DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

STUDENT GUIDE MODULE

Prepared By:
Donna Marie Emata-Legaspi

Coverage: 2 Weeks

Introduction:

This Student Guide Module will cover Chapter 2: Dominant Approaches and Ideas in the
Social Sciences

Week 1: Lesson 1
Empirical-Analytical Approaches in the Social Sciences

Week 2: Lessons 2 and 3

Historical -Hermeneutic Approaches in the Social Sciences
Empirical-Critical Approaches in the Social Sciences

Lesson 1: Key Concepts:

Empirical-Analytical Approaches in the The empirical-analytical disciplines are

Social Sciences associated with the technical interest of
understanding nature, forming general
laws, and making predictions. Empirical,
also known as sense experience, is the
knowledge or source of knowledge,
acquired by means of the senses,
particularly by observation and
experimentation.

Objectives: Guide Questions:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the
Rational Theory and how it explains
Social Behavior.
• Differentiate Rational Choice Theory from
Symbolic Interactionism.
a. What is rational theory and how
does it explain social behavior?
b. How do humans attach meaning to
experiences?

Learning Activities and Learning Materials

Self-Paced Learning

You can do this asynchronously, just make sure to complete the activity before the scheduled
synchronous meeting.

Links/URLs

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UlldgGVM8c&ab_channel=TheAudiopedia
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFQIIM8IRZU&ab_channel=SydneyBrown

Live Conferences: Links:

A schedule and link for a synchronous meeting Link will be posted in the class group chat a
with the class using Google Meet will be given in day prior to the synchronous meeting.
the class group chat. We will discuss key
takeaways that you gained so far about Social IMPORTANT NOTE: Please notify me
Sciences and its different disciplines. ahead of time when you are having difficulty
in joining the meeting and/or you have not
(Prepare your questions and/or sharing during received any email invitation to the said
the meeting. You can have more than two meeting/s.
questions once others will not use their air time.)

Remember: Religiously follow the netiquettes

stipulated in your ODL Student Guide.

Assessment: Link will be posted in the class group chat a

day an hour before the quiz.
Short Quiz

Task MPORTANT NOTE: Please notify me

Activity 1 ahead of time when you are having difficulty
in joining the meeting and/or you have not
received any email invitation to the said
meeting/s.

Lesson 2: Key Concepts:

Historical-Hermeneutic Approaches in the The art of understanding and interpretation
Social Science of verbal and non-verbal expressions as
well as prior aspects that influence
communication, including presuppositions,
assumptions, the meaning and philosophy
of language.

Hermeneutic philosophy recognizes the

historicity of culture and, thus, of its own
insights within cultural contexts.
Hermeneutics is always in dialogue with its
own history.

Objectives: Guide Questions:

• Explain the contribution of a. Can social scientist be both
psychoanalysis and hermeneutic objective and subjective in their
phenomenology in the study of human inquiry?
behavior.
b. What is the role of interpretation in
• Analyze the dynamics of the Id, Ego, and social scientific inquiry?
Superego in understanding one’s
personality.

Learning Activities and Learning Materials

Self-Paced Learning

You can do this asynchronously, just make sure to complete the activity before the scheduled
synchronous meeting.

Links/URL’s
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdawTFsCNtc&ab_channel=khanacademymedicin
e
2. Please see attached Reviewer. A copy of the Reviewer will also be uploaded in our
Google Classroom for online learners. The link to our Google Classroom will be sent to
our class group chat.

Live Conferences: Links:

A schedule and link for a synchronous meeting Link will be posted in the class group chat a
with the class using Google Meet will be given in day prior to the synchronous meeting.
the class group chat. We will discuss key
takeaways that you gained so far about Social IMPORTANT NOTE: Please notify me
Sciences and its different disciplines. ahead of time when you are having difficulty
in joining the meeting and/or you have not
(Prepare your questions and/or sharing during received any email invitation to the said
the meeting. You can have more than two meeting/s.
questions once others will not use their air time.)

Remember: Religiously follow the netiquettes

stipulated in your ODL Student Guide.

Assessment: Link will be posted in the class group chat a

day an hour before the quiz.
Short Quiz
A short quiz will be conducted through Google
Forms to assess your understanding of the MPORTANT NOTE: Please notify me
different disciplines of Social Sciences. ahead of time when you are having difficulty
in joining the meeting and/or you have not
received any email invitation to the said
meeting/s.
Task
Activity 2 The deadline for the Essay shall be posted
in the class group chat.

Lesson 3: Key Concepts:

Interdisciplinary Approaches in the Social Marxism and Feminism are two empirical-
Sciences. critical approaches in the social sciences.
These are also classified as variants of the
social conflict theory in the social sciences.

Objectives: Guide Questions:

• Explain the factors that promote or cause a. What causes structural inequalities
social conflicts and inequalities. in the society?

• Examine the relationship between gender b. What movements have been

and gender inequality. created to combat these
inequalities?
c.

Learning Activities and Learning Materials

Self-Paced Learning
You can do this asynchronously, just make sure to complete the activity before the scheduled
synchronous meeting.

Links/URL’s
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSQgCy_iIcc&ab_channel=TheSchoolofLife
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E37swnRU2fs&ab_channel=Jubilee
3. Please see attached Reviewer. A copy of the Reviewer will also be uploaded in our
Google Classroom for online learners. The link to our Google Classroom will be sent to
our class group chat.

Live Conferences: Links:

A schedule and link for a synchronous meeting Link will be posted in the class group chat a
with the class using Google Meet will be given in day prior to the synchronous meeting.
the class group chat. We will discuss key
takeaways that you gained so far about Social IMPORTANT NOTE: Please notify me
Sciences and its different disciplines. ahead of time when you are having difficulty
in joining the meeting and/or you have not
(Prepare your questions and/or sharing during received any email invitation to the said
the meeting. You can have more than two meeting/s.
questions once others will not use their air time.)

Remember: Religiously follow the netiquettes

stipulated in your ODL Student Guide.

Assessment: Link will be posted in the class group chat a

day an hour before the quiz.
Short Quiz
A short quiz will be conducted through Google
Forms to assess your understanding of the MPORTANT NOTE: Please notify me
different disciplines of Social Sciences. ahead of time when you are having difficulty
in joining the meeting and/or you have not
received any email invitation to the said
meeting/s.
Task
Activity 3 The deadline for the Essay shall be posted
in the class group chat.
Chapter II: Dominant Approaches and Ideas in the Social Sciences

Lesson 1: Empirical-Analytical Approaches in the Social Sciences

Microlevel Approaches in the Social Sciences

Rational Choice Theory

What Is Rational Choice Theory?
Rational choice theory states that individuals use rational calculations to make rational choices
and achieve outcomes that are aligned with their own personal objectives. These results are also
associated with an individual’s best, self-interests. Using rational choice theory is expected to
result in outcomes that provide people with the greatest benefit and satisfaction given the choices
they have available.

Assumptions of the Rational Choice Theory

There are a few assumptions made by rational choice theorists. Abell (2000) noted three
assumptions made by rational choice theorists. These assumptions include:

Individualism – it is individuals who ultimately take action. Individuals, as actors in the society
and everywhere, behave and act always as rational beings, self-calculating, self-interested and
self-maximizing, these individual social actions are the ultimate source of larger social outcomes.

Optimality – Individuals choose their actions optimally, given their individual preferences as well
as the opportunities or constraints with which the individual faced. Abell (2000) defines optimality
as taking place when no other course of social action would be preferred by the individual over
the course of action the individual has chosen. This does not mean that the course of action that
the actor adopts is the best in terms of some objective, and outside judgment. The rational choice
theory, therefore, assumes, according to Abell (2000), that individuals “do the best they can, given
their circumstances as they see them”.

Structures - Abell argues that structures and norms that dictate a single course of action are
merely special cases of rational choice theory. Although these structures may be damaging to the
rational choice model, individuals will often find a way to exercise action optimally, hence the
rational choice model may not necessarily show harmony, consensus, or equality in courses of
action.

Self-Regarding Interest – This assumption states that the actions of the individual are concerned
entirely with his or her own welfare. Abell (2000) noted that in as much as this is a key assumption
in the rational choice approach, it is not as essential to the approach as the assumption on
optimality. He also noted that various types of group sentiments could exist, such as cooperation,
unselfishness, charity, which initially may seem to be contrary to individual optimality. The rational
choice theorist may argue that these sentiments can be incorporated into the rational choice
model by observing that such sentiments may ultimately be aimed at pursuing some form of self-
interest.

Rationality – This appears the most predominant assumption of the rational theory. All
individuals, according to this assumption act in ways that would benefit them more; every
individual is most like to undertake courses of actions that they perceive to be the best possible

Steps in the Rational Choice Process

In order for a decision or choice process to be accepted as rational outside the individual, such a
choice process must be arrived at based on certain steps that form the guideline for concluding
such actions as rational. Green (2002) outlined certain steps which he believes the rational choice
analysis should follow:

1. Identify the relevant agents and make assumptions about their objectives.
2. Identify the constraints faced by each agent.
3. Determine the "decision rules" of each agent, which characterize how an agent's choices
respond to changes of one kind or another - for example, how the number of tomatoes
purchased might change with price or income. This task is usually accomplished
mathematically by the solution of a constrained optimization problem.
4. Determine how the decision rules of various agents may be made consistent with one
another and thereby characterize the equilibrium of the model. Effective analysis of
complex interactions between agents normally involves the use of mathematical methods,
which can sometimes be quite sophisticated.
5. Explore how the equilibrium of the model changes in response to various external events.
That is, determine the predictions or implications of the model. Again, this step can involve
substantial use of mathematics.
6. Examine whether the predictions determined in step (5) above are consistent with actual
experience.
7. Draw conclusions and any implications (for government policy, for example) implied by
(6).

Strengths of the Rational Choice Theory

The rational choice theory has largely emerged in the political science subfield. It has been
commended as the prototype for a more deductive approach to political analysis. Becker (1976)
has described the rational choice model as "a unified framework for understanding all human
behavior". Other advantages of the rational choice theory can be summarized as;

Generality; This means that one set of assumptions relating to each type of actor in a given
circumstance, is compatible with any set of structural assumptions about the environmental
setting in which the actor is present.
Parsimony; The common knowledge of rationality assumption, the assumption of the isomorphic
and self-regarding utility function, when combined with the rational optimization model, allows
rational choice theories to treat variations in choices among actors and by an actor over time as
entirely a function of their structural position. Preferences and beliefs are simply perceived as the
only relevant variables for determining the action.

Predictive; Assumptions of the rational choice model have been used to produce a wide variety
of decisive theories, whose predictions about the measurable real-world phenomena rule out a
much larger set of outcomes than what is already generally accepted to be unlikely. The
decisiveness of rational choice theories depends on structural as well as the individual actor's
assumptions.

Application of the Rational Choice Theory

The rational choice theory is a growing paradigm in political science and can be applied to a range
of areas in the discipline, especially, voting behavior, policy formulation and implementation, rule
formation, among others.

Gaming: This is a mathematical means of viewing competitions between small numbers of

'players'. These players have to compete in such a way that the result of such competition would
satisfy the interest of each member of the team. In reaching this result, every member of the team
is assumed to be rational and would hence seek his/her own interest first before that of the team
to which he/she belongs.

Party Politics: Competition among political parties can be dismissed as rational, based on the
assumptions of the rational choice model. Every political party will always engage in activities that
will ultimately lead to the realization of their own interests may be alongside pursuing democratic
or other purposes of governance.

Legislation: Most of the time, if not all of the time, bills and policy suggestions made by members
of the legislative chamber are made with the aim of achieving some form of personal interests
first, and maybe the interest of the public could follow. Individuals, in the first place, get appointed
into legislative offices to fulfill some form of personal interests as against the intention to serve
the public.

Public Good: Collective actions have been described as activities that are pursued in the interest
of the public. However, arguments have arisen indicating that the only conditions under which
individuals will pursue public interest are cohesion, small public and increase in compensation,
against these conditions, individuals will ultimately pursue their individual interests.

Coalition Building: The place of rationality in building coalitions cannot be overemphasized.

Coalitions are built for the purpose of gaining more influence and power which may be difficult for
the individual organization to develop on its own. Some instances of coalitions in politics could
include combining votes in an elected body or combining resources during a political or civic
campaign.

Rational Choice and Collective Action

Individuals are perceived by the rational choice approach as being rational, self-calculating, self-
interested and self-maximizing, hence, it is difficult for individuals to participate in collective action
or work towards the good of the public unless the public good would lead ultimately to their own
interests. Olson (1965) identified three different types of groups within which an individual can
exist, namely;

Privileged groups: These are groups in which members are most likely to gain more from a
public good than they would have gained if they had to provide for such good by themselves.

Latent groups: Member of the latent group could free ride (withhold his contribution to the public
good), without causing any observable reduction in the supply of such goods.

Intermediate groups: (if any member of this group withholds his contribution, it will cause a
noticeable decrease in the supply of the good or a noticeable rise in cost to other contributors)
Symbolic Interactionism
What is Symbolic Interactionism?
Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical approach to understanding the relationship between
humans and society. The basic notion of symbolic interactionism is that human action and
interaction are understandable only through the exchange of meaningful communication or
symbols. In this approach, humans are portrayed as acting, as opposed to being acted upon.

The main principles of symbolic interactionism are:

1. Human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that things have for them
2. These meanings arise out of social interaction
3. Social action results from a fitting together of individual lines of action

While it might seem like a big name, symbolic interactionism is how your experiences add
subjective meanings to symbols and letters. For example, the word ‘dog’ is just a series of letters.
Through your interactions with the letter’s ‘dog’, you see this as a furry, four-legged canine.

But it doesn’t just stop there. Depending on your experiences with dogs, this arrangement of
letters could hold negative or positive meanings. For example, if you were bitten by a dog as a
child, then the letters ‘dog’ could make you afraid. However, if a dog was your best friend growing
up, then ‘dog’ might hold a positive connotation.

While everyone knows what the letters ‘dog’ means, a canine animal, the meaning the word holds
for you is subjective. Therefore, your interactions color the symbolic meanings assigned to words,
objects, thoughts, events, and people. Explore some other examples of symbolic interactionism.
Symbolic interaction theory analyzes society by addressing the subjective meanings that people
impose on objects, events, and behaviors. Subjective meanings are given primacy because it is
believed that people behave based on what they believe and not just on what is objectively true.
Thus, society is thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation. People interpret
one another’s behavior, and it is these interpretations that form the social bond. These
interpretations are called the “definition of the situation.”

Three Overarching Premise

Most symbolic interactionists believe a physical reality does indeed exist by an individual's social
definitions, and that social definitions do develop in part or in relation to something "real". People
thus do not respond to this reality directly, but rather to the social understanding of reality; i.e.,
they respond to this reality indirectly through a kind of filter which consists of individuals' different
perspectives. This means that humans exist not in the physical space composed of realities, but
in the "world" composed only of "objects".

Three assumptions frame symbolic interactionism:

1. Individuals construct meaning via the communication process.

2. Self-concept is a motivation for behavior.
3. A unique relationship exists between the individual and society.

1) "Humans act toward things on the basis of the meanings they ascribe to those things."
The first premise includes everything that a human being may note in their world, including
physical objects, actions and concepts. Essentially, individuals behave towards objects and
others based on the personal meanings that the individual has already given these items. Blumer
was trying to put emphasis on the meaning behind individual behaviors, specifically speaking,
psychological and sociological explanations for those actions and behaviors.

2) "The meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that
one has with others and the society.
The second premise explains the meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the
social interaction that one has with other humans. Blumer, following Mead, claimed people
interact with each other by interpreting or defining each other's actions instead of merely reacting
to each other's actions. Their "response" is not made directly to the actions of one another but
instead is based on the meaning which they attach to such actions. Thus, human interaction is
mediated by the use of symbols and signification, by interpretation, or by ascertaining the meaning
of one another's actions. Meaning is either taken for granted and pushed aside as an unimportant
element which need not to be investigated, or it is regarded as a mere neutral link or one of the
causal chains between the causes or factors responsible for human behavior and this behavior
as the product of such factors.

3) "The Meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by
the person in dealing with the things he/she encounters."
Symbolic interactionists describe thinking as an inner conversation. Mead called this inner
dialogue minding, which is the delay in one's thought process that happens when one thinks about
what they will do next. These meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretive
process used by the person in dealing with the things he or she encounters. We naturally talk to
ourselves in order to sort out the meaning of a difficult situation. But first, we need language.
Before we can think, we must be able to interact symbolically. The emphasis on symbols,
negotiated meaning, and social construction of society brought attention to the roles people play.
Role-taking is a key mechanism that permits people to see another person's perspective to
understand what an action might mean to another person. Role-taking is a part of our lives at an
early age, for instance, playing house and pretending to be someone else. There is an
improvisational quality to roles; however, actors often take on a script that they follow. Because
of the uncertainty of roles in social contexts, the burden of role-making is on the person in the
situation. In this sense, we are proactive participants in our environment.

Macrolevel Approaches in the Social Sciences

Structural Functionalism
Structural functionalism, or, simply, functionalism, is a framework for building theory that sees
society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Two
theorists, Herbert Spencer and Robert Merton, were major contributors to this perspective.
Important concepts in functionalism include social structure, social functions, manifest functions,
and latent functions. Let's examine this perspective deeper and take a look at a few examples.

Social Structure and Social Functions

The structural-functional approach is a perspective in sociology that sees society as a complex
system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. It asserts that our lives are
guided by social structures, which are relatively stable patterns of social behavior. Social
structures give shape to our lives - for example, in families, the community, and through religious
organizations. And certain rituals, such as a handshake or complex religious ceremonies, give
structure to our everyday lives. Each social structure has social functions, or consequences for
the operation of society as a whole. Education, for example, has several important functions in a
society, such as socialization, learning, and social placement.

CONCEPTS
Describes the bonds that bring people together in a society. In
Social Cohesion order for groups to be cohesive in a social context, positive
membership attitudes and behaviors have to be produced and
maintained. Social cohesion can be looked at on both an
individual and group level. Individual levels include: an individual’s
desire or intention to remain a part of a group, her attitudes and
beliefs about the group, the individuals’ intention to sever,
weaken, maintain, or strengthen her membership or participation
in a group, and her susceptibility to group influence. Social
 cohesion at a group level is directly affected by the individual
members.
Any scenario in which individuals in a society do not have equal
Social Inequality social status. Areas of potential inequality include voting rights,
freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights
and access to education, health care, quality housing and other
social goods. Social inequality is an important characteristic of
Structural Functionalism as the theory assumes, since inequality
exists, there needs to be a certain level of inequality in order for a
society to operate. One possible function of inequality is to
motivate people, as people are motivated to carry out work
through a rewards system. Rewards may include income, status,
prestige, or power.
A central theme in structural functionalism; it refers to the parts of
Interdependence society sharing a common set of principles. Institutions,
organizations, and individuals are all interdependent with one
another.
The internal and external balance in a society. While temporary
Equilibrium disturbances may upset the equilibrium of society, because of
social structure, society will eventually return to a balanced,
orderly state. That society strives toward equilibrium also means
that changes happen slowly.

PARSON’S AGIL MODEL

The capacity of society to interact with the environment. This
Adaptation includes, among other things, gathering resources and
producing commodities to social redistribution.
The capability to set goals for the future and make decisions
Goal Attainment accordingly. Political resolutions and societal objectives are part
of this necessity.
The harmonization of the entire society is a demand that the
Integration values and norms of society are solid and sufficiently convergent.
This requires, for example, the religious system to be fairly
consistent, and even in a more basic level, a common language.
Latent pattern maintenance, challenges society to maintain the
Latency integrative elements of the integration requirement above. This
means institutions like family and school, which mediate belief
systems and values between an older generation and its
successor.
Institutionalism
What is Institutionalism?
Is a new institutionalist social science approach that emphasizes how timing, sequences and path
dependence affect institutions, and shape social, political, economic behavior and change. In
the social sciences, an approach that emphasizes the role of institutions. The institutional
approach can be understood as a subject matter, as a method, and as a theory.

INSTITUTIONALISM
The study of political institutions is central to the identity of the
As a Subject Matter discipline of political science. 
The traditional or classic institutional approach is “descriptive,
As a Method inductive, formal-legal, and historical-comparative.”
The traditional or classic institutional approach does not only
As a Theory make statements about the causes and consequences of
political institutions.

Old and New Institutionalism

Traditional Institutionalism
An approach to the study of politics that focuses on formal institutions of government. It
systematically describes and analyzes phenomena that have occurred in the past and explain
contemporary political phenomena with reference to past events.

New Institutionalism
A methodological approach in the study of political science, economics, organizational behavior,
and sociology in the United States that explores how institutional structures, rules, norms, and
cultures constrain the choices and actions of individuals when they are part of a political
institution. New institutionalism is a social theory that focuses on developing a sociological view
of institutions, the way they interact and the effects of institutions on society.

TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONALISM NEW INSTITUTIONALISM

Elements analysis is based on institutions. Elements analysis is based
on abstract individual.
Method of other human Sciences (law, Methods of neoclassical economic (the
political, sociology, etc.) Organic and methods of microeconomics and game
evolutionary approaches. theory). Equilibrium and optimization
approaches.
The main focus is on collective action. The main focus is on independent individual.
Deductive in nature. Inductive in nature.
The main role of institutions is to shape the The main role of institutions is to give outer
preferences of individuals themselves. limits for individuals (the selection conditions,
limitations and information).
Beginning in the 19th and 20th Century. Beginning in the 21st Century.
 The founders are John Dewey, Thorstein The founders are Ronald Coase, Gary Becker,
Veblen, John Commons, and Wesley Mitchell Douglass North, and John Buchanan.

Interdisciplinary Approach in the Social Sciences

Human Environment System Approach

Systems which combine both human and natural components to show complex interactions, and
feedback between them, are called human-environment systems. The most internationally
accepted framework for studying such systems is the DPSIR model (drivers, pressures, state,
impact, response). This framework for human-environment systems recognises the human
activities which place pressure on the environment and how these pressures modify the current
state of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. This leads to impacts on the
environment as well as on social and economic systems. In turn, human society attempts to
problem-solve in order to remove, reduce or prevent the drivers and pressures, restore the state
of the environment and mitigate impacts.

Basic Principles of HES:

1. Human and environmental systems are constructed as complementary systems,
2. A hierarchy of human systems with related environmental systems are considered,
3. Environmental systems are modelled in their immediate and delayed dynamic reactions
to human action,
4. The behavior of the human system is modelled from a decision theoretic perspective
differentiating between goal formation, strategy formation, strategy selection and action,
5. A conceptualization of different types of environmental awareness in each of these three
steps can be developed, and finally
6. A distinction is made, with corresponding modeling reflecting this distinction, between
primary and secondary feedback loops with respect to human action. We illustrate the
principles with an example from bio-waste management. It is shown how the human
environment interaction can be analysed.

Human-Environment Systems
• Humans have the capacity to interact with their environment.
• Humans and the environment have “mutual” interaction with each other.
• Humans have the capacity to change or influence the balance of society.
• Humans always have the capacity to adapt to its

Environment
It is a complex of many variables that surrounds man as well as living organisms.
Environment includes water, air and land and the interrelationships which exist among and

Systems
It may be described as a complex of interacting components together with the relationships
among them that permit the identification of a boundary-maintaining entity or process.
Human - Environment System
It is also known as the Coupled Human and Natural System, or CHANS)
It is an integrated scientific

Environmental Issues
Many of the environmental issues today relate to human's overuse of finite resources for
economic development. As a species, humans tend to regard the environment as a never-ending
source of materials and Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival of
humans and other organisms. Ways of reducing negative human impact are environmental
resources management, environmental protection, and environmentally- friendly chemical
engineering.

Human Actions and It’s Environment

Overpopulation occurs when the ecological footprint of a human population in a specific

geographical location exceeds the carrying capacity of the
• Water Scarcity
• Land reclamation
• Waste Disposal Management
• Urbanization

Intensive farming or intensive agriculture is a kind of agriculture where a lot of capital and
labor are used to increase the yield that can be obtained per area. The use of large amounts of
pesticides for crops, and for medication for
• Intensive animal farming
• Intensive crop farming
• Pesticide drift
• Plasticulture
• Slash and burn
• Deforestation
• Environmental effects of meat production

Exhaustive land use involves exhaustive management and modification of natural environment
or wilderness into built environment such as settlements and semi-natural habitats such as arable
fields, arrangements, activities, and inputs that people undertake in a certain land cover type.
• Habitat fragmentation
• Habitat destruction
• Land Degradation
• Built Environment
• Desertification
Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and
other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed
sustainability.
• Tile drainage
• Flooding
• Landslide

Strengths and Weaknesses of HES

Strength Weakness
It provides a bigger and wider view of looking The excessive pressure in the environment
at environmental issues system by the human system.
It highlights the importance of synergy and Humans tend to overuse and abuse the
interconnection or interdependence of the natural resources.
human society and the environment
It looks at the human agency as not just a user
of environmental resources but also protectors
of the environment and other species.
Lesson 2: Historical-Hermeneutic Approaches in the Social Sciences

Psychoanalysis
What is Psychoanalysis?
Psychoanalysis is defined as a set of psychological theories and therapeutic methods which have
their origin in the work and theories of Sigmund Freud. The primary assumption of psychoanalysis
is the belief that all people possess unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories. The
aim of psychoanalysis therapy is to release repressed emotions and experiences

Sigmund Freud
He was born in Freiberg, Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic). Freud was the firstborn of
Jacob and Amalie Nathanson Freud. Although Freud’s family had limited finances, his parents
made every effort to support his intellectual capacities. The most creative phase of Freud’s life
was when he experienced severe emotional problems. He analyzed himself and discovered the
“royal road to the unconscious.” Freud was very rigid and show very little tolerance to other
colleagues who diverged from his psychoanalytic doctrines. Freud was highly creative and
productive. Freud considered himself an intellectual giant.

Therapeutic Process
• To make unconscious conscious or increase client awareness.
• To help client develop greater ego-control or self-control over unhealthy or maladaptive
impulses.
• To help client dispose of maladaptive or unhealthy internalized objects and replace them
with more adaptive and internalized objects.
• To repair self-defects through mirroring, presenting a potentially idealized object, and
expressing empathy during optimal therapeutic failures.

Sigmund Freud’s Three Levels of Consciousness

According to Sigmund Freud, human personality is complex and has more than a single
component. In his famous psychoanalytic theory, Freud states that personality is composed of
three elements known as the id, the ego, and the superego. These elements work together to
create complex human behaviors.1

Each component adds its own unique contribution to personality and the three interact in ways
that have a powerful influence on an individual. Each element of personality emerges at different
points in life.

According to Freud's theory, certain aspects of your personality are more primal and might
pressure you to act upon your most basic urges. Other parts of your personality work to counteract
these urges and strive to make you conform to the demands of reality.
 LEVELS
Primary component of personality—the only component present
Id from birth. This is entirely unconscious and includes instinctive
and primitive behaviors.
Develops from the Id and ensures that the impulses of the id can
Ego be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real world.

The ego functions in the conscious, preconscious, and

unconscious mind.

The ego is the component of personality that is responsible for

dealing with reality
The superego begins to emerge at around age five.
Superego
The superego holds the internalized moral standards and ideals
that we acquire from our parents and society (our sense of right
and wrong).

The superego provides guidelines for making judgments.

The Id
The id is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires,
wants, and needs.1 If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety or
tension. For example, an increase in hunger or thirst should produce an immediate attempt to eat
or drink.

The id is very important early in life because it ensures that an infant's needs are met. If the infant
is hungry or uncomfortable, he or she will cry until the demands of the id are satisfied. Young
infants are ruled entirely by the id, there is no reasoning with them when these needs demand
satisfaction.

The Ego
The ego operates based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the id's desires in realistic
and socially appropriate ways. The reality principle weighs the costs and benefits of an action
before deciding to act upon or abandon impulses.

In many cases, the id's impulses can be satisfied through a process of delayed gratification—the
ego will eventually allow the behavior, but only in the appropriate time and place.

Freud compared the id to a horse and the ego to the horse's rider. The horse provides the power
and motion, while the rider provides direction and guidance. Without its rider, the horse may
simply wander wherever it wished and do whatever it pleased. The rider gives the horse directions
and commands to get it to go where the rider wants it to go.
The ego also discharges tension created by unmet impulses through secondary process thinking,
in which the ego tries to find an object in the real world that matches the mental image created by
the id's primary process.

The Superego
The superego tries to perfect and civilize our behavior. It works to suppress all unacceptable
urges of the id and struggles to make the ego act upon idealistic standards rather that upon
realistic principles. The superego is present in the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.

The superego has two parts:

1. The conscience includes information about things that are viewed as bad by parents and
society. These behaviors are often forbidden and lead to bad consequences,
punishments, or feelings of guilt and remorse.
2. The ego ideal includes the rules and standards for behaviors that the ego aspires to.

Hermeneutic Phenomenology
Phenomenology is the study of subjective experience. It is an approach to psychological subject
matter that has its roots in the philosophical work of Edmund Husserl.

Hermeneutic Phenomenology is a particular type of phenomenology among a range of

phenomenological methodologies, usually classified into two camps—Descriptive
Phenomenology and Interpretive Phenomenology.

DESCRIPTIVE PHENOMENOLOGY INTERPRETIVE PHENOMENOLOGY

Developed by Edmund Husserl Developed by Martin Heidegger
Also known as Transcendental Also known as Hermeneutic or Existential
Phenomenology and is based on discovering Phenomenology and is used to interpret the
the objective universal essences of lived meaning of lived experiences and
experiences and communicating them through communicate the interpretation textually or
pure description. symbolically.
Lesson 3: Interdisciplinary Approach in the Social Sciences

Marxism
What Is Marxism?
Marxism is a social, political, and economic philosophy named after Karl Marx, which examines
the effect of capitalism on labor, productivity, and economic development and argues for a worker
revolution to overturn capitalism in favor of communism. Marxism posits that the struggle between
social classes, specifically between the bourgeoisie, or capitalists, and the proletariat, or workers,
defines economic relations in a capitalist economy and will inevitably lead to revolutionary
communism.

Key Takeaways
• Marxism is a social, political, and economic theory originated by Karl Marx, which focuses
on the struggle between capitalists and the working class.
• Marx wrote that the power relationships between capitalists and workers were inherently
exploitative and would inevitably create class conflict.
• He believed that this conflict would ultimately lead to a revolution in which the working
class would overthrow the capitalist class and seize control of the economy.

Understanding Marxism
Marxism is both a social and political theory, which encompasses Marxist class conflict theory
and Marxian economics. Marxism was first publicly formulated in the 1848 pamphlet, The
Communist Manifesto, by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which lays out the theory of class
struggle and revolution. Marxian economics focuses on the criticisms of capitalism brought forth
by Karl Marx in his 1859 book, Das Kapital.

Marx’s class theory portrays capitalism as one step in the historical progression of economic
systems that follow one another in a natural sequence driven by vast impersonal forces of history
that play out through the behavior and conflict between social classes. According to Marx, every
society is divided among a number of social classes, whose members have more in common with
one another than with members of other social classes. In a capitalist system, Marx believed that
the society was made up of two classes, the bourgeoisie, or business owners who control the
means of production, and the proletariat, or workers whose labor transforms raw commodities
into valuable economic goods. The bourgeoisie's control of the means of production gives them
power over the proletariat, which allows them to limit the workers ability to produce and obtain
what they need to survive.

Marx believed that capitalism is based on commodities, which are things bought and sold. In
Marx's view, an employee's labor is a form of commodity. However, since ordinary laborers do
not own the means of production, such as factories, buildings, and materials, they have little power
in the capitalist economic system. Workers are also readily replaceable in periods of high
unemployment, further devaluing their perceived worth.
To maximize profits, business owners have an incentive to get the most work out of their laborers
while paying them the lowest wages possible. They also own the end product that is the result of
the worker's labor, and ultimately profit from its surplus value, which is the difference between
what it costs to produce the item and the price for which it is eventually sold.

To maintain their position of power and privilege, the bourgeoisie employ social institutions as
tools and weapons against the proletariat. The government enforces the will of the bourgeoisie
by physical coercion to enforce the laws and private property rights to the means of production.
The media and academics, or intelligentsia, produce propaganda to suppress awareness of class
relations among the proletariat and rationalize the capitalist system. Organized religion provides
a similar function to convince the proletariat to accept and submit to their own exploitation based
on fictional divine sanction, which Marx called "the opium of the people." The banking and financial
system facilitates the consolidation of capitalist ownership of the means of production, ensnares
the workers with predatory debt, and engineers regular financial crises and recessions to ensure
a sufficient supply of unemployed labor in order to undermine workers’ bargaining power.

Marx felt that capitalism creates an unfair imbalance between capitalists and the laborers whose
work they exploit for their own gain. In turn, this exploitation leads the workers to view their
employment as nothing more than a means of survival. Since the worker has little personal stake
in the process of production, Marx believed he would become alienated from it and resentful
toward the business owner and his own humanity.

Feminism
The term feminism can be used to describe a political, cultural or economic movement aimed at
establishing equal rights and legal protection for women. Feminism involves political and
sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference, as well as a
movement that advocates gender equality for women and campaigns for women's rights and
interests. Although the terms "feminism" and "feminist" did not gain widespread use until the
1970s, they were already being used in the public parlance much earlier; for instance, Katherine
Hepburn speaks of the "feminist movement" in the 1942 film Woman of the Year.

Feminism has altered predominant perspectives in a wide range of areas within Western society,
ranging from culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's legal rights (rights
of contract, property rights, voting rights); for women's right to bodily integrity and autonomy, for
abortion rights, and for reproductive rights (including access to contraception and quality prenatal
care); for protection of women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment and rape; for
workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay; against misogyny; and against other
forms of gender-specific discrimination against women.

Liberal Feminism
Liberal feminism asserts the equality of men and women through political and legal
reform. It is an individualistic form of feminism, which focuses on women’s ability to show
and maintain their equality through their own actions and choices. Liberal feminism uses
the personal interactions between men and women as the place from which to transform
society. According to liberal feminists, all women are capable of asserting their ability to
achieve equality, therefore it is possible for change to happen without altering the
structure of society. Issues important to liberal feminists include reproductive and abortion
rights, sexual harassment, voting, education, "equal pay for equal work", affordable
childcare, affordable health care, and bringing to light the frequency of sexual and
domestic violence against women.

Socialist and Marxist

Socialist feminism connects the oppression of women to Marxist ideas about exploitation,
oppression and labor. Socialist feminists think unequal standing in both the workplace and the
domestic sphere holds women down.[59] Socialist feminists see prostitution, domestic work,
childcare and marriage as ways in which women are exploited by a patriarchal system that
devalues women and the substantial work they do. Socialist feminists focus their energies on
broad change that affects society as a whole, rather than on an individual basis. They see the
need to work alongside not just men, but all other groups, as they see the oppression of women
as a part of a larger pattern that affects everyone involved in the capitalist system.

Marx felt when class oppression was overcome, gender oppression would vanish as well.
According to some socialist feminists, this view of gender oppression as a sub-class of class
oppression is naive and much of the work of socialist feminists has gone towards separating
gender phenomena from class phenomena. Some contributors to socialist feminism have
criticized these traditional Marxist ideas for being largely silent on gender oppression except to
subsume it underneath broader class oppression. Other socialist feminists, many of whom belong
to Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party, two long-lived American organizations, point
to the classic Marxist writings of Frederick Engels and August Bebel as a powerful explanation of
the link between gender oppression and class exploitation.