Life on our planet has undergone tremendous changes
Changes are spotted in both social and natural world
While we are born , we belong to two world
We are born to natural world and social word
Natural world
All organisms adapt to their environment
No organism can change their environment and habitat
No organism can comprehend it
Social world
Social world is shaped by those born previous generation
Shaped and changed by every new generation
Social world distinguishes humans from other animals
Humans exploit and manipulate their social world
It comes under tremendous changes
Various disciplines were developed to understand social reality
Most social sciences were born out of social turmoil
Most social sciences considers hope to examine social reality
Despite few grand theories, secrets of social life are yet to be uncovered
Social sciences
Insistence on methodology distinguishes it from art,literature,painting,sculpture,philosophy etc
From time to time,art,sculpture,philosophy used tools like intuition,imagination,traditions,rational thought,common sense to uncover secrets of social world,
but such tools far short of accuracy unlike tools of social sciences
Social sciences originated when some social philosophers used scientific methods
Origin of social sciences
Natural sciences tells world has been here for about 6 billion years
Living things for about 3 billion years
But social life takes back to just 2600 years
The origin
The Greek were first to develop a rational theory of social world ,independent of theological creed
Aristotle and Plato were considered accountavle for laying foundation for knowledge as we have it today
Greek thinking and debates are still persuading contemporary societies
Greek believed something has to be created out of nothing,which later became basis of physics and thermodynamics
Plato and Aristotle elaborated truth reality and knowledge and experience during fourth century BC
They proposed that matter can neither be created nor be destroyed but it can only be transformed
They have addressed many issues facing the society in those days and have observed many things
Considered the role of state –political science
The way in which mind ineract with society –psychology
Individual interaction within market-economics
Inshort, history of social science begins with greek
Middle Ages
Religion acquired central place
Religion tied together everything
Musicians made music for god
Sculpture made for gods
Painters painted for god
Literature made for god was study of Bible
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life in the early modern period. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence affected literature, philosophy, art, politics, science, religion, and other aspects of intellectual inquiry. Renaissance scholars employed the humanist method in study, and searched for realism and human emotion in art.
The period following fall of Constantinople on 1453 to end of 17th century were referred rebirth of Greek classics
During this period social philosophy led to separate disciplines
Renaissance provoked tensions and challenges to churches
Scholars come to conclusions contrary to those of churches
Rationalist thought placed reason above everything
Through out renaissance ,rationalism replaced relion as organizing principle of knowledge
Various fields of knowledge became divided on rationalist lines
However rationalist revolution came later to humanities
Natural sciences and philosophy were divided along modes of enquiry
Enlightenment
Period which replaced religion as organizing principle of knowledge
As a recognized and organized practice social science originated with origin of nation state with the political demands for analyses and classification of individual and population
-a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and man were synthesized into a worldview that gained wide assent and that instigated revolutionary developments in art, philosophy, and politics. Central to Enlightenment thought were the use and the celebration of reason, the power by which man understands the universe and improves his own condition. The goals of rational man were considered to be knowledge, freedom, and happiness.
Development of Natural Sciences
By the age of enlightenment natural sciences were developed based on mode of enquiry
Natural sciences were separated out of social philosophy and became independent branches
The mode of enquiry developed was scientific
All knowledge to be focused under scientific studies were to be sensible to human senses and all things which did not fall to our senses were considered not as part of knowledge
Scientific methodologies were developed during this period
Isaac Newton and his gravitation, Francis Bacon, Descartes were prominent among them.
Industrial Revolution
Industrial revolution on 18th century were instrumental in development of social sciences
Due to industrial revolution-
1. Family system changes which led to development of Sociology
2. The tensions and stresses created due to change in family system formed way for Psychology
3. The change in production system and market relations formed way for Economics
4. Development of nation state system paved way for Anthropology
Positivist movement
August Comte in his Positive Philosophy emphasized that social science research can be organized in the similar way research organized in the natural sciences
The methods of natural sciences can be applied in the social world too.
He said it as social physics
The data obtained in the social sciences through scientif enquiry can be called social fact.
Social sciences in 21st century
In the 21st century social sciences have become interdisciplinary
There is no clear boundaries that separate social scienes as of now
All social sciences are interdependent
Teaching oints prepared by Biju P R,Assitant Professor,Dept.of Political Science,GBC,Tly.
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