etc.).

TWO FACES OF SOCIETY (Dahrendorf)

1. Consensus- is the widespread or general agreement among all the members of society.

2. Conflict- is the clash or opposition of ideas, principles, and people.

THREE MAJOR THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES OF THE ORIGIN OF SOCIETY

1. Structural Functional Theory- sees society as system with parts, and these parts have their
respective functions to
perform. It emphasizes: Function (importance) and Interdependence (cooperation).

2. Social Conflict Theory- a system characterized by social inequality which sees something
positive and advantageous.
It emphasizes competition and social processes.

3. Symbolic Interactionism Theory- interpretation of symbols that may have a reality-making

effect on people
implicated in an interaction situation based on specific setting. It emphasizes symbols and
meaning.

SOCIAL PHILOSOPHERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

1. Auguste Comte
-father of sociology
-coined the term sociology in 1838
-he described sociology as queen of social sciences

2. Herbert Spencer
-compared society with an organism and suggested thus close relatedness of institutions of
any society to
functions as a whole.

3. Emile Durkheim
-key in social behaviour is social cohesion or solidarity, the force that is needed for
cooperation and unity.
-he studied “suicide”- niche problematique
-he introduced social fact- social phenomena.

4. Karl Marx
-father of communism
-human society needs capitalist economic system

5. Lester Ward
-father of American sociology
-social progress is possible through intelligent social action

6. Max Weber
-sociological research must concentrate on human‟s cultural values.

7. C. Wright Mills
-Sociological Imagination helps us understand the relationship between the individual and
society from personal
problem to public issue.

SOCIAL RESEARCH is systematic and organized effort to investigate a specific problem which
aims towards an
understanding of social phenomena. It can be classified along a quantitative/qualitative.

1. Qualitative research is exploratory. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying

reasons, opinions, and
motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses. E.g.
interview, group
discussion, observations, etc.

2. Quantitative research is used to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data
or data that can be
transformed into usable statistics. E.g. online poll, surveys, etc.

FOUR SOCIAL RESEARCH METHODS

1. Case Study- also called case history. It is an intensive examination of particular individual,
group, or situation over a
period of time.
2. Survey- is a method of gathering information from a sample of people through printed
questionnaires.
3. Experimental Method- uses scientific method for precise and reliable information.
4. Secondary Analysis- getting information from other people.

2 TYPES OF ANALYSIS

1. Micro analysis is a data gathered that provides answer through small scale.
2. Macro analysis is a data gathered that provides answer through small scale.

SOCIAL REALITIES: BEHAVIOR AND PHENOMENON

1. ISTAMBAY- “stand by” meaning to hang around.

o Situation: Gary graduated a year ago. Despite being blessed with several job offers, he
chooses to remain jobless
and hang around with his barkada. Together they love to istambay in the town plaza especially
at night.

2. LAGAY- means "bribe system"

o Situation: As a businessman, Mang Leo is used to giving “padulas” to his main suppliers in
order to expedite
his business transactions with them.

3. FOOD TABOOS- is a prohibition against consuming certain foods.

o Situation: Members of the Catholic Religion are prohibited to eat meat on the Good Friday
while Inglesia Ni
Cristo members are not allowed to eat dinuguan.

4. SAME SEX PARTNERSHIP- living or having an affair between people of the same sex.
o Situation: Darius is openly gay. He lives with his partner Garner. He and Garner are both
college professors in
the local city college.

5. PADRINO- one who gains favour, promotion, or political appointment through family
affiliation or friendship.
o Situation: If grades were to be the basis of Rusty‟s standing in his economics class, he
would surely fail the
course. However, he was given a passing grade by his economics teacher, who happened to
be a childhood friend
of his mother.

SOCIAL DYNAMICS: SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND CULTURAL CHANGE

1. SELFIEING- self-portray photograph. According to H.B 4807 “Anti-Selfie” states that it

penalizes persons for
taking pictures of others without their consent. Makati and Pasig City are considered “Selfie
capital of the world”

o Situation: Taking “selfies” is Alyssa‟s preoccupation. It became a habit when parents gave
her a phone on her
birthday.

2. POLITICAL DYNASTY- A succession of rulers from the same family or line that maintains
power for several
generations. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines states in Article II Section 26, "The State
shall guarantee equal
access to opportunities for public service, and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined
by law."

o Situation: Kapitan Tim is the incumbent mayor of the City of Amin-Amin. His son Timmy Jr. is
currently
running for the congressional seat of the district, a position occupied by his mother Cong.
Valencia for about
three consecutive terms.

3. TRANSNATIONAL FAMILY- lives apart but who create and retain a 'sense of collective
welfare and unity.
o Situation: Amina, a college student, is living alone in Manila. Both of her parents are OFWs
working in the
Middle East. She visits them every summer break.

4. YOUTH VOLUNTEERISM- is an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides

services for no financial
gain.

o Situation: As a youth volunteer, Verna finds the rainy season a busy season due to the
frequency of typhoon-
related disasters. Sometime she even spends her own money to buy relief goods for typhoon
victims.

5. VIDEO GAMING- using electronic device that involves interaction with a user interface to
generate visual feedback
on a video device.

o Situation: Michael almost missed the chance to finish his school because he had been
absent most of the time
playing Clash of Clans (COC).

DEFINING CULTURE AND SOCIETY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND

SOCIOLOGY

ANTHROPOLOGY is the study of humanity, including its prehistoric origins and contemporary
human diversity.

-the study of human societies and cultures and their development

-The word anthropology is derived from two Greek words: anthropos meaning "man" or
"human" and logos study of.

Franz Boas is considered both the founder of modern anthropology as well as the father of
American Anthropology.It
was Boas who gave modern anthropology its rigorous scientific methodology, patterned after
the natural sciences, and it
was Boas who originated the notion of "culture" as learned behaviors.

E.B Taylor, English anthropologist, was the first to coin the term „culture ‟ in the 18th century.
The study of society is
incomplete without the proper understanding of culture because culture and society go
together.

FIELDS OF ANTHROPOLOGY

1. Biological anthropology
— the study of humans as biological organisms, including evolution and contemporary
variation. Biological anthropology
encompasses three subfields:

a. Primatology is the study of the nonhuman members of the order of mammals called
primates, which includes a
wide range of animals from very small, nocturnal creatures to gorillas, the largest members.
Primatologists study nonhuman primates in the wild and in captivity. They record and analyze
how the animals
spend their time, collect and share food, form social groups, rear offspring, develop leadership
patterns, and
experience and resolve conflicts. Primatologists are alarmed about the decline in numbers,
and even the
extinction, of non-human primate species. Many apply their knowledge to non-human primate
conservation.

b. Paleoanthropology is the study of human evolution on the basis of the fossil record.
Paleoanthropologists
search for fossils to increase the amount of evidence related to the way human evolution
occurred. Fossil record
refers to the number of fossils that have been discovered. Paleontology is the study of fossils.

c. Contemporary human biological variation. Anthropologists working in this area seek to

explain differences in
the biological makeup and behaviour of contemporary humans. They study such biological
factors as DNA
within and across populations, body size and shape, human nutrition and disease, and human
growth and
development.

2. Archaeology
—the study of past human cultures through their artefacts and material remains. Archaeology
encompasses two major
areas: prehistoric archaeology, which concerns the human past before written records, and
historical archaeology, which
deals with the human past in societies that have written documents. Another set of
specialties within archaeology is
based on the context in which the archaeology takes place. For example, underwater
archaeologist is the study of
submerged archaeological sites. Industrial archaeology focuses on social change during and
since the Industrial
Revolution. Industrial archaeologists seek to conserve industrial sites, which are more likely
to be neglected or
destroyed than are sites that have natural beauty or cultural glamour attached to them.

3. Linguistic anthropology
—the study of human communication, including its origins, history, and contemporary variation
and change

4. Cultural anthropology
— the study of living peoples and their cultures, including variation and change. Culture refers
to people‟s learned and
shared behaviours and beliefs.

5. Applied anthropology
— the use of anthropological knowledge to prevent or solve problems or to shape and achieve
policy goals.

DEFINING CULTURE
(Culture is a pair of glasses. It helps you to see the world clearly.)

CULTURE is a system of shared beliefs, values, and behaviour that the members of society use
to cope up with their
world and with one another.
-the total way of life of people
-a precipitate of history
-a social legacy that individual acquires from his group
-A culture is a historically derived system of explicit and implicit design for living, which tends
to be shared by all or
specially designed members of a group. (Kluckhohn and Kelly)

Explicit Culture refers to similarities in words and actions which can be directly observed.
Implicit Culture exists in abstract forms which are not quite obvious.

CULTURE AS COMPLEX WHOLE by E.B TAYLOR

1. Belief is the faith of an individual.

Ex. A black cat crossing your path means bad luck.
Black ants inside the house mean good luck.
If a person bites his tongue, it means somebody is thinking of him.

(Theist believes in God, Atheist doesn‟t, Agnostic may/may not)

2. Values are an abstract concept what is important and worthwhile.

Ex. Pagmamano, Saying Po and Opo to elder, Hospitality

3. Practices are the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method to improve one ‟s
life.
Ex. Filipinos can‟t live without rice.
In Africa, Female gets circumcised.

4. Attitudes are described as a tendency to react positively or negatively to a person or

circumstances.
Ex. Judgemental, Filipino Time, Crab mentality, Procrastination

5. Norms are rules and expectations by which a member of society guides the behaviour of its
members.
Ex. A man wears a gown
A man wears a raincoat in sunny day.

Types of Norms
a. Laws are formalized norms that were enacted by the state or government power.
b. Mores are customary behavioural patterns which have taken a moralistic value.
c. Taboos are the prohibited or restricted to practice.
d. Folkways are organized and repetitive ways of doing things.
e. Rituals are highly scripted ceremonies.

6. Artefacts are man-made object, as a tool or the remains of one, of an earlier time or cultural
stage.
Ex. Manuggul Jar

7. Symbols give meaning to culture.

Ex. Dove is for peace
Flag is for independence.

8. Knowledge is the storehouse where we accumulate representations, information, facts,

assumptions, etc.
9. Personality is the totality of an individual. How you carry yourself.
Ex. wearing your favourite dress

10. Fossils are the remains of prehistoric organism.

Ex. bones

11. Language is a system of organized symbols which allows communication with others.
Baybayin Baybayin comes
from the word “baybay”, which literally means “spell.

Ex. Kapampanggan, Iloko, Bisaya, Tagalog

Types of Language
1. Verbal
2. Non-verbal

2 TYPES OF CULTURE

1. Material Component of Culture is the tangible or physical object created by members of

society.

2. Non Material Component of Culture is the intangible world of ideas created by the members
of society.

CHARACTERISTICS/ASPECTS OF CULTURE

1. Culture is learned. Culture is not inherited biologically but it is learnt by man socially.
Cultural learning begins from
the moment of birth, if not before. Culture is non-instinctive; we are not genetically programed
to learn a particular one.

2. Culture is shared. Culture is transmitted by society.

3. Culture is symbolic. A symbol is an object, word, or action with a culturally defined meaning
which represents in
meaningful way. Language is the most significant cultural symbols.

4. Culture is integrated. All aspects of culture function as an integrated whole.

5. Culture is dynamic. It is constantly changing because new ideas and new techniques are
added and old ways are
constantly modified and discarded.

6. Culture is diverse. It was formed by many separate cultures. It is a system that has several
mutually interdependent
parts. Although these parts are separate, they are interdependent with one another forming
culture as a whole.

FUNCTIONS OF CULTURE

1. Culture provides behavioural pattern.

2. Culture maintains the biologic functioning of the group.
3. Culture gives meaning and direction to one‟s existence.
4. Culture offers ready-made solutions to man‟s material and immaterial problems.
5. Culture develops man‟s attitude and values and gives him a conscience.

CULTURAL RELATIVISM is the perspective that each culture must be understood in terms of
the values and ideas
of that culture and not judged by the standards of another culture.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY refers to the differentiation of culture all over the world.
1. Subculture refers to a smaller culture within a large culture. These are cultural patterns
that set apart some segment of
society‟s population.
2. Ethnocentrism refers to the feeling or belief that one‟s culture is better or superior than the
rest. This term coined by
William Graham Summer.
3. Xenocentrism refers to the belief that one‟s culture is inferior compared to others.
Xenophobia is an intense or
irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries.
4. Ideal culture is cultural values, beliefs, and norms that supposed to follow. E.g. marriage
5. Real culture is cultural values, beliefs, and norms that actually follows practices and
displays like eating turkey on
Thanksgiving. E.g. divorce
6. High culture identifies the culture of an upper class or elite ‟s society.
7. Popular culture or Pop culture identifies the culture based on widespread or majority of a
society‟s population.

CULTURAL CHANGE refers to the manner by which culture evolves.

1. Cultural diffusion refers to the transfer or spread of cultural traits from one area to another
brought by change agents
such as people or the media.

2. Counter culture refers to the cultural patterns that strongly oppose those widely accepted
within a society.

3. Cultural lag is when parts of the society do not change as fast as with other parts and they
are left behind.

4. Culture shock is the inability to read meaning in one‟s surroundings, feeling lost and
isolation.

LOOKING BACK AT THE HUMAN BIOCULTURAL AND SOCIAL EVOLUTION

EVOLUTION is the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations

THE TRIPARTITE OF EVOLUTION OF MAN

1. Biological Evolution refers to the changes, modifications, and variations in the genetics and
inherited traits of
biological populations from one generation to another. It studies the changes in the physical
body of humans, the
changes in the shape and size of bones, brain, fingers, also changes in posture, movement,
and the development of
bipedalism. Bipedalism is walking on the two feet in an upright position.

Gregor Mendel is the father of genetics.

It is based on the theory of evolution that was introduced by the famous English naturalist and
geologist Charles
Darwin in his work On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection. He hypothesized
that evolution of species
happens through the process of natural selection.

Natural Selection (“survival of the fittest”) affects the traits that enhance survival and
reproductive success increase in
frequency over time. According to Darwin, the environment favours certain organisms and
those organisms that survive
can pass on their traits. Natural Selection has three main principles: a. variation, b.
heritability, c. differential
reproductive success.

2. Cultural Evolution refers to the changes or development in cultures from a simple to a more
complex form of human
culture. Socio-cultural evolution happens as a result of human adaptation to different factors
like climatic changes and
population increase. Ex. Different tools and other human-made objects that people have used.

3. Social Evolution

FROM HOMONIDS TO HOMOSAPIENS SAPIENS: THE BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL

EVOLUTION OF MODERN HUMANS

Homonid is the general term used by the scientist to categorize the group of early human and
other humanlike creatures
that can walk erect during the prehistoric times.

FOUR CATEGORIES OF HOMINIDS

1. Sahelanthropus- apelike. Fossils found in African continent.

2. Ardipithecus- apelike Fossils found in African continent.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ARDIPITHECUS

1. Height about 4 feet.

2. Weight of about 120 pounds.
3. Skull size similar to an ape
4. Small brain
5. Biped
6. Lived in jungles and forests like the chimpanzees

3. Australophitecus is the first stage of human evolution Fossils found in African continent.
Also known as “southern
ape”

CHARACTERISTICS OF AUSTRALOPHITECUS

1. Brain weight of 500 cc

2. Upright
3. Biped
4. Tool users only not tool makers
5. Used sticks and stones for digging
6. Food scavengers
7. Ate insects, eggs, plants, fruits, and sometimes meat.

LUCY was old Australopithecus aferensis fossil which was one of the modern human ‟s earliest
ancestors and remains
as the most famous hominid fossil discovered. It was discovered in Hadar, Ethiopia by
paleoanthropologists by Dr.
Donald Johanson.

4. Homo had biological and cultural characteristics of a modern human. It is the last stage.
Homo first lived in Africa.

HOMO SPECIES include:

1. Homo Habilis- handy man. They made tools called Oldowan- Tanzania place. Height 3-4 feet

2. Homo Erectus- upright man. Skillful hunters. First to use spoken language. First to leave
Africa to go into other
continents. First fossil was found in China. Another fossil was excavated in Java, Indonesia by
Eugene Dubois and
known it as Java Man. Another Homo erectus skull excavated in a cave in China and known it
as the Peking Man who
discovered the fire. Height 5 feet

3. Homo Sapiens- thinking man. Has large size brain, lived in shelter, food gatherers, crafted
metals, cook shellfish.
Discover fish hooks, bow and arrows, sewing needle, etc.

4. Homo Sapiens Sapiens- wise man. CRO MAGNON is the first fossil skeleton to be considered
as a species of the
Homo Sapiens, also called Homo sapiens sapiens, excavated in France.

PALEONTOLOGY is the study of fossils.

FOSSIL RECORD is a term used by palaeontologist to refer to the number of fossils that have
been discovered.

FOSSILS refer to preserved human, plant, and animal remains.

ARTIFACTS refer to objects that were made and used by humans.

MUSEUMS are one of the most accessible places where we can see various artefacts, fossils,
and other evidences on
the past. In the Philippines, we have National Museum of the Philippines.

SOCIOCULTURAL AND POLITICAL EVOLUTION: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETIES FROM

HUNTING AND GATHERING TO THE AGRICULTURAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND POST-INDUSTRIAL

STAGES

Gerhard Lenski states that the development of technology, the information acquired by
humans on how to apply
societal resources as a response to human needs and wants, leads to the evolution and
transformation of society.

1. Hunting and gathering is the oldest and most basic way of economic subsistence.

2. Horticultural produces and uses simple forms of hand tools to plant crops making crafts for
trading.

3. Pastoral means of subsistence is animal domestication.

4. Agricultural begins to farm and domesticate animals as their form of subsistence.

5. Industrial is more on advanced technology and machinery.

6. Post-industrial is more on high-tech and developed countries.

DEMOCRATIZATION is the political systems of civilizations that have centralized and well-
organized form of
government.

POLITICAL LEADERS TASKED TO:

1. Craft laws
2. Implements laws
3. Impose justice and punishments
4. Collect taxes
5. Sometimes acts as religious leaders

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