We explain what the social sciences are, their characteristics, and their object of study. We also discuss their classification, disciplines, and history. Please read other MTV articles for more information. If you share it, it will be of little help to us.
What are the social sciences?
The social sciences are those that study the social and cultural aspects of human behavior. They are interested both in societies as a whole and in the relationships between individuals and the groups that comprise those societies.
Among the disciplines that make up the sciences are anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, geography, political science, and history. Compared to many of the natural sciences, they are, for the most part, relatively young sciences.
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Depending on the approach they take to their object of study, the social sciences may tend toward the natural sciences and use methods similar to them, or, conversely, be oriented toward the humanities and use interpretive methods, such as social criticism or symbolic interpretation.
Characteristics of the Social Sciences
Broadly speaking, the social sciences are recognized by the following characteristics:
- They study human beings in their social and cultural dimensions, that is, as individuals who develop in relation to others and who generate symbols and representations of the world.
- They are historical, meaning they study events that occur only once, so they cannot be recreated artificially (as the natural sciences do in laboratories). However, this does not mean that they cannot provide explanations or draw generalizations that, for example, allow us to understand certain dynamics (such as how societies are organized).
- They apply both methods similar to those of the natural sciences (inductive and hypothetico-deductive) and others based on the reflection and interpretation of facts, based on a specific theoretical framework.
- They can apply quantitative or qualitative analysis methods, or even combine both, depending on the perspective from which the facts are studied.
- They are usually interdisciplinary, which implies that they are interrelated. Thus, for example, sociology is closely related to anthropology and geography, using concepts and data to study social phenomena.
What do the social sciences study and why is it important?
The object of study of the social sciences is the human being as a social being and the various facets of the organized human community, as it manifests itself in a given time and place.
The perspective from which this object is approached varies from one social science to another. Sociology, for example, aims to understand the entire dynamics of societies, while psychology seeks to understand and explain how the human mind operates. As a whole, the social sciences attempt to construct the science of the human being.
Although verifiable experiments are not common in the social sciences, nor are universal and immutable laws of the human world discovered, they are the best tool humanity has to understand itself. Without them, it would be impossible to explain a phenomenon as complex, diverse, and varied as human existence.
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Disciplines of the Social Sciences
The social sciences encompass a very diverse set of disciplines. The main ones are:
Anthropology
This is the science of the human being. It attempts to understand humanity from a holistic perspective: it deals with both the biological and cultural aspects of human beings.
Political Science
This is dedicated to the study of political praxis and theory, and to the description and analysis of political systems.
Economics
This is dedicated to the study of the production, administration, and distribution of goods and services within a society; that is, how people seek to satisfy their needs and demands.
Geography
This is the study of the natural environment and the human-built environment, and the relationships between the two. It examines the relief, climate, soil, and vegetation of the various regions of the planet, as well as how humans create and manage the space they occupy.
History
This is the documented study of the human past and its narrative. Traditionally, the history of humanity is considered to begin with the invention of writing.
Linguistics
This discipline is dedicated to the study of the origin, evolution, and nature of human language in its cognitive and social aspects.
Psychology
This discipline is dedicated to the study of the human mind and behavior, and is concerned with behavior, learning, and, in general, the processes that take place in the mind. It is subdivided into several branches, each devoted to an aspect of the psyche and its relationships with other areas.
Sociology
This discipline is dedicated to the systematic study of society, including patterns of social relations, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life.
All of these disciplines are usually divided into subdisciplines, and the boundaries between them are loose and ambiguous.
Classification of the Social Sciences
There are no specific types of social sciences. However, it is common to classify them into three large groups, according to their object of study.
- Sciences that study the human cognitive system. They are interested in communication, language, learning, and the individual’s psychological processes and their external manifestations. Psychology and linguistics belong to this type of social sciences.
- Sciences that study human social interaction. They specialize in the study of the constitution of human communities and the individual’s relationship to them. For example, political science or sociology.
- Sciences that study the evolution of societies. They adopt a broad and often holistic perspective on human society and seek to understand it in its context. For example, history and anthropology.
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History of the Social Sciences
We can identify three major milestones in the development of the social sciences, from their origin in the Enlightenment movement to their definitive development between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the fundamental impact of positivism on their evolution.
- Origin and Enlightenment Movement. Although the social sciences are a modern invention, some of them, such as history and psychology, have diverse roots in antiquity. Historically, the beginnings of the social sciences are associated with the Enlightenment movement, which consolidated the scientific revolution of the 16th and 17th centuries. While natural philosophy evolved into the natural sciences, moral philosophy mutated into the social sciences. The emergence of the social sciences in the 18th century was reflected in many articles in the Encyclopedia of Denis Diderot (1713-1784) and Jean d’Alembert (1717-1783).
- Rise of positivism and disciplinary consolidation. With the rise of positivism in the 19th century, efforts were made to give the social sciences the rigorous character of the natural sciences, distinguishing them from metaphysical speculations. The main proponent of this approach was Auguste Comte (1798-1857), who first proposed the term “social physics” to designate the scientific study of society, which he eventually called “social science.” During this period, economics, anthropology, sociology, and psychology established themselves as independent sciences. Meanwhile, traditional disciplines such as history and geography adopted methods analogous to those of the natural sciences, seeking greater rigor.
- Definitive sociological development. Under Comte’s influence, the social sciences underwent significant development between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Particularly notable in the field of sociology were the contributions of Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), Max Weber (1864-1920), and Vilfredo Pareto.
Relationship between social sciences, humanities, and the humanities
There is often some confusion between the social sciences, the humanities, and the humanities. This confusion is due, in part, to the fact that all three designations refer to human-centered knowledge and that some disciplines are included interchangeably in one category or another. This is the case, for example, with history, sometimes considered a social science and other times a humanities science.
There is no unanimous consensus about the differences between the social sciences, the humanities, and the humanities. However, some clarifications can be made:
Social Sciences
The concept of social sciences was consolidated in the 19th century and is linked to the rise of positivism at the time, which considered the physical and experimental sciences as the valid model of knowledge. Although the social sciences currently do not follow classical positivist postulates, in many cases they use methods analogous to those of the natural sciences and aspire to the formulation of generalizations, which is not the case in the humanities.
Human Science
The Human Science concern the human being in relation to his or her specifically human (i.e., non-biological) manifestations. They include, among other areas, philosophy, philology (which also includes linguistics and literary studies), religious studies, pedagogy, history, psychology, anthropology, and art studies. Some of these disciplines, such as history, psychology, and anthropology, are also part of the social sciences. What differentiates the Human Science is the treatment of subjects, which is more closely linked to the analysis of particularities and less to the formulation of general principles. In this sense, the term “science” has the generic meaning of “systematic knowledge.”
Humanities
The humanities are defined as “the set of disciplines that revolve around the human being” (Dictionary of the Spanish Language). Formerly, the concept of “humanities” referred to the study of Greco-Latin language and literature. Currently, they also encompass the same disciplines as the humanities, with which they share a common focus. In fact, the term “humanities” is sometimes considered a way of designating the human sciences, originating from the Anglo-Saxon tradition (humanities). However, at other times, it is applied narrowly to a few disciplines: literary studies, philosophy, history, linguistics, classical and modern languages, and arts and communication studies.
Social and Natural Sciences: Similarities and Differences
The natural sciences are those dedicated to the study of the physical world and nature. Physics, chemistry, astronomy, and biology are examples of this type of science.
The natural sciences constitute a body of knowledge with some similarities to the social sciences:
- Both use observations in their research.
- Both are empirical or factual sciences, meaning they test their hypotheses through sensory perception and experimentation.
- Both the natural and social sciences seek to establish generally applicable principles. (However, this characteristic is more characteristic of the natural sciences.)
- Differences between the social and natural sciences
Although these similarities exist between the natural and social sciences, the differences between them are greater.
Area of study
The natural sciences study the phenomena of the physical world and nature.
The social sciences are interested in society and the relationships between the individuals that comprise it.
Methods
The natural sciences employ the scientific method, which comprises a series of rigorously followed steps: posing a question about a given phenomenon, formulating a hypothesis, predicting the consequences of the hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and drawing a general conclusion.
The social sciences use both the scientific method and other research methods (e.g., critical analysis).
Predictability
The natural sciences generally work with restrictive variables, which makes it easy to predict the outcome of the research.
The social sciences typically cannot control the variables of the phenomena they investigate and, therefore, cannot accurately predict the results.
Types of Data
The natural sciences work primarily with data obtained in experiments, in which natural phenomena are artificially recreated.
The social sciences preferentially work with experiential data, obtained from real-life experiences (interviews, surveys, life histories).
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References
All the information we offer is supported by authoritative and up-to-date bibliographic sources, ensuring reliable content in line with our editorial principles.
- The Social Sciences, Their Main Characteristics, National University of Litoral (Argentina).
- What is a social science?, The British Academy.
- Social Science, Britannica.
- Social Sciences Definition, Characteristics – concepto.de
