Introduction to

Social
Sciences,
Natural
Sciences and
Humanities

Prof. Premakumara de Silva,

University of Colombo
 What is science?
 Science, all science,
the process of gaining
knowledge through
experimentation.
Science is a
methodology used to
understand our world.
 Natural sciences and
social sciences are
different only in what
they study.
 Sciences
 Social Sciences
 Sociology  The primary difference is
 Anthropology the subject matter. One
 Economics studies "nature," another
 Political Science studies people, social
 Geography groups, etc.
 Management etc..
 Natural Sciences
 Chemistry
 Physics  Their is one big difference
 Plant science with natural sciences they
 Biology etc. are objective. They only
 Aesthetic and Humanities work with facts with
 Languages sociology it really is
 Literature subjective.
 Music
 Arts etc.  Different Research
methods
 Natural science studies nature (earth, mountains
and streams, stars, elements, atoms and molecules,
gravitational and magnetic and electrical force,
light), whereas social science studies human
societies and, to some degree, the artifacts and
institutions that these societies produce and through
which they operate (including languages, art-works,
religions, political systems, and ways of thinking).
 Sciences like biology and psychology have both
natural-scientific and social-scientific components,
since they deal with human beings both as natural
beings (i.e. in terms of features that non-human
animals and non-living things have too-- features
like "having a digestive system" and "being made of
atoms") and social beings (i.e. as participants in
societies).
 Natural Sciences
 Natural sciences are sometimes called the
hard sciences. These are subjects such as
chemistry, physics, astronomy, biology, earth
science, atmospheric science, materials
science, and oceanography.
 These fields all study the world and how it
works.
 Chemistry is the study of matter. When you
study chemistry, you learn about what
makes up matter, atoms. You learn about
atomic structure and how molecules form
and bond. You learn how matter reacts and
changes state.
 Continue……..
 Earth science is the study of planet Earth. This field studies
soil, geology, minerals, rocks, precious stones, plate
tectonics and volcanoes, among other topics.
 Physics is the study of what composes the universe and
how the forces interact with matter and each other.
 Astronomy is the study of the formation and development
of the universe, planets, comets, stars, galaxies, celestial
mechanics, red shift, blue shift, and everything else that
happens in space.
 Biology is the study of living things. How to bodies work?
What's different between a plant and a monkey?

 Methodology of Natural Science
 The basis of the natural sciences is the experimental data.
Experimental data relies on repeated experiments,
laboratory testing, and constant reproductions of results.

 The methodology of natural or physical science is often

characterized as fixed and straightforward with the
constant element of standard measurements. The
methodology also employs experiments. Data from these
experiments often represent predictability and rationality.

 Physical and natural science works in a closed system

where variables can be controlled, and the work is
executed within a particular framework or paradigm.
 Social Science Methodology
 The basis of social sciences is the experiential data.
Experiential data tries to establish social phenomena
and are not easily reproduced in a laboratory or in
any experiment.
The social sciences’ methodology starts with an
assumption and is gradually filled by a series of
experiments and observations. The data collection
methods are often done by a variety of techniques
like field observation, interviews, and focus group
discussions.
The experiments and the data collected done in
social sciences denote spontaneity and deal with
emotions of the people involved.
Social sciences operate on
an open system where
uncontrollable variables are
expected. It is also
considered as a cumulative
science which is
characterized by progress
as the study goes on.
 Philosophical schools of
thought
 We consider two major philosophical
schools of thought that are especially
important perspectives for contemporary
social or Human world.
Philosophers of social science are concerned with the
differences and similarities between the social and the
natural sciences.
Science appeared to be capable of producing objective
knowledge that could be used to solve human
problems and increase human productive capacity.
 Many early social scientists chose to turn to natural
science for a methodology on which to base their
subject.
 But social researchers studying human behaviour is
fundamentally different from studying the natural
world. Unlike the subject matter natural sciences,
people possess consciousness, which means SS
requires a different type of methodology
 Social Sciences
 Socialscience is the field of study concerned with
society. The biggest difference for social sciences is,
however, that social sciences deal with people.

 "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella

term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the
natural sciences.
 Social Science fields of study usually have several
sub-disciplines or branches, and the distinguishing
lines between these are often both arbitrary and
ambiguous. Example: Economics is a social science
that seeks to analyze and describe the production,
distribution, and consumption of wealth.
 Verities of Social Sciences
 Anthropology deals with how people interact
with other people and how our cultures work.
 Archaeology studies remnants of buried
civilizations.
 Economics is the study of money, the
production of goods, and the distribution of
those goods.
 Human geography studies how humans are
distributed on the earth and how we change
and manage the earth.
 Education can be a science too. People study
which methods are best for learning.
Verities..
 History is the study of the past. Since history
requires the written records and anything
before then is prehistory, history is also the
study of people-people of the past.
 Linguistics is the study of human language.
How did language develop? When do kids
learn to speak? How do we learn multiple
languages? How are the sounds and syntax
different between languages? How does
language evolve over time?
 Verities..
 Politicalscience deals with politics. Politics concerns
itself about how stuff is distributed among people.
Who gets what?
 Psychology is the study of our brains. How do we
think? What can go wrong with the brain? How can
we fix our thoughts and behaviors?
 Sociology is the study of our societies and how
people relate and interact with each other. How do
humans behave in society?
 So, again, the natural sciences deal with the study
of the universe and the earth. Social sciences deal
with people.
 Thesedebates also rage within
contemporary social sciences with regard to
subjectivity, objectivity, and practicality in
the conduct of theory and research.

 Philosophers of social science examine

further epistemologies and methodologies,
including positivism, post-positivism
(phenomenology), critical theory; Feminists,
Postmodernists.
 Ontology
 Structureand agency forms an enduring debate in
social theory: "Do social structures determine an
individual's behaviour or does human agency?" In this
context 'agency' refers to the capacity of individuals
to act independently and make free choices,
whereas 'structure' refers to factors which limit or
affect the choices and actions of individuals (such as
social class, religion, gender, ethnicity, and so on).
Discussions over the primacy of structure or agency
relate to the very core of social ontology ("What is the
social world made of?", "What is a cause in the social
world, and what is an effect?").
 Social science as science (Positivism): Social
research is a systematic method of direct observation
of the world, similar to the natural sciences, which
produces objective knowledge of social phenomena
and, in some cases, general social laws. Early
sociologists chose to turn to Natural science for
methodology on which to base their subject.
 Interpretive sociology (phenomenology): Social
research examines the meanings that actors attach
to social phenomena. Meanings are subjective and
not governed by universal laws; hence, social
scientists differ from natural science. For these social
scientists, studying human behaviour is fundamentally
different from studying natural world. Unlike subject
matter of NS (e.g., chemistry or physics) people
possess consciousness, which means that social
sciences require a different type of methodology
from science. People attach meanings to what they
do and social science has to acknowledge this and
attempt to interpret those meanings.
 Deductive and Inductive
Thinking
 Deductive reasoning works from the more
general to the more specific. Sometimes this
is informally called a "top-down" approach.
We might begin with thinking up a theory
about our topic of interest. We then narrow
that down into more specific hypotheses
that we can test. We narrow down even
further when we collect observations to
address the hypotheses. This ultimately leads
us to be able to test the hypotheses with
specific data -- a confirmation (or not) of our
original theories.
 Inductive reasoning works the other way,
moving from specific observations to
broader generalizations and theories.
Informally, we sometimes call this a "bottom
up" approach. In inductive reasoning, we
begin with specific observations and
measures, begin to detect patterns and
regularities, formulate some tentative
hypotheses that we can explore, and finally
end up developing some general
conclusions or theories.
 Interpretive or
phenomenology
 Sociologists who take an Interpretative
methodology are usually the strongest advocates of
qualitative data. They argue that the whole basis of
sociology is the interpretation of social action
(behaviour). Social action can only be understood
by interpreting the meanings and motives on which
it is based.
 Max Weber defined sociology as the study of social
action. The sociologists must interpret the meanings
given to action by the actors themselves.
 Symbolic Interactionism
 Symbolic Interactionism believe that statistical data
do not provide any great insight into human
behaviour. Interactionists believe individuals possess
a ‘self-concept’, or image of themselves, that is built
up, reinforced or modified in the process of
interaction with other members of society.

 Thus
human beings have an image of what sort of
person they are, and they will tend to act in
accordance with that image. They might see
themselves as caring or tough, honest or dishonest,
weak or strong, and their behaviour reflects this
sense of their own character. The responses of
others to an individual may make it impossible for
him or her to sustain a particular image.
 Critical Social Science
 Critical social research does not believe that you
can simply discover the truth by using the
appropriate quantitative or qualitative methods.
 Critical social scientists tend to believe that the way
society appears to its members can be misleading.
Things that are taken for granted need to be seen
in a different light so that true values underlying
them can be revealed. Once this has been done, it
may be possible to use the new knowledge to
transform society.
 Lee Harvey (1990) uses the example of feminist
studies on housework to illustrate the approach.
Feminists have been able to show that housework
should be seen as real work, just like paid work.
Humanities vs Social Sciences
Humanities and social sciences deal
with human aspects like politics, law,
linguistics, economics, and psychology.
One of the major differences between
the two is that humanities involve a
more critical and analytical approach
whereas social sciences deal with
more of a scientific approach.
 Humanities
Humanities are a branch of science
that deals with the heritage and the
question of what makes us human.
Humanities deal with law, history,
ancient languages, modern languages,
philosophy, history, religion, and
visual/performing arts. Humanities are
considered to be more philosophical
than social sciences.
 Humanities
 Thestudy of humanities can be traced back to ancient
Greece. It was during the Roman times that the
concept of seven liberal arts developed like; rhetoric
and logic, grammar, music, astronomy, arithmetics,
astronomy, and geometry. There was a great shift,
however, to the study of humanities in the 15th
century. It was after the 15th century that humanities
was regarded as a subject to be studied rather than
practiced.
 Difference Between Science
and Engineering
 Science is defined as the branch of knowledge or
the study that deals with a systematically arranged
body of truths or facts which can be logically and
rationally explained. It is knowledge of the physical
and material world that is derived from observation
and experimentation.

Natural sciences, which study natural phenomenon
such as biology.

 Social sciences, which study human behavior and

society.
 Mathematics and Engineering
 Two other categories are based on specific fields of
discipline like interdisciplinary and applied sciences
such as:
Mathematics, which is similar to empirical sciences
because it involves the careful and systematic study
of an objective. It is important in the formation of
hypotheses, theories, and laws.

 Engineering, which is the discipline of gaining and

using scientific, mathematical, economic, social,
and practical knowledge to design and build
machines, devices, and structures to improve the
lives of the people.
 Engineering, therefore, is a science that is broad and has four
main branches:
 1. Chemical engineering, which is the study of chemicals and
their principles for the design and production of materials and
fuels essential to man.

2. Civil engineering, which involves the planning and
construction of infrastructure like roads, bridges, and buildings.

3. Electrical engineering, which includes design and production
of electrical and electronic systems such as electrical and
electronic circuits, devices, computer systems, motors,
telecommunication, etc.
4.Mechanical engineering, which involves the design of physical
and mechanical systems like aircraft, weapons, transportation,
and other mechanical devices.
There are several more branches
including naval engineering,
architecture, biomedical,
industrial, and nuclear
engineering. Engineering applies
the sciences of physics and
mathematics and works with
nature to design things that are
necessary to man.