Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
and Virtue (Arete). It was also during
Lesson 1: What is Social Science?
Social Science is called the “Science of the
Society”. It focuses on studying the following:
1. Changes in human relationship about by
events;
2. Interactions between humans and their
social and physical environment;
3. Effects and implications of past events
to the present time; and
4. Social systems, processes, and
institutions – and how humans relate to
these.
Severe definitions of Social Science
1. Seligman – “Social Sciences deals with
the activities of the individual as a
member of the group.”
2. Mitchell – “Social Science is any study
concerning man and society. It should
refer the application of scientific
method to study of the intricate and
complex network of human relationship
and the form of organization designed
to enable people to live together in
societies.
3. Fairchild – “Social Science as a general
term for all the sciences which are
concerned with human affairs”
4. Peter Lewis – “Social science are
concerned with the laws that govern
society and the social department of
man”
History of Social Science:
1. Pre-Modern Period
The center of study during this period
was the Greek city-state (polis), where
inquiries in “science” and “philosophy”
began. One of the city-states, Athens,
had sophists, who study humankind and
society. Sophists were teachers who
taught men rhetoric, wisdom (Sophia),
this period where the pre-Socratic
“nature philosophers” such as Tales and
Democritus, began including humans
and human association in their domain
of study.
In this period, the scholars believed in
two aspects that governed the world;
nomos and physis. Nomos means “law
and order”. It is the norms, laws,
conventions, and customs that emanate
from rational thinking. Meanwhile,
physis means “nature”. It is the core
characteristics of things – the essence
of all matter and creation. The “nature
philosophers” and Sophists greatly
believed in nomos, while Plato and
Aristotle believed in physis.
2. Renaissance Period
Romans studied man with the goal of
reaching Virtus, or total human
excellence. Gradually, capitalism,
replaced feudalism, and the rise of the
modern state brought about by the
Peace of Westphalia gave way to the
inclination of early scholars to a
discipline that is measure, observable
and verifiable.
The principal scholars during this period
were Maciavelli, Bodin, Hobbbes, Locke,
the Physiocrats and Adam Smith.
The Renaissance period introduced 2
major shifts signifying a break from the
past. First is the rejection that human
associations were natural communities,
due to the rise of the modern state
which also gave way to the term
“society”, “government”, “territory”,
“sovereignty”, and “people” signifying
autonomy and well-defined boundaries,
 both tangible and not-tangible. Second
is the source and aim of knowledge and
the method to pursue it.
Niccolo Maciavelli – hailed as one of
the first modern social scientist, studied
citizens as distinct to government as
well made a distinction between the
people who comprise the government
intended to serve the citizens.
Thomas Hobbes – proposed the idea
through his book Leviathan that society
is a group of individuals united by
agreements to accept authority, as the
natural condition of humanity is “war of
all against all” and marked by self-
interest.
John Locke and Jean-Jacque Rousseau
– complete the trio called “contract
theorist” or “social contractualist”.
Rosseau, on the other hand believed,
that human history is brought by
unintended consequences and that
there has been not much progress.
Therefore, if humans will not institute
law and forge a social contract with
each other and with their government,
tyranny is inevitable.
3. Industrial Revolution Period
The beginning of the 19th century
ushered in the fruits of the
Enlightenment. It marked the beginning
of the Industrial Revolution where
Western Europe, specifically England,
experienced a boom in scientific
discoveries which translated to
inventions and machines that made
possible mass production, thereby
making the lives of people especially
those who are doing business easier.
The approach of natural science to
partition disciples such as biology,
chemistry, and physics cannot be
applied in social science. According to
social science theorists in this period,
society is not decomposable into
individuals. Given this, there can be no
scientific study of society if it is dived
into portions, or if its portions are
studied apart.
John Stuart Mill – in his book Logic
argued that the laws of society be the
product of the laws of the actions and
passions of human beings.
4. Modern Period
The trajectory of Social Science from
the 20th century onwards followed the
same trajectory of the older Natural
Science, as it eventually became of
research. Today, Lawrence Kempton’s
statement that social science as a
science is very young, and so there is
still “confusion concerning its limits
and boundaries.”
Performance Task # 1
Concept Pyramid Strategy
A Concept Pyramid is a simple way of
brainstorming concepts and arranging
them in a sequence or negotiated
hierarchical order. In some concept
pyramids, concepts are placed in order
of preference or hierarchy.
Alternatively, a concept pyramid might
be used to identify specific elements or
components in much the same way as a
concept web might.
In using a Concept Pyramid within a group
discussion, a useful process might proceed as
follows:
1.Provide each group with a blank concept
pyramid printed on a sheet of A4 paper.
2.The Concept Pyramid is divided into levels of
any number. Students brainstorm elements or
components and record each on separate
sheets of paper. They jointly construct the
concept pyramid by negotiating on the
hierarchical order in which the separate pieces
of paper will be placed on the concept pyramid.
Performance Task # 2
Venn Diagram
Performance Task # 3
Compare and Contrast
Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
Lesson 2: Disciplines of Social Science
Anthropology – is considered as the complete
“science of man”, because it focuses on the
integration of Social Science, Humanities,
Physical Science, and Human Biology. Because
of this nature, Anthropology derives its data
from field research and cross-cultural studies.
The end goal of Anthropology is to understand
humans and cultures across history through
developing and testing hypotheses about
human behavior, both past, and present.
Communication Studies – focus on the process
of human communication: verbal, written and
non-verbal communication
Economics – According to Adam Smith, the
father of Economics, the discipline is the
“Science of Wealth”. On the other hand, one of
the fathers of neoclassical economics, Alfred
Marshall defined it as the “study of mankind in
the ordinary business of life”. As a social
science, Economics seeks to study, production,
distribution, and consumption of goods and
services.
Geography – is the study of Earth and its lands,
features, inhabitants, and phenomena. This is
different from Geology which studies the
earth’s surface down to the core of the Earth. In
Social Science, the focus is on human
geography; the study of the relations between
humans and the environment across the space.
It seeks to understand humans and their
interaction with the environment and
landscape.
History – is the study of the past, especially
study of human and their past.
Jurisprudence – is the science of law. It includes
the principles and theories behind laws and
legal system
Linguistics – study of language – its forms,
meanings, and contexts.
Political Science – is the study of government
and pollical behavior of humans when faced
with power. The discipline also examines the
distribution of power, and resources, and how
this impact and affect the world.
Psychology – is the study of the behavior and
mind, with the goal of understanding individual
and groups. It examines the conscious and
unconscious thoughts of humans and generates
principles based on cases and tests.
Sociology – is the study of society and human
social action. It examines social rules and
process that bind and separate people from
each other, from their peers, from their groups
and from the institution where they belong.
Performance Task # 4

Table Representation Activity

Create a table from the different branches of Social Science that shows its different career paths,
branches and its definitions and purpose for the society.

Anthropology

 Communication Studies
 Economics
 Geography
 History
 Jurisprudence
 Linguistics
 Political Science
 Psychology Sociology
 Sociology

For Example:

Psychology
Possible Career Path Branches of Psychology Definition and Its Purpose

Psychiatrist Abnormal Psychology Focuses on the study of mental

disabilities, its assessment and
treatments.