Brief History of Social Science

Lesson 1: Brief History of Social Science

WHAT IS SOCIAL SCIENCE?

· THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF VARIOUS

ASPECTS OF HUMAN SOCIETY

· ESTABLISHED IN 19TH CENTURY.

RENAISSANCE

Modern science began with the Renaissance in the important sense that it started then to have a continuous development.

It is an attempt to replicate the scientific success of the natural sciences using scientific methods.

Natural Science and Social Science

The main difference between Natural Science and Social Science is that Natural Science is the study of natural events using scientific methods. In contrast, Social Science is the study of human behaviors and their relationships by applying scientific and other methods.

SOURCES OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

Platonic Idealism Versus Aristotelian Essentialism

Plato

Knowledge consists of understanding the pure form of things, which is perfect, not the worldly examples which are not.

The way to know the pure form of things is not through empirical methods but through abstract ways such as mathematics.

Aristotle

Phenomena are explicable in terms of the essential nature of things.

For example: stones fall because it is in their nature to fall.

Humanities and Social Science

Humanities

Study of how people process and document the human experience.

It is a broader category compared with social science.

Social Science

It is concerned about society.

It aims at understanding all aspects of society and finding solutions to deal with social problems.

The social sciences have a critical contribution to make, in helping us understand, imagine, and craft a more sustainable future for all UNESCO.

Some Branches of Social Sciences

History is the study of past events and (GOAL) how they can provide a perspective on the problem of the present.

Anthropology is the holistic “science of man”. The discipline deals with the (GOAL) integration of different aspects of social science, humanities, and human biology.

Economics is the study of the production, distribution, consumption, and exchange of wealth, goods, and services in society.

- What do they study?

Political science is a discipline that studies the theory and practice of politics, political systems and organizations, and political behavior.

- What theories and practices do they study?

Psychology is the study of mental processes and behaviors.

- What do they study?

Sociology is the science and the study of human behavior in a societal context.

In conclusion

The field of social sciences attempts to discover and explain the behavior and attitudes of people.

Social scientists study human relations in a society.

Social problems may be effectively resolved by combining the knowledge obtained from the domains of the natural sciences and the social sciences.