PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy is the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence,
especially when considered as an academic discipline. The literal meaning of
Philosophy is the ‘love of wisdom’ and it enquires into the human reality finding rational
conception of our being. Philosophy is the systematized study of general and
fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values,
mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or
resolved. Social being all the time keep their history and morality intact. The
diagrammatic expression of the path to the answers is:-

Morality

Evil Vertue

Recognition of act Curosity

Religion Science

Path towards
Systematic Study
somthing

Some sources claim the term was coined by Pythagoras (c. 570 – c. 495 BCE); others
dispute this story, arguing that Pythagoreans merely claimed use of a pre-existing
term. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational
argument, and systematic presentation. The nature of philosophy can be said to be
purely scientific as it incorporates curious discovery of human reality and integrates
with other sciences like Psychology, Sociology, Physics, Political Science, amongst
others to understand various philosophical questions. Philosophy has 2 main
components, Knowledge which is gained from books and Wisdom, gained through
experinace, Wisdom is from truth and truth from reality.
Definition. The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and
existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.
Nature. Philosophy investigates the principles and rules of language, and
attempts to clarify the meaning of vague words and concepts. Philosophy examines
the role of language in communication and thought, and the problem of how to identify
or ensure the presence of meaning in our use of language.
History of Philosophy
Philosophy has been around since the dawn of western civilization. The golden age of
Greek philosophy took place in Athens in the 5th century BC. The works of Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle informed thousands of years of thought, becoming central to
thought in the Roman world, the Middle Ages, and then resurfacing in the renaissance
and later.
Starting at the height of the Roman republic, Christian thought was central to
philosophy at least until the enlightenment. In the 18th century, questions of how we
come to know what we believe we know (epistemology), and new ethical schools
began to form. By the late 1800’s, questions of language, logic, and meaning took
centre stage, and the 20th century played host to one of the largest bursts of
philosophical work ever seen. Today philosophical thought is applied to almost every
component of life, from science to warfare, politics to artificial intelligence.
Branches of Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of the search for the truth and hidden realities about ourselves.
There are 7 branches of Philosophy, namely, Metaphysics, Axiology, Logic,
Aesthetics, Epistemology, Ethics and Political Philosophy.
Axiology. Study of the nature of value and valuation. Also referred to as the theory
of value, Axiology explores the nature of value and its metaphysical aspects. To put it
simply, Axiology looks at the concept of value in terms of its philosophical terms and
argues questions about nature and what actually is valued.
Metaphysics. Study of the fundamental nature of reality. Metaphysics has been
a primary area of philosophical debate. It is mainly concerned with explaining the
nature of being and the world. Traditionally, it has two different study areas, including
Cosmology and Ontology. Cosmology is focused on understanding the origin,
evolution, and the eventual fate of the universe, which include laws that keep it in
perfect order. On the other hand, Ontology investigates various types of things that
exist and their relationship with each other. Much before the discovery of modern
science, all the science-related questions were asked as a part of Metaphysics.
Epistemology. Another major component of Philosophy is Epistemology. It is the
study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. Going back into history,
this term originated from the Greek word episteme which literally means knowledge,
and the other half of the word ‘logy means ‘the study of’. Basically it is about the study
of knowledge.
Ethics. Study of what is right and wrong in human behaviour. Everyone in their
day to day life tries to conduct themselves according to some established ethical
norms. This philosophical concept has different applications in a person’s real life.
Ethics is concerned with the definition of right and wrong and every philosopher has
defined it according to their own subjective understanding.
Political Philosophy. Study of government, addressing questions about the
nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions. Combining the two
fields of Politics and Philosophy, Political Philosophy studies political government,
laws, liberty, justice, rights, authority, political states and systems, ethics, and more. It
explores the concepts of why we need governments, the role of played by
governments, what are its constituents, amongst others.
Aesthetics. Study of beauty and taste. Every person defines beauty as per his or
her own perspectives. This philosophical subject is wholly devoted to defining the
different aspects of beauty, even its contours. Aesthetic Philosophy’s primary topic of
investigation is beauty and art. It also talks about performing arts like music.
Logic. Study of the nature and types of reasoning. We use this word in our
commonplace conversations, so we are all aptly familiar with it. In logic, we usually
construct two sentences which are called premises, and they are used to make a
conclusion. This sort of logic is called a syllogism, pioneered by Aristotle.
Relationship between Political Science and Philosophy!
(1) Initially, Political Science was called Political Philosophy.
(2) Study of philosophy of State i.e. Political Thought is a part of the study of Political
Science.
(3) Philosophy provides to Political Science knowledge of ideal human behaviour,
political values, good and bad in political theory, right and wrong laws, policies and
governmental decisions and theory of ideal social-political institutions.
(4) Philosophy also studies ideal political behaviour, good political values, ideal
political institutions and ideal political conduct. Ideal political reforms and political
ideologies Individualism liberalism socialism, communism and others. It is a part of the
study of Political Science. Each political ideology is a particular and distinct philosophy
of state.
SOCIAL SCIENCE
Social science is the study of people: as individuals, communities and societies; their
behaviours and interactions with each other and with their built, technological and
natural environments. Social science seeks to understand the evolving human
systems across our increasingly complex world and how our planet can be more
sustainably managed. It’s vital to our shared future. In other words social science, any
branch of academic study or science that deals with human behaviour in its social and
cultural aspects. Usually included within the social sciences are cultural (or social)
anthropology, sociology, psychology, political science, and economics.
Social science includes many different areas of study, such as how people they
organise and govern themselves, and broker power and international relations; how
wealth is generated, economies develop, and economic futures are modelled; how
business works and what a sustainable future means; the ways in which populations
are changing, and issues of unemployment, deprivation and inequality; and how these
social, cultural and economic dynamics vary in different places, with different
outcomes.
Beginning in the 1950s, the term behavioural sciences was often applied to the
disciplines designated as the social sciences. Those who favoured this term did so in
part because these disciplines were thus brought closer to some of the sciences, such
as physical anthropology and physiological psychology, which also deal with human
behaviour.
Strictly speaking, the social sciences, as distinct and recognized academic disciplines,
emerged only on the cusp of the 20th century. But one must go back farther in time
for the origins of some of their fundamental ideas and objectives. In the largest sense,
the origins go all the way back to the ancient Greeks and their rationalist inquiries into
human nature, the state, and morality. The heritage of both Greece and Rome is a
powerful one in the history of social thought, as it is in other areas of Western society.
Very probably, apart from the initial Greek determination to study all things in the spirit
of dispassionate and rational inquiry, there would be no social sciences today. True,
there have been long periods of time, as during the Western Middle Ages, when the
Greek rationalist temper was lacking. But the recovery of this temper, through texts of
the great classical philosophers, is the very essence of the Renaissance and the
Enlightenment in modern European history. With the Enlightenment, in the 17th and
18th centuries, one may begin.
Definition of Social Science
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and
the relationships among individuals within those societies.
Scope of Social Sciences
Basically, scope of Social Studies entails man, his environment (physical environment
and social environment) as well as science and technology which man uses to make
his environment suitable or conducive for him.
Branches of Social Sciences
Branches of Social Science are:-
Anthropology: The Study of People, Past and Present
History: The Study of Human History
Archaeology: The study of the human past through recovery and analysis of material
culture
Human Geography: The study of relationship between people and places
Economics: The study of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and
services
Law: The study of legal systems in different aspects from people to businesses and
environment
Development Studies: The study of evolution of countries from socio-economic,
cultural, political and geographical perspectives
Philosophy: The study of the nature of existence
International Relations: The study of relationships between nations and cultures
Linguistics: The scientific study of language
Cultural Studies: The study of diverse cultures
Sociology: The study of human society, relationships and social change
Psychology: The study of human mind and behaviour
Political Science: The study of political systems and governments
HISTORY
The origin of the word History is associated with the Greek word ‘Historia’ which means
‘information’ or ‘an enquiry designed to elicit truth’. History, the discipline that studies
the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or people), based on a critical
examination of source materials and usually presenting an explanation of their causes.
It is the story of man in time, an inquiry into the past based on evidence. History aims
at helping students to understand the present existing social, political, religious and
economic conditions of the people. Without the knowledge of history we cannot have
the background of our religion, customs institutions, administration and so on. The
teaching of history helps the students to explain the present, to analyse it and to trace
its course. Cause and-effect relationship between the past and the present is lively
presented in the history. History thus helps us to understand the present day problems
both at the national and international level accurately and objectively.
It is an act of both investigation and imagination that seeks to explain how people have
changed over time. Historians use all forms of evidence to examine, interpret, revisit,
and reinterpret the past. These include not just written documents, but also oral
communication and objects such as buildings, artifacts, photographs, and paintings.
Historians are trained in the methods of discovering and evaluating these sources and
the challenging task of making historical sense out of them. History is a means to
understand the past and present. The different interpretations of the past allow us to
see the present differently and therefore imagine—and work towards—different
futures. It is often said to be the “queen” or “mother” of the social sciences. It is the
basis of all subjects of study which fall under the category of Humanities and Social
Sciences. It is also the basis of the study of philosophy, politics, economics and even
art and religion. No wonder, it is considered an indispensable subject in the complete
education of man.
The Branches of History are as Follows:
1. Political History. While history is often thought to be a larger form of political
history, this specialised area combines political science and the study of history. It is
a popular discipline of history that focuses on examining political systems, leadership,
movements, and occurrences. It is associated with the growth and fall of various
political systems and political leaders during history’s many evolutionary stages.
2. Social History. Historical events also have a substantial impact on the equipment
and functioning of society, which is why this field of study evolved among the many
areas of history. Social history is involved with actual past experiences. It is the history
of people, their practices, traditions, and activities connected to key historical events.
3. Economic History. This specialisation, one of history’s lesser-known fields,
combines economics with analysing historical events and how they influenced various
economies throughout the world. Economic history seeks to comprehend the various
economic events of the past. It is the study of markets, industry, manufacturing
methods, consumption, and the working classes.
4. Religious History. For decades, secular and religious historians have focused
on the history of religion, and it is still taught in colleges and universities. Political,
cultural, and aesthetic elements and theology and liturgy are all covered in the history
of religion. Religions from all places and parts of the globe where humans have lived
are studied in this subject.
5. Diplomatic History. As the name implies, this field of history is concerned with
diplomats, diplomatic actions and institutions, and relationships among two or more
states. This area includes the subjects of war, security, agreements, international
alliances, and institutions.
6. Cultural History. Another factor extensively researched in history as an
educational field is culture. It is the study of different components of culture such as
values, ideas, customs, rituals, language, etc.
Relation of History and Political Science
Political Science and History John Seeley once remarked that, “History without
Political Science has no fruit and Political Science without History has no root.” Seeley
might have exaggerated the relationship between the two yet there is intimate
relationship between the two social sciences and they borrow heavily from each other.
The political science deals with state and institutions related with it which have their
roots in history and in order to understand them fully one has to trace their historical
evolution. History through its vast resources provides good scope for comparative 3
Easton, David (1953), “The Political System”, pp. 101. 4 Easton, David (1966),
“Alternative Strategies in Theoretical Research” in Varieties of Political Theory”,
Englewood Cliffs, pp. 6-7. 5 Torn book. analysis of political structures and institutions
of different times to arrive at the best possible ideal. Robson is of the opinion that some
knowledge of History is clearly indispensable for Political Science and cites the
explanation offered by Professor R. Solatu at the Cambridge Conference (from 6 to
10 April, 1952). Professor Solatu said, “that he had been baffled all through his
teaching career, especially during the 20 years he had spent in the Middle East, about
how to teach the history of political philosophy to students whose historical background
is usually inadequate, and often limited to purely political theory since the French
Revolution
SOCIOLOGY
Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and
consequences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups,
organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts. Since all
human behavior is social, the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate
family to the hostile mob; from organized crime to religious cults; from the divisions of
race, gender and social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture; and from the
sociology of work to the sociology of sports. In fact, few fields have such broad scope
and relevance for research, theory, and application of knowledge.
Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating new ideas
and critiquing the old. The field also offers a range of research techniques that can be
applied to virtually any aspect of social life: street crime and delinquency, corporate
downsizing, how people express emotions, welfare or education reform, how families
differ and flourish, or problems of peace and war. Because sociology addresses the
most challenging issues of our time, it is a rapidly expanding field whose potential is
increasingly tapped by those who craft policies and create programs. Sociologists
understand social inequality, patterns of behavior, forces for social change and
resistance, and how social systems work.
Political science, has developed largely from the practical interests of nations.
Increasingly, both fields have recognized the utility of sociological concepts and
methods. A comparable synergy has also developed with respect to law, education,
and religion and even in such contrasting fields as engineering and architecture. All of
these fields can benefit from the study of institutions and social interaction.
1. Historical Sociology. This is considered to be the study of social facts and social
groups. The background is usually studied in this category. We get to know about the
social events at large.
2. Criminology. This branch of sociology studies the criminal behavior of people
or groups of people. Different organizations established to control the crime as well as
their role also come under its study for a better understanding.
3. Rural Sociology. This branch of sociology studies the way of life of rural
people as the rural population is higher than the urban. Patterns of life such as
behavior, belief, culture, tradition norms, values, etc. which are totally different from
urban people are analyzed in this branch. It also studies rural life, social institutions,
social structure, social processes, etc. of the rural society.
4. Urban Sociology. This branch of sociology helps to know the way of life of
urban people. It gives details about the social organizations of urban society as well
as the social structure and social interaction the urban people got through. It also
studies the social pathology of urban society such as discrimination, crime, corruption,
robbery, beggary, loot, theft, unemployment, prostitution, environmental pollution, etc.
5. Political Sociology. This branch of sociology studies different political
moments of society. It includes the study of different political ideologies of individuals,
their origin, development and functions. In this study, different political parties are
considered as social institutions. Various activities and behavior of political parties are
also studied in this branch.
Relationship between Sociology and Political Science
Political science and sociology are closely related .Political science is that branch of
social science which mostly deals with state, government and power. According to
Morris Ginsberg, “Historically sociology has its main rules in politics and philosophy of
history."
Political science deals with the political activities of man .It deals with the principles of
organization and government of human society. It studies social groups organized
under the sovereignty of the state.
It is said that without the sociological background the study of political science will be
complete. The forms of government, the nature of governmental organs, the laws and
sphere of the state activities are determined by the social process. Both the sciences
are mutually helpful since political activities is only a part of the social activities.
Political activity influences and is influences by the social life of the man. Politics is
after all the reflection of the society. Political science gives the fact about the
organization and function of state of government. Similarly political science is derived
from a knowledge of the origin of the political authority. As political science is concern
with the state, sociology also studies state as one of the human association. The state
in its early form was more a social institution that of original one.
Without sociological background, the study of political science will be incomplete. But
also sociology depend on political science for its conclusion. The special study of
political life of the society is very important for the complete study of the society as a
whole
POLITICAL SOCIOLOGY
Political sociology is the study of power and the relationship between societies, states,
and political conflict. It is a broad subfield that straddles political science and sociology,
with “macro” and “micro” components. The macrofocus has centered on questions
about nation-states, political institutions and their development, and the sources of
social and political change (especially those involving large-scale social movements
and other forms of collective action). Here, researchers have asked “big” questions
about how and why political institutions take the form that they do, and how and when
they undergo significant change. The micro orientation, by contrast, examines how
social identities and groups influence individual political behavior, such as voting,
attitudes, and political participation. While both the macro- and micro-areas of political
sociology overlap with political science, the distinctive focus of political sociologists is
less on the internal workings or mechanics of the political system and more on the
underlying social forces that shape the political system. Political sociology can trace
its origins to the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max
Weber, among others, but it only emerged as a separate subfield within sociology after
World War II. Many of the landmark works of the 1950s and 1960s centered on
microquestions about the impact of class, religion, race/ethnicity, or education on
individual and group-based political behavior. Beginning in the 1970s, political
sociologists increasingly turned toward macrotopics, such as understanding the
sources and consequences of revolutions, the role of political institutions in shaping
political outcomes, and large-scale comparative-historical studies of state
development. Today both micro- and macro scholarship can be found in political
sociology.
GEOGRAPHY
Geography, the study of the diverse environments, places, and spaces of Earth’s
surface and their interactions. It seeks to answer the questions of why things are as
they are, where they are. The modern academic discipline of geography is rooted in
ancient practice, concerned with the characteristics of places, in particular their natural
environments and peoples, as well as the relations between the two. Its separate
identity was first formulated and named some 2,000 years ago by the Greeks, whose
geo and graphein were combined to mean “earth writing” or “earth description.”
However, what is now understood as geography was elaborated before then, in the
Arab world and elsewhere. Ptolemy, author of one of the discipline’s first books, Guide
to Geography (2nd century CE), defined geography as “a representation in pictures of
the whole known world together with the phenomena which are contained therein.”
This expresses what many still consider geography’s essence—a description of the
world using maps (and now also pictures, as in the kind of “popular geographies”
exemplified by National Geographic Magazine)—but, as more was learned about the
world, less could be mapped, and words were added to the pictures.
To most people, geography means knowing where places are and what they are like.
Discussion of an area’s geography usually refers to its topography—its relief and
drainage patterns and predominant vegetation, along with climate and weather
patterns—together with human responses to that environment, as in agricultural,
industrial, and other land uses and in settlement and urbanization patterns.
Branches of Geography
Physical geography. Physical geography, is the study of the world’s physical
geographic features—its landforms, bodies of water, climates, soils, and plants.
Human geography. Human geography is the study of the world’s human
geographic features— people, communities, and landscapes.
Hydrology. Hydrology, the study of water on Earth.
Meteorology. Meteorology, the study of weather and what causes it.
Cartography. Cartography, the science of making maps.
Relation between Geography and Political science
In a rapidly changing international environment, the issues of economic, political and
social security are gaining prominence and in this context the tools of political science
and geography are increasingly becoming important for understanding and analysing
global problems and arriving at policy alternatives. The two disciplines have been
associated through the sub-fields of political geography, which covers geographical
differences in voting patterns, for example, and through geo-politics which examines
how the great powers influence other parts of the planet. These days, in a context of
globalisation, interdisciplinary understandings of socio environmental issues are
becoming increasing key to solving the problems of the future such as political
instability in parts of the developing world as a result of climate change, for example.
Environmental politics, and the politics of the environment, are becoming ever more
important.