HISTORY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

HISTORY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 

     The history of the social sciences begins in the Age of Enlightenment after 1650, which saw a revolution within natural philosophy. Social sciences came forth from the moral philosophy of the time and was influenced by the Age of Revolutions, such as the Industrial Revolution and the French Revolution. The social sciences developed from the sciences (experimental and applied), or the systematic knowledge-bases or prescriptive practices, relating to the social improvement of a group of interacting entities.

     The beginnings of the social sciences in the 18th century are reflected in the grand encyclopedia of Diderot, with articles from Rousseau and other pioneers. The growth of the social sciences is also reflected in other specialized encyclopedias. The modern period saw "social science" first used as a distinct conceptual field. Social science was influenced by positivism, focusing on knowledge based on actual positive sense experience and avoiding the negative; metaphysical speculation was avoided. Auguste Comte used the term "science sociale" to describe the field, taken from the ideas of Charles Fourier; Comte also referred to the field as social physics.

     Around the start of the 20th century, Enlightenment philosophy was challenged in various quarters. After the use of classical theories since the end of the scientific revolution, various fields substituted mathematics studies for experimental studies and examining equations to build a theoretical structure. The development of social science subfields became very quantitative in methodology. The interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary nature of scientific inquiry into human behavior, social and environmental factors affecting it, made many of the natural sciences interested in some aspects of social science methodology.

         In the contemporary period, Karl Popper and Talcott Parsons influenced the furtherance of the social sciences. Researchers continue to search for a unified consensus on what methodology might have the power and refinement to connect a proposed "grand theory" with the various midrange theories that, with considerable success, continue to provide usable frameworks for massive, growing data banks; for more, see consilience. The social sciences will for the foreseeable future be composed of different zones in the research of, and sometime distinct in approach toward, the field.

     The term "social science" may refer either to the specific sciences of society established by thinkers such as Comte, Durkheim, Marx, and Weber, or more generally to all disciplines outside of "noble science" and arts. By the late 19th century, the academic social sciences were constituted of five fields: jurisprudence and amendment of the law, education, health, economy and trade, and art. The term "social science" first appeared in the 1824 book An Inquiry into the Principles of the Distribution of Wealth Most Conducive to Human Happiness; applied to the Newly Proposed System of Voluntary Equality of Wealth by William Thompson (1775–1833). Auguste Comte (1797–1857) argued that ideas pass through three rising stages,theological, philosophical and scientific. He defined the difference as the first being rooted in assumption, the second in critical thinking, and the third in positive observation.

     The social science disciplines are branches of knowledge taught and researched at the college or university level. Social science fields of study usually have several sub-disciplines or branches, and the distinguishing lines between these are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. The following are problem areas and discipline branches within the social sciences : Environmental Studies , Anthropology, Area studies , Business studies , Civics , Communication studies , Criminology , Demography , Development studies , Economics , Education , Geography , History , Industrial relations , Information science , Law ,Library science , Linguistics , Media studies , Political science , Psychology , Public administration , Sociology and Social work.

Nature Of Social Science

     Social Sciences are the advanced study of human society which are taught at different age levels. It is the theory part of human affairs. It posses the following characteristics ;

F Social science is the theory part of human relations.

F It is a combination of various disciplines such as Anthropology, Sociology, Linguistics, Law, History, Geography, Education, etc.

F It studies the development of man and society at different stages.

F It is a science of diversity of human relationships.

F It is one of the important Academic Discipline that tries preserve and transmit the culture of society.

F The motto of  teaching social science is to cultivate social values and making the pupils a social human being.

F Social science are those parts of cultural knowledge which have direct bearing on man’s activities in specific field.