Disciplines and

Ideas in Social
Sciences
Noreen Marjorie Pagalan
LESSON Differentiate the nature and functions of
1 Social Science disciplines with the
OBJECTIVES natural sciences and humanities

interpret personal and social

experiences relevant approaches in the
2 Social Sciences through differentiated
instructions

analyze and reflect the basic concepts

3 and principles of the major social
science theories through daily life
activities
KEY CONCEPTS
AND
APPROACHES
IN THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES
LOSOIGCYO
YTIHSOR
HYEGPAOGR
OCOYGPYSHL
SSPYHIC
BLYGOIO
RTYHECIMS
 ANY DISCIPLINE OR BRANCH OF
SCIENCE THAT DEALS WITH HUMAN
BEHAVIOR IN ITS SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL ASPECTS

SOCIAL SCIENCE
 The Nature and Function of Social Science

• Social Science is the branch of science devoted to the study

of societies and the relationships among individuals within
those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the
field of sociology, the original "science of society",
established in the 19th century.
 The Nature and Function of Social Science

• Social Science (Oba, 1999, p. 13) is

“the spectrum of disciplines that deal
with people and social institutions,
behavior and interactions
 The Nature and Function of Social Science

Social Science seek to understand the

nature of people and society

• what does it mean to be human?

 The Nature and Function of Social Science

What defines a person?

Is it history?
Is is ancestry?
 The Nature and Function of Social Science

How has he worked, struggles,

thrived?
Does he live in the mountain/ in
the dessert? near the sea? in the
arctic?
 The Nature and Function of Social Science

Ancestry is important but location

is paramount.
The Nature and Function of Social Science

What is this person like? Is it a

man or a woman? What’s her
race? What does he or she do?
The Nature and Function of Social Science

Profession relies greatly on

geography
 NINE SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES
• Anthropology is the holistic "science of man", a
science of the totality of human existence. The
discipline deals with the integration of different
aspects of the social sciences, humanities, and human
biology.
• Derived from the Greek words “Anthropos”
meaning “human” and “logos” meaning “word” or
“study of”
 NINE SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES
• Anthropology is the study of the origin
and development of human societies
and cultures. Culture is the learned
behavior of people, including their
languages, belief systems, social
structures, institutions, and material
goods.
 NINE SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES
• Anthropology is the study of:

--> the origins

--> behavior
--> physical and social development of
humans
 NINE SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES
• Anthropology is “the study of man”
• Anthropologists study humans and
their societies in the past and
present. They are interested in
studying why people have similar or
different culture practices.
 NINE SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES
• Anthroplogists also research all
aspects of folk religions, rituals
and ceremonies beliefs, taboos
and superstitions as part of their
practics.
• Economics -comes from the Greek words “oikos”
which means “family, household, estate,” and
“nomos” which means “custom, the law”, hence, it
means “household management” or
“management of the state”
• Economics is a social science that seeks to analyze
and describe the production, distribution, and
consumption of wealth.

• The one who studies

household management
is called an Economist.
• Economics is geared toward the
managing of the limited resources but
still being able to satisfy the custmers’
unlimited wants
• Economics is the study of the choices
people make to satify their wants and
needs with a limited supply of
resources
• “People needs and wants are unlimited”
• For example, you want to buy all the
products, but you only have enough
money to buy one.

“You have unlimited wants, but limited

quantity of money”
•ECONOMY
--> PRODUCTION
--> DISTRIBUTION
--> CONSUMPTION
WANT
--> Something people
desire to have
-It is fulfilled by buying goods and
services
WANT
--> Can be a GOOD or
SERVICE
GOOD
--> a physical product
we can hold and touch.
SERVICE
--> an action provided to
us.
•Geography deals with
studying the lands and
features of the earth.
Geography is the study of
the physical features of the
Earth and how they affect
humans who call the planet
home.
GEO - Greek Word “GEO” means
EARTH or land.

Graphy -Greek Word “Graphein”

means to write about something
• Geography as a discipline can be split broadly into
two main sub fields: human geography and physical
geography.
- Human Geography:
focuses largely on the built environment and how space is created, viewed
and managed by humans as well as the influence humans have on the space
they occupy
- Physical Geography:
examines the natural environment and how the climate, vegetation and life,
soil, oceans, water and landforms are produced and interact.
Physical Geography:
-examines the physical aspects of the
earth.(rivers, lakes, hills, valeeys,
mountains,etc)
Human Geography:
-Societies, Groups of People,
Relationships between and among
groups of people
Human Geography:
-Essentially, it has to do with people
who live in this planet. (culture,
economy, history, political science)
• History is the continuous, systematic
narrative and research into past human
events as interpreted through
historiographical paradigms or theories
• History derived from the “word "historia"
meaning "to inquire or research"
• History is study of the past and its records
about events.
• History is the bridge that connects the past
with the present and future" (Polidario
2019).
•Linguistics is the scientific study
of languages and focuses on the
three aspect of language:
language form, language
meaning, and language in
context” (Polidario 2019).
•Linguistics involves the analysis
of language form, language
meaning, and language in
context.
• Linguistics investigates the cognitive and social aspects of
human language.
•Linguists are the term used to
call people who know and speak
any language.
• Political Science comes from the
Greek words “polis” which means
“cities-state” and “sciere” which
means “study of”. Therefore, it is the
study of state affairs.
• Political science is a social science
which deals with the governance
and the analysis of political
activities, political notion, and
political behavior
• Political science deals extensively
with the theory and practice of
politics commonly thought of as
determining of the distribution of
power and resources (Polidario
2019)
• Political science also studies
power in internatioal relations and
the theory of great powers and
superpowers.
• The one who studies state affairs is
called a Political Scientist.
• Psychology comes from the Greek word “psyche”
which means “mind” and logos, which means
“study”
• It is an academic and applied field involving the
study of beahvior and mental processes.
• The one who studies human behavior and mental
processes are called a Psychologist.
• Sociology comes from the Greek
word “soci” which is from the Latin
word “socius”, which means
“companion or society in general”
and “logos” which means “study”.
• Sociology is the systematic study of society,
individuals' relationship to their societies, the
consequences of difference, and other aspects of
human social action.
• The one who studoes the society is called a
Sociologist.
• Demography is the study of population, population
changes and trends using resources such as statistics of
births, deaths and disease.
• Demography is the study of human population and
dynamics, which include components such as population
size (actual headcount of people in a given place of
location), population composition (age, sex, religion),
population growth, population distribution (Polidario 2019).
 The Nature and Function of Natural Science

• Natural science deals with the natural world. It is

concerned with the phenomena and objects of nature
and the physical world. Natural science involves
comprehension, description, and prediction of natural
phenomena using empirical and observational
evidence.
• Biology. The word ‘biology’ comes from the Greek words ‘bios’
(meaning life) and ‘logos’ (meaning study). So biology (AKA life
science) is the study of living things and what they do.

• Astronomy. Astronomy is the study of celestial objects and space

in general; basically, everything beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The
word ‘astronomy’ is composed of two Greek words: ‘astron’
(meaning star) and ‘omos’ (meaning arranging).

• Chemistry. Chemistry is the study of substances, or matter (i.e. all

the ‘stuff’ that makes up the physical world).
• Earth Science.Earth science (AKA geoscience) is the study of
planet Earth and everything that goes on here. This includes
the study of the solid Earth, its oceans, and its atmosphere,
as well as the origin and evolution of the planet. There are
four major branches of Earth science; these are geology,
meteorology, astronomy, and oceanography.

• Physics.Physics is thought to be one of the oldest academic

disciplines on Earth and involves the study of matter,
energy, forces, mass and charge.