DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
UNIT 1: EMERGENCE OF THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES
FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF SOCIAL
SCIENCES
● Individual - Social actors, and
active, mindful, and conscious
decision makers.
● Nature - Environment; social
structures that provide the physical
and biological as well as the social
context of collective action or social
phenomena
● Culture - Shared and collective
actions, ideas and values that are
demonstrated, exhibited, produced,
and reproduced by a particular
group of people and communicated
through symbols including language.
● Social structure - Patterns of
behavior and interaction, which have
been institutionalized over time;
result of human interaction with one
another and with the “social world”
and “natural world”.
● Action - Decisions, activities and
interactions made by human beings
in the context of their particular
social world and conditioned by their
collective consciousness.
Defining Social Sciences as the Study of
Society
● Social Sciences - is the systematic
study of human society.
● Society - is organized, deliberately
structured and formalized, and
bound by rules drafted and
implemented by people who
themselves constitute society.
WHAT COMPROMISES SOCIETY?
● Slice of Life - Larry Alcala’s most
popular cartoon series which is a
reflection of the many unique
aspects of everyday life in the
Philippines.
● Kenkoy - One of the most important
and earliest depictions of Philippine
social life depicted in this popular art
by Tony Velasquez
PRIMITIVE VS MODERN SOCIETY
● Primitive culture - is characterized
by features that may include lack of
a written language, relative isolation,
small population, relatively simple
social institutions and technology,
and a generally slow rate of
sociocultural change
● Primitive - refers to everything that
contrasts with that of an industrial,
urbanized society.
● Modernity - is a concept that deals
with the shift in the physical and
material condition of society and
also with the mental and behavioral
shifts among people.
THE RISE OF MODERN SOCIAL
SCIENCES
● Industrial Revolution - witnessed a
shift from human labor dependence
to machine dependence as the
technological advancements in this
period paved the way for
manufactured products and the
production of surplus.
● Steam press - One of the earliest
machinery inventions designed from
London times by Friedrich Gottlob
Koenig.
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
● Functionalism - It is concept
introduced by Emile Durkheim that
was borne out of this conception of
society, suggest that cultural and
social institutions are created to
perform certain functions that in the
end contribute to the overall health
of society.
● Mechanical solidarity - the basis of
people’s cooperation and society’s
integration is due to similar
experiences in work, life ways,
values and worldviews.
● Emile Durkheim - Father of
Sociology and Anthropology
INTRODUCING THE DISCIPLINES
WITHIN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
● Anthropology
● Geography
● History
● Economics
● Linguistic
● Political Science
● Psychology
● Sociology
● Demography
ANTHROPOLOGY
● Anthropology - It is the study of
human social organization.
FIELDS
● Physical Anthropology - which
studies the physical traits of early
humans and their modern-day
counterparts.
● Cultural Anthropology - which
investigates cultural phenomena
● Linguistics - which looks at
language development and
structures.
● Archaeology - which examines the
cultural residues of early people.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES
● Bronislaw Malinowski - He said
that cultural elements are
interdependent and functional to the
cultural group. He initiated the
method of participant observation to
study elements and obtain an
account of culture from the native’s
point of view.
● Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown -
He stated that cultures tend towards
equilibrium. He is credited for the
paradigm of Structural
Functionalism.
● Franz Boas - The Father of Modern
Anthropology. He was the first to
apply the scientific method to
anthropology, emphasizing a
research- first method of generating
theories.
RESEARCH METHOD
● Ethnography - is a methodology
that most anthropologists use. It is
qualitative and it consists of two
major methods of data
gathering-participant observation
and key informant interviews
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
HISTORY
● History - The American Historical
Association defines history as “the
never-ending process whereby
people seek to understand the past
and its meaning.”
● historia - “finding out,” “inquiry,” and
“narrative” and in some
interpretations it means “knowledge
acquired by investigation.”
KEY CONCEPTS
● Significance - is a process of
determining which part of a historical
event has more value to be included
in the narrative.
● Continuity and Change - are
historians who have the goal of
examining the transitions of
institutions, actors, and landscapes
over time.
● Cause and Effect - historians
inquire on the factors that led to the
events in history. They analyze how
these historical events shaped the
lives of people and their
communities.
● Perspective - history is primarily
based on written records or oral
traditions made by different people
in different cultures, the
reconstruction of the events requires
historians to adapt perspectives.
FIELDS
● Cultural History - focuses on the
study of belief systems, customs,
social forms, political systems,
material traits, and economic
activities of a group or community
usually for the purpose of
comparison with others.
● Social History - is concerned with
the study of particular kinds of
phenomena such as family and
marriage, adolescence and mass
media, human rights and inequality,
industrialization and development,
work and leisure.
● Intellectual History - looks into the
history of ideas and theories.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES
● Herodotus - The Father of History.
○ The Histories - his collection
of works
● Arnold J. Toynbee - He was a
British historian and philosopher
known for his 12-volume work titled
A Study of History. He narrated the
histories of civilizations, describing
how they overcame challenges.
RESEARCH METHOD
● Oral Tradition - In societies where
written language is not present,
traditions are passed on through
stories handed down from one
generation to the next.
● Internal Criticism - This is a
method where the historian checks
the validity of the content of a
historical document or artifact by
comparing it with existing historical
evidence related to the same event
or figure
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
GEOGRAPHY
● Geography - The study of
describing Earth.
● geo - earth, land, or ground
● graphia - to write, an art, or a study
● Satellite Imaging - provided
geographers a vast amount of
information like landscapes and
migration patterns.
KEY CONCEPTS
● Spatial Pattern - refers to the
arrangement or placement of objects
on Earth’s surface.
● Spatial Interaction - is the
processes involved in understanding
the relationship between the
movements of things from one
location to another.
RESEARCH METHOD
● Cartography - is the study of
representing Earth’s surface using
abstract symbols or through the
creation of maps. “map making”
● Geographic Information System -
is the discipline which deals with the
proper storage and data retrieval of
geographic information using a
computer.
● Remote Sensing - utilizes various
instruments (satellite images, aerial
photography) to obtain geographic
data about Earth’s surface.
● Geo statistics - is the application of
statistical methodologies to analyze
geographic information. It is
commonly used in weather
prediction and analysis, geology,
and urban planning.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES
● Eratosthenes - The Father of
Geography. He was the first one to
use the word geography and he
invented a system of longitude and
latitude and made a map of the
known world
● Anaximander - He was a
pre-Socratic Greek philosopher,
biologist and astronomer. He is one
of the Considered as one of the first
geographers. Provided a round map
divided into three continents
(Europe, Asia, and Libya)
surrounded by an ocean.
● William Morris Davis - Father of
American Geography.
FIELDS
● Physical Geography - studies the
changes in natural patterns and
processes of Earth’s surface over
time.
● Human Geography - studies the
relationship of people, communities,
and cultures across space and
place.
● Integrated Geography - studies
how human activities impact the
environment through the analysis of
the shifts in landforms and cycles of
the natural resources.
● Geomatics - focuses on the
scientific management of geographic
data.
● Regional Geography - focuses on a
particular region of the surface of
Earth.
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
SOCIOLOGY
● Sociology - the study of society
● socius - “companionship” or
“friendship”
KEY CONCEPTS
● Institution - is a complex and
organized entity which aims to
protect and enable the continuing
function of values adopted by
society.
○ five basic social institutions
■ family
■ government
■ economy
■ education
■ religion
● Norms - refer to the values and
behaviors which are considered
acceptable in society.
● Deviance - is going out of what is
the norm.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES
● Auguste Comte - The Father of
Sociology. He developed Sociology
in 1838 in his series of texts titled A
Couse on Positive Philosophy.
● Karl Marx - He is a German
sociologist and philosopher, is
credited for being one of the
founding fathers of modern
sociology.
● Max Weber - is known for his idea of
rationalization and bureaucracy
FIELDS
● Human Ecology - studies society in
relation with its environment.
● Penology or penal science -
studies how punishment is
conducted on the offending
members of the society.
● Sociology of work - historically,
used to be an inquiry into the effects
of the Industrial Revolution on
societies.
RESEARCH METHOD
● Case Study - is an in-depth analysis
of an individual or a group of people
by way of interviews, observations,
and examination of artifacts and
records.
● Survey - is the collection of data
using questionnaires and statistical
analysis in order to arrive at the
collective response of a group or a
sample given a particular
phenomenon.
PSYCHOLOGY
● Psychology - Study of behavior and
mental processes
● psych - soul
KEY CONCEPTS
● Personality - is defined as the
consistent pattern of an individual’s
behavior, attitude, and thoughts.
● Unconscious - is the hidden or
underlying structure of
consciousness where a person’s
repressed emotions, feelings or
traumatic memory is stored.
● Motivation - is the driving force
behind actions and is influenced by
the environment, social factors,
personal choices, behavior,
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
intelligence, and other psychological
traits.
● Development - defined as
progressive series of changes of an
orderly type toward the goal of
maturity.
RESEARCH METHOD
● Controlled Experiments - involve
two groups being researched upon:
● Experimental Group - is the one
given the stimuli being tested
(whether a new type of drug, a new
television show, a different
environment, food, etc.) Control
Group is not given a stimulus
● Quantitative Psychological
Research - uses mathematical
models, formulas, and statistics to
establish conclusions based on
psychological patterns.
● Qualitative Psychological
Research - is a method that aims to
derive at conclusions through a
naturalistic approach.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES
● Sigmund Freud - the Father of
Psychoanalysis. Developed
therapeutic techniques for mental
illness using free association and
transference
○ Free Association - is a
technique which allows the
patient to express himself or
herself or to talk freely
without any form of
interruption by either words
or actions.
○ Transference - is the ability
of both the patient and the
therapist to influence each
other.
● B.F. Skinner - one of the fathers of
behavioral psychology
○ Principle of Reinforcement
- suggests that actions are
responses to consequences
of previous actions.
● Wilhelm Wundt - The Father of
Psychology. The one who coined the
term Psychology.
FIELDS
● Biological Psychology - examines
how thoughts, feelings, and behavior
physically affect human beings.
● Behavioral Psychology or
Behaviorism - determines
psychological processes through the
use of observable data
● Cognitive Psychology - analyze
show sensory data that are
interpreted and are used by the mind
to produce behavior.
● Social Psychology - interprets the
behavior of groups of the presence
of others.
● Psychoanalysis - is the main idea
is the concept of unconscious.
DEMOGRAPHY
● Demography - study of describing
people.
○ demos - people
○ graphia - a description of
KEY CONCEPTS
● Fertility - can either mean the live
birth of a population or the number
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
of women in childbearing age (15-49
years old).
● Mortality - is the death rate or
frequency of death in a population.
● Urbanization - is the proportion of a
country's population living in urban
areas.
● Population - refers to the number of
inhabitants in a given area such as
countries and regions.
● Migration - is the movement of
people across a particular boundary
to establish a permanent or
semi-permanent residence.
RESEARCH METHOD
● Direct
○ Gathering data through
registries
○ Acquiring data through
censuses conducted by
national governments
● Indirect
○ Sister method, wherein they
would ask women how many
sisters they have, how many
have died, how many had
children, and at what age.
● Interviewing people
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES
● Thomas Maltus - He was an
English cleric and scholar whose
most notable work is An Essay on
the Principle of Population. Maltus
discussed how population growth
would lead to the increase in
consumption of products required for
human living.
● Kingsley Davis - He was an
American sociologist and
demographer whose works
produced theories about society and
populations.
● Timothy Dyson - He is a retired
professor of population at London
School of economics, provided two
instances of demographic transition:
○ Pre-transition - occurs when
birth and death rates are high
and infants seldom reached
their first birthdays.
○ Post-transition -
characterized by high birth
rates and low death rates
due to advancements in
medicine and technology.
FIELDS
● Historical Demography - is the
quantitative study of population in
the past.
● Social demography - uses
demographic data to describe and
explain social phenomena.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
● Political Science - It is the study of
political power relations, behavior,
and activities
○ politikos - relating to
citizens.
KEY CONCEPTS
● Power - is an important concept
where relations are based on.
● Politics - is the state’s exercise of
power and management of internal
issues and international concerns.
● State - is an organized political
community under one government.
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

● Political Philosophy - is the root

RESEARCH METHOD from which political science sprouted
from.
● Case Study - aims to produce a ○ concept of political
viable public policy by examining philosophy
how political actors interact with the ■ justice
political system. ■ law
● Comparative Approach - compares ■ rights
political systems using selected ■ government
variables such as the type of regime, ● Public Law - is an organized
type of values implemented, and political community under one
political events, among others. government.

CLASSICAL POLITICAL THINKERS

ECONOMICS
● Confucius - states that there will be
a just and orderly society when roles ● Economics - The study of the
are fulfilled, and corruption shall allocation of resources within the
prevail when someone acts contrary household level. Study of the ways
to his or her role. that scarce resources are produced,
● Plato - states that justice is achieved used, and distributed.
when each person acts according to ○ oikos - house
the functions of his or her class and ○ nomos - custom or law
that corruption occurs when a
person acts in a manner opposite to
KEY CONCEPTS
what is required from his or her
class.
● Market - is an arena where
● Aristotle - self-interest must give
consumers and sellers are
way to the common interest in order
independently interacting for goods
for a society to exist.
which are priced equally due to the
● Jean Jacques Rousseau - argued
ongoing competition among sellers.
that people come together to form
● Supply - refers to the entirety of
societies for the common good.
available goods that the market can
● John Locke - argued that the ruler’s
offer.
function is to protect the rights of his
● Demand - represents the actual
or her people.
quantity of goods or services that the
public requires from the market.
FIELDS
● Production - is the process
wherein raw materials are
● Comparative Politics - studies the
transformed into usable goods.
differences and similarities of the
● Specialization - refers to a method
political systems of the world in an
in production where in the process of
empirical manner.
producing goods and services is
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

concentrated to a particular group of wealth by selling more than it

specialized products. buys.
● Adam Smith - Free market
RESEARCH METHOD ● John Maynard Keynes -
government must have an
● Behavioral Economics - provides intervention
an analysis that fuses economic
principles with psychological
framework.
● Classical Economics - economic
LINGUISTICS
behavior and phenomenon are
herein measure and analyzed using ● Linguistics - is a branch of study
mathematical equations that that deals with languages
compute variables like price, value, ○ lingua - language
labor cost, and economic ● Language - is a mode of expression
development. of thought by means of articulate
● Computational Economics - sounds.
involves the development of
mathematical methods with the aid
KEY CONCEPTS
of computers.
● Econometrics - formulas derived
● Cohesion - refers to linguistic links
from mathematical and statistical
such as pronouns and adjectives
procedures, econometrics provides
which provide a recognizable
quantitative analysis and projections
structure.
of an economic phenomenon.
● Coherence - is the logic within
● Evolutionary Economics -
discourse that takes into account our
institutions and technologies are
knowledge of the world. It can be
considered variables that are
thought as of how meanings and
constantly transforming
sequences of ideas relate to each
other.
IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES
● Discourse - is any connected piece
of speech or writing which serves as
● St. Thomas Aquinas - He is an
the chain that holds communication
Italian theologian and philosopher,
together.
discussed the concept of “just price”
● Critical discourse analysis - is the
in his work Summa Theologica.
study of a text within its social
● Victor de Riqueti & Marquis de
context.
Mirabeau - coined the term
● Etymology - is the study of history
Mercantilism in 1743
or origin of the particular word.
○ Mercantilism - the
● Functionalism - is an approach to
government should control
language structure that primarily
the economy and that a
focuses on the purpose in which
nation should increase its
language is used
DISCIPLINE AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

● Dialect - is an identifiable regional or ● Developmental Linguistics -

social variety of language.
● Grammar - refers to the rule of
constructing words and sentences
within a particular language.
● Grapheme - is a single character in
a recognized writing system such as
letters and punctuation marks.
● Lexicon - is the total words
available to a speaker or the
vocabulary of the language.
analyzes the development of
language acquisition, language
retention, and language loss and
bilingualism.
● Neurologistics - studies the
physiological mechanisms by which
the brain processes information in
relation to language.

3 PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS

● Sound
○ Phonetics - studies human
speech sound.
○ Phonology - studies the
principles governing the
sound system of language.
● Structure
○ Morphology - studies
language structure from its
morphic units or root words.
○ Syntax - studies sentence
structure such as grammar.
● Meaning
○ Semantics - studies the logic
and meaning of words and
phrases.
○ Pragmatics - studies the use
of language and its effects on
society.

FIELDS

● Historical Linguistics - known as

diachronic linguistics,studies show
particular language changed over
time.
● Sociolinguistics - examines how
language is used in relation to a
people’s sociocultural environment.