Discipline and Ideas

in the Social
Sciences
Lyle Friedrich B. Serojales
The
Disciplines of
Social
Science
 Social
Science
• Is engaged in the
study of phenomena
relating to human
groups and their
socio-physical
environment.
 Social Science
implies two
important context:

• It involves the
scientific process
• It inquires about the
social space
.

• The beginning of social science inquiry or research can be

traced back to ancient Greek philosophers who inquired on
questions of ethics, the nature of man, society, and the state.
Plato’s
Philosophy
• discussed how human
nature or the soul is a
reflection of society
and how a society can
achieve harmony by
creating classes or
division.
Aristotle’s
Philosophy
• discussed how different
types of governments can
be transformed into
something just or corrupt.
Herodotus Philosophy
• discussed how different types of
governments can be transformed
into something just or corrupt.
Scholars from other parts of the
world also contributed to the
early development of social
science
Al-Biruni (973-1048)
• An Islamic medieval scholar, documented the lives
of early populations in the Middle East, South Asia,
and the Mediterranean.
 The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries (1000 CE)
- which is a comparative study of the different
calendars of cultures and civilizations in the Middle
East and South Asia.
Critical Study of What India Say, whether Accepted
by Reason or Refused
-which is a detailed account of the religion and
philosophy of India.
Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406)

• A North African Muslim scholar who

was recognized as one of the key
founders of several disciplines in the
social sciences such as demography,
history, sociology, anthropology and
economics.
 Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun
-his most acclaimed work.
.

• The concern of the Church throughout the Middle Ages was the rigorous
study of human nature and the use of Greek philosophy to support and
defend theological ideals and principles.
• The desire between religious orientation and the rise of scientific inquiry
also permeated the developing social science disciplines in the West.
• The desire of men to circumnavigate Earth, map the stars, identify the
very essence of matter was the same desire that drove them to
understand and explore ideas such as the state, economy, religion,
morality, and most importantly, the nature of man himself.
 .

• In the age of
Enlightenment,
particular attention was
given to how societies
originated, how they
functioned, and how
they were governed.
• Philosophers then began
to question the rule of
absolute monarchs and
proposed that the power
of any state lies not on
its government but on its
people.
Thomas
Hobbes
• Developed the idea
that absolute
monarchs are
essential to enforce
the will of the people,
but argued that the
monarch’s power
came from the people
and not from divine
right.
John Locke

• Argued that the power of

the state to govern is a
power given by the people
for the protection of their
inalienable rights.
Montesquieu
• Developed the idea of the
government having a system
of checks and balances, called
for the separation of
government powers into the
executive, legislative and
judicial branches.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Attempted to explain that a social contract
exists, which enables a society to function
toward a general will or a common good.
Different
Discipline
of Social
Sciences
The Discipline of A holistic study of human
ANTHROPOLOGY beings and their culture.
 The Discipline of
ECONOMICS

• The study of allocation of

resources within the
household level.
The Discipline of GEOGRAPHY
• the study of the Earth and the way humans are
dispersed on it.
The Discipline
of HISTORY
• the study of man’s
past and his
decisions in order to
find relationships
between the events
and causes for
them.
 The Discipline
of LINGUISTICS

• the study of the

structure of language,
its syntax, phonology,
semantics, phonetics,
morphology, and the
nature of language
and its variations
The Discipline
of POLITICAL
SCIENCE
• It is a social science dealing
with systems of governance
and power, and the analysis
of political activities,
political thought, political
behavior, and associated
constitutions and laws.
The Discipline
of
PSYCHOLOGY
• the study of the
mind’s functions as
they relate to one’s
physical and social
environment
The Discipline of SOCIOLOGY
• the study of social behavior and societies
The Discipline of DEMOGRAPHY

•  Thebranch of social sciences

concerned with the study of
human populations, their
structure and change
(through births, deaths, and
migration), and their
relationship with the natural
environment and with social
and economic change.