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Dr. Avinash Samal Assistant Professor Hidayatullah National Law University Raipur, Chhattisgarh
Arguments Against
No consensus of opinion among experts as to its methods, principles and conclusions Political principles are not universally accepted and applied Certain terms are given different meanings and interpretations It is impossible to apply rigorous scientific methods Political phenomena are characterized by uncertainty, variableness, and a lack of order and continuity Laboratory experiments are not possible in political science
Cont.
Political researchers deal with human beings whose behaviour and actions can seldom be regulated and predicted Political scientist cannot dream of duplicating laboratory experiments as in physical sciences. Unlike physical sciences, political science lacks uniform principles or laws that are universally valid. Political scientists cannot make correct predictions as political behaviour of men is unpredictable. The keen political researcher and the bold political prophet cannot forecast future political happenings. Passions, emotions and prejudices of human beings which influence political process defy absolute prediction.
Cont.
Science aims at formulating general principles or laws which explain the behaviour of objects under study and help in making predictions about their future mode of operation. Again, the general principles of scientific study must be verified by observation or experiments. Physical and natural sciences fulfill all these elements of science. But social sciences make use of the scientific method while studying social phenomena and arrive at certain general propositions. Of course, it is admitted that the general principles of social sciences including political science are neither universally valid nor are always exact and precise. These arguments clearly show that political science cannot be an exact science like Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. But it is a social science like sociology, economics and psychology.
Arguments in Favour
Political Science, like other social sciences, has a scientific character because the scientific method is applicable to its phenomena, namely, the accumulation of facts, the linking of these together in causal sequences and the generalization from the latter of general principles or laws. Appadorai succinctly observes: "It is true that the laboratory method of experiment is difficult with social sciences; but the whole field of historical facts and the facts of the contemporary world are there for the student to observe, classify, connect, and compare for the formulation of general principles. Though laboratory experiments are impossible, experiments under certain limitations are feasible and in several areas political experiments have been successfully tried. Experiments in methods of direct democracy have been made in Switzerland, in India, we have introduced Panchayati Raj institutions after its experiment was found successful in some States. Since the behavioural revolution in Political Science, sophisticated tools and techniques of research, concepts and models borrowed from other sciences have enriched political studies and imparted it greater scientific character.