Introduction to Social Science & Philosophy PDF

Introduction to Social science  Introduction Social science is a broad field that systematically studies human society and its complexities. At its core, it involves using scientific methods to understand the intricate network of human relationships and the org...

Introduction to Social science  Introduction Social science is a broad field that systematically studies human society and its complexities. At its core, it involves using scientific methods to understand the intricate network of human relationships and the organizational structures that support our communities. Studying social science therefore is crucial as this provides us invaluable insights into how the world works and how we develop effective methods to improve and solve the challenges that we encounter. Helping us to understand and see distinct cultures, thereby creating a more cohesive and resilient world.  TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 02 03 Meaning of Scope of Branches of Social Science Social Science Social Science  Definition of Social Science  Young and Mack: “By social science, we mean those bodies of knowledge compiled through the use or scientific method which deal with the forms and contents of man’s interaction”.  Alexander Pope: “Known than thyself presume not god to the proper study of mankind is man”  James High: “Social Sciences are those bodies of learning and study which recognize simultaneous and mutual action of physical and non- physical stimuli which produce social reaction.”  Charles Beard: “Social Sciences are a body of knowledge and thought pertaining to human affairs as distinguished from stick, stones, stars and physical objects.”  Scope of Social Sciences The social sciences include the study of societies and human behavior. They examine how individuals connect, build communities, and produce cultures. Hence, the breadth of the social sciences is crucial for producing knowledgeable and involved individuals who can advance society. Thus, this vast area encompasses disciplines such as geography, which investigates physical locations and their impact on societies; sociology, which analyzes social connections and institutions; and history, which examines historical events or the meaningful past.  Branches of Social Science1. Anthropology  is the study of mankind. Anthropologists therefore, explore how humans behave, interact with each other, and how our history has shaped our societies. Under anthropology are the different areas that anthropologists can specialize, such as cultural or social anthropology, linguistic anthropology, biological or physical anthropology and archeology. (Imm, 2023)  Branches of Social Science 2. Economics  is the study of how governments and societies manage scarce resources. Moreover, it focuses on the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.  Branches of Social Science 3. Sociology  is the study of society, examining both individuals and the larger social structures.  It explores topics like class, religion, and social mobility, offering a wide range of specializations. Branches of Social Science4. History  is the study of the past events. Historians examine artifacts or available resources to understand why and how things happened in the past.  By studying the past, we could trace the development of cultures, technologies and government, and how these factors influence what we have today. Furthermore, it compasses subfields like political history, economic history, social history, and environmental history.  Branches of Social Science 5. Linguistics  is the scientific study of language.  It explores how language is structured, used, and learned. Instead of focusing on learning specific languages, linguists analyze language itself, examining its components, rules, and how it evolves over time.  Branches of Social Science 6. Geography  is the study of the earth’s surface and the interaction between the human population and its environment. Branches of Social Science 7. Political science  is the study of government and political power.  It focuses on how governments are formed and how they interact with citizens and other nations.  Branches of Social Science 8. Psychology  is the scientific study on how people think and how it affects our behavior. Introduction to Psychology  Overview Curiosity is the driving force of philosophy, leading to investigations into the universe and fundamental truths. Hence, it explores the nature of reality, the meaning of life, perception, and how we interact with the world around us. Furthermore, philosophy encourages critical thinking by examining several viewpoints on challenging concerns. Philosophy, at its core, is about posing complex issues and carefully considering potential solutions. It encompasses a wide range of topics, including metaphysics, which studies what exists beyond the physical world; ethics, which examines what is good and bad; and epistemology, which analyzes the nature and extent of knowledge. There is also axiology, which focuses on the study of the value of things; political philosophy, which analyzes power and government; aesthetics, which deals with the nature of beauty; and logic, which involves reasoning. As philosophy offers a framework for comprehending and evaluating many points of view, it also has connections to other academic disciplines. For that reason, it encourages a greater understanding of other points of view by motivating us to consider our opinions and presumptions. With that, philosophy is a vibrant and significant field that pushes us to reflect critically on both the world and ourselves.  Branches of Philosophy 1. Axiology  It is also known as the theory of value or worth, as it examines the metaphysical implications of value and its nature.  It asks what is valuable and what is worthless, adhering to aesthetic values (focused on beauty and creative expression) and ethical values (focused on right and wrong in human acts).  Branches of Philosophy 2. Metaphysics  It investigates what reality is made of. It covers ontology, which investigates the nature of existence, and cosmology, which studies the beginnings and ends of the cosmos.  Prior to contemporary science, metaphysics addressed issues that science has since resolved. Hence, it also talks about abstract topics such as love, death, justice, and the meaning of life, as well as areas that have historically overlapped with scientific inquiry.  Branches of Philosophy 3. Epistemology  This term originated in the Greek word “Episteme,” which means “knowledge,” while the word “logy” means “the study of”. (Team Leverage Edu, 2024)  Epistemology, therefore, focuses on knowledge and how we acquire it. It delves into questions such as: What is knowledge? How do we get to our knowledge? Is there an upper limit to human knowledge?  Branches of Philosophy 4. Ethics  People follow moral principles at work and in their everyday lives. Ethics on that account, focuses on defining what is right and wrong. Moreover, this teaches us what to do in certain situations, which has long been a source of disagreement between philosophers. With that, this area of philosophy has been described by each philosopher based on their own subjective interpretation.  Branches of Philosophy 5. Political philosophy  As Team Leverage Edu (2024) states, the word "politics" comes from the Greek "polis," which means city-states and their associated matters such as laws, government, and traditions. However, due to the widening of its scope, political philosophy also now focuses on the study of power and the process of decision-making across institutions. Political philosophy, therefore, studies governance, power, justice, and ethics, combining philosophy with politics.  Branches of Philosophy 6. Aesthetics  Beauty is subjectively defined by its beholder. Aesthetics, therefore, explores the nature of beauty and artistic value. It challenges our understanding of beauty, how we define it, and whether it is subjective or objective. This field of philosophy studies what makes something beautiful in daily life, music, and art.  Branches of Philosophy 7. Logic  The methodical study of sound thinking is known as logic. It lays forth guidelines and procedures for distinguishing between valid and invalid arguments. Essentially, logic supports critical and clear thinking. (Knachel, 2020) SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES  Sociologists study social events, interactions, and patterns, and they develop a theory to explain why things work as they do. A sociological theory seeks to explain social phenomena. Theories can be used to create a testable proposition, called a hypothesis, about society (Allan 2006). The scope of a theory varies according to the scope of the problems it is intended to explain. Macro-level theories deal with broad problems and vast populations, whereas Micro-level theories focus on extremely narrow relationships between small groups. Grand theories aim to address fundamental problems like why societies form and why they change, as well as to explain large-scale relationships. Paradigms are philosophical and theoretical frameworks used within a discipline to formulate theories, generalizations, and the experiments performed in support of them. Three paradigms have come to dominate sociological thinking, because they provide useful explanations: structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.  Social Paradigm 0 0 0 1 2 3 Functional Symbolic Theory Interactionist Theory Conflict Theory Structural-Functional Theory Structural-functional theory, also called functionalism, sees society as a structure with interrelated parts designed to meet the biological and social needs of the individuals in that society. Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), who saw similarities between society and the human body.  He argued that just as the various organs of the body work together to keep the body functioning, the various parts of society work together to keep society functioning (Spencer 1898).  The parts of society that Spencer referred to be the social institutions, or patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs, such as government, education, family, healthcare, religion, and the economy. Émile Durkheim, another early sociologist, applied Spencer’s theory to explain how societies change and survive over time. Durkheim believed that society is a complex system of interrelated and interdependent parts that work together to maintain stability (Durkheim 1893), and that society is held together by shared values, languages, and symbols. Durkheim believed that individuals may make up society, but to study society, sociologists must look beyond individuals to social facts. Social facts are the laws, morals, values, religious beliefs, customs, fashions, rituals, and all the cultural rules that govern social life (Durkheim 1895). Each of these social facts serves one or more functions within a society. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik. Robert Merton (1910–2003), pointed out that social processes often have many functions. Manifest functions - are the consequences of a social process that are sought or anticipated Latent functions- are the unsought consequences of a social process Dysfunctions- social processes that have undesirable consequences for the operation of society  Social Conflict Theory Conflict theory looks at society as a competition for limited resources. This perspective is a macro-level approach most identified with the writings of German philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx (1818–1883), who saw society as being made up of two classes:  bourgeoisie (capitalist)- owns and controls the means of production, which leads to exploitation due to the profit motive  proletariat (workers)- proletarians have only their labor to sell, and do not own or control capital. In the economic sphere, Marx focused on the “mode of production” (e.g., the industrial factory) and “relations of production” (e.g., unequal power between workers and factory owners). False consciousness is Marx’s term for the proletarian’s inability to see her real position within the class system, a misrecognition that is complicated by the control that the bourgeoisie often exerts over the media outlets that disseminate and normalize information Max Weber agreed with some of Marx’s main ideas, but also believed that in addition to economic inequalities, there were inequalities of political power and social structure that caused conflict. Weber noted that different groups were affected differently based on education, race, and gender, and that people’s reactions to inequality were moderated by class differences and rates of social mobility, as well as by perceptions about the legitimacy of those in power.   also examined race in the U.S. and W.E.B. DuBois in U.S. colonies from a conflict perspective, and emphasized the importance of a reserve labor force, made up of Black men. Ida B. Wells C. Wright Mills  examined competition within the feminist  who coined the term sociological movement as women fought for the right to imagination, also used conflict theory vote, yet the presumably egalitarian to examine systems of power and the mainstream suffragist movements were ways in which government, military, headed by white women who excluded Black and corporations formed a power elite. women from suffrage. Symbolic Interactionist Theory Symbolic interactionism is a micro-level theory that focuses on meanings attached to human interaction, both verbal and non-verbal, and to symbols.  Herbert Blumer, coined the term “symbolic interactionism” and outlined these basic premises: Humans interact with things based on meanings ascribed to those things. The ascribed meaning of things comes from our interactions with others and society. The meanings of things are interpreted by a person when dealing with things in specific circumstances (Blumer 1969). Erving Goffman (1922–1982) developed a technique called dramaturgical analysis. Goffman used theater as an analogy for social interaction and recognized that people’s interactions showed patterns of cultural “scripts.” Since it can be unclear what part a person may play in each situation, as we all occupy multiple roles in a given day (i.e., student, friend, son/ daughter, employee, etc.), one has to improvise his or her role as the situation unfolds (Goffman 1958). Charles Horton Cooley introduced the looking- glass self (1902) to describe how a person’s sense of self grows out of interactions with others. “Looking-glass” is an archaic term for a mirror, so Cooley theorized that we “see” ourselves when we interact with others. Threefold process for this development: we see how others react to us we interpret that reaction (typically as positive or negative) We develop a sense of self based on those interpretations.  Constructivism  is an extension of symbolic interaction theory which proposes that reality is what humans cognitively construct it to be.  We develop social constructs based on interactions with others, and those constructs that last over time are those that have meanings which are widely agreed-upon or generally accepted by most within society. THANKS! Do you have any questions? [email protected]