Introduction to Social Science PDF

# Introduction to Social Science ## Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciences - **Society:** People in general thought of living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values. - **Science:** Knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned throug...

# Introduction to Social Science ## Discipline and Ideas in the Social Sciences - **Society:** People in general thought of living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values. - **Science:** Knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through experiments and observation. ### Categories of Human Knowledge 1. **Natural Science:** A group of disciplines that study the physical world and all the phenomena in nature. 2. **Social Science:** The study of human behavior and society on a variety of levels. 3. **Applied Professions:** Some of the disciplines within applied professions are counseling, social work, and health care. ## The Scientific Method - Humans have developed various means to solve problems that may have existed and confronted them since the beginning of time. - By scientific methods, we are able to generate knowledge about the universe, earth, humans, plants, animals, and all other life forms. ## Branches of Social Science - **Macroeconomics:** Analyzes how the economy functions as a whole. - **Microeconomics:** Focuses on the behavior of individual agents, like households, industries, and firms. - **Geography:** Study of features of the Earth and the location of the living things on the planet. - **Physical Geography:** Studies the physical features of the Earth. - **Human Geography:** Focuses on the human aspect of geography. - **History:** Attempts to ascertain, record, and explain facts and events that happened in the past. - **Social History:** Experiences of common people. - **Linguistics:** Morphology, syntax, phonology. - **Political Science:** Includes the study of government. - **Sociology:** The systematic study of human interaction. - **Psychology:** Deals with human behavior. - **Cognitive:** - **Behavioral:** - **Abnormal:** - **Developmental:** - **Demography:** Statistical study of human populations ### Filipino Approaches in the Social Sciences - **Indio:** A derogatory term used by the Spaniards to denote natives living in the archipelago. - **Filipino:** Given to those Spaniards living in the Philippines. - The natives were eventually called "Filipinos" only in 1898 when the Spanish governor general, Basilio Agustin, tried to win back the Indios to support Spanish troops in their fight against impending American onslaught. - **Spanish 3G (God, Gold, Glory):** Racial discrimination became an important stimulus in the rise of Filipino nationalism during the same period. - Mostly composed of Filipino liberals and students attending European universities, these propagandists had imbued in them the liberal ideas of the 19th century. - All propagandists advocated for reforms and assimilation or the application of Spanish laws and rights in the colony so that all residents would be treated as Spanish citizens. ## Strengths and Criticism ### Feminism **Strengths:** - Give equal emphasis on men and women in dealing with and social issues, particularly gender inequality. - To bring about better opportunities to have equal status with men in society. - Focuses on how institutions and structures became patriarchal. **Criticisms:** - Strands of feminism cater only to the middle class women. - Feminist theory is seen by some critics as being too focused on women, ignoring the fact that men can also experience discrimination. ### Marxism - Refers to the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels in which the concept of class struggle plays an important role in abolishing class oppression. - Marx believed that consciousness is shaped by the material or economic environment; hence, history is a product of material circumstances. - Marxism is one of the theoretical approaches in social science that is associated with conflict theory, or the view that society is divided into social classes which are always in conflict with one another. #### Key Concepts in Marxism: - Marxism as a social science approach encourages researchers to engage in action-oriented by analyzing how a powerful group marginalizes another and how this can be solved by making the oppressed group realize their sad predicament and how they can be emancipated by challenging and eventually abolishing the status quo. #### Strengths and Criticisms **Strengths** - A theoretical approach that conflicts in society are caused by a battle over power to control not only the resources but also norms and values of the society. **Criticisms** - It sometimes seen as a focusing on the negative, always-changing and clashing nature of society instead of focusing on the positive aspects of society. - It advocates macro-level analysis of society by emphasizing that social structures and the material conditions created by the said structures influence how people think, behave, and act. ### Psychoanalysis - Can be described in two ways: - A comprehensive theory about human nature, drives, actions, growth, and experience. - A method of treatment for psychological problems and challenges in living a successful life. - It is used as a social science approach as the 20th century and it is sometimes considered as the only school of psychology that paints a complete and dynamic picture of personality. - **Oedipus Complex:** Refers to a male child's sexual feelings for his mother, as well as feelings of jealousy and anger towards his father. The boy resolves his desire for his mother through fear of castration from his father. - **Electra Complex:** Refers to a girl's feelings of desire for her father and jealousy of her mother. - **Penis Envy:** The female counterpart to Freud's castration complex. It refers to a girl's distancing herself from her mother and devoting attention to her father after realizing that she has no penis. ### Hypothesis - A shrewd guess or inference that is formulated and provisionally adopted to explain observed facts or conditions and to guide in further investigation. #### Characteristics - **Empirical:** A phenomenon should be observable using different senses. - **Propositional:** Things are explained in the form of statements or generalizations. - **Logic:** Employs the rules of logic in order to validate inferences. - **Public:** Ideas are communicated from one scientist to another. - **Problem Solving:** Presents rational explanations about unexplained observations. - **Continuous:** Knowledge is built upon by previous and future research on the subject. #### The Process 1. Make an observation. 2. Ask a question. 3. Construct a hypothesis (null). 4. Test your hypothesis with experiments. 5. Analyze your data and draw conclusions. 6. Future Actions/Communicate your work. ### Importance of Social Sciences Our present ills can be effectively addressed by obtaining knowledge from both the natural and social sciences. Familiarizing of geography as a natural science and then analyze its effect on humans and society as a natural science approach. ### Anthropology - The study of humankind. - **Physical Anthropology:** The study of human biology within the milieu of evolution. - **Theory of Evolution:** Charles Darwin. - **Cultural Anthropology:** The study of and comparative analysis of pre-literate societies, including all aspects of human behavior. - **Archeology:** The study of earlier cultures and way of life. - **Linguistic Anthropology:** The study of human speech and languages. ### Economics - Discipline that concentrates on how a particular society solves its problem of scarcity of resources. - **Oikos:** house - **Nomos:** custom/law - **Oikonomia:** management of a household ### Dominant Approaches in the Social Sciences - **Structural-Functionalism:** Seen as a running effortlessly like a fit life form, composed of many parts in a larger system, each with its own particular use or function, operating together with the others. - Kinship, religion, politics, and economics form an organism. - **Historical Context:** The beginnings of Structural-Functionalism can be traced back to the works of sociologist Emile Durkheim, Radcliffe-Brown, and Herbert Spencer. - **Key Concept in Structural-Functionalism:** Social structure – law (written), customs (expected standards) ex. government, education, media, social hierarchy, church, and sports clubs. - **Social Functions:** Refer to the results or effects for the operation of the society in general. - **Media:** Provides the social functions of mirroring the concerns of the audience. Religion contributes to the well-being of society by teaching morality thus providing social stability and order. - **Social Dysfunction:** May also be manifest or latent, and have a negative effect on society. - Manifest dysfunctions are expected disruptions of social life. - Latent dysfunctions might include a rise in crime rate due to massive unemployment generated by the said migration. - **Rational Choice Theory:** It is considered as a normative and empirical theory of individual behavior, and also a formalized social structure. ### Critical Social Science - An analytical method of investigation that attempts to expose surface illusions to uncover real structures in the material world in order to help people understand their situation and then transform the world for the better. #### Different Approaches - Feminist Theory - Marxism - Psychoanalysis - Human Environment System ### Feminist Theory - Radical notion that women are people. - It explains the nature’s of women subordination, and strategies that can be used to elevate women’s status in the society. - It promotes the belief that women and men should be treated equally and that steps have to be taken to realize the goal of gender equality. - FGM (Female Genital Mutilation). #### Key Concepts - **Sex:** Biological differences between male and female. - **Gender:** Sociocultural attributes associated with being a man and a woman, and the different roles that society assigns to men and women. - **Gender Ideology:** Attitudes regarding the suitable roles, rights, and responsibilities of men and women in the society. - **Gender Oppression:** Manner in which certain groups are privileged or disadvantaged because of gender. ### Social Sciences IRW - **Section Q of the 1987 Philippine Constitution:** “The State…” - **Principles of Good Governance:** Good governance is tightly linked to the fight against corruption. Some of the core principles of good governance are also principles of anti-corruption. The literature identifies good governance with political systems that are: - **Participatory:** Active involvement by all sectors in the society. - **Consistent with the Rule of Law:** Exercise of state power using published standards. - **Transparent:** Process of decision making by those in power can be studied by concerned offices or society. - **Responsive:** Institutions and processes readily serve stakeholders and citizens. - **Consensus-Oriented:** Ensure that existing systems serve the best interest of society. - **Equitable and Inclusive:** Everyone has opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being. - **Effective and Efficient:** The use of resources to produce and meet the needs of the society. - **Accountable:** Every person is responsible for any actions. - Political Scientist Attempts to analyze and discover the different factors underlying political occurrences and conditions. ### Summary - Categories of human knowledge: natural sciences and applied professions. - Natural sciences aim to explain and predict the various phenomena in nature. - Society: A social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationship through interaction. - Humanities: The study of human culture. It investigates human constructs and concerns as opposed to natural processes and social relations.