UNIT I:

The ORIGIN AND NATURE OF THE

SOCIAL SCIENCE:
Anthropology, Sociology, and Political
Science
 LESSON 1:

The Birth and Growth of Social

Science
The Historical Background of the
Growth of Social Sciences
 In the development and progress of
human knowledge, the social sciences
were the last to develop after the natural
science.
 It was originally based from the studies of
political philosophies and theological
reasoning.
 It was slowed because of religious
authority and tradition.
 The Unprecedented Growth of
Science
 Itcan be traced back from Nicolaus
Copernicus that unfolded the truth
about the universe to Sir Isaac
Newton’s proposal about universal
laws of motion and a mechanical
model of the universe along with
Rene Descartes and Francis
Bacon’s establishment of supremacy
of reason.
 The
Secularization of
 Rationalization
Learning
Education

 Dissolution
of Feudal  The Rise of  The Rise of
Social Universities Universities
Relations

 Trade and  The Rise of

Commerce Individualism
The Birth of Social Sciences as a
Response to the Social Turmoil of
the Modern Era
 Sociology- is a branch of the social
sciences that deals with the scientific
study of human interactions, social
groups and institutions, whole societies.
 It deals with the relationship between
the individual and the society as they
develop and change in history.
Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
 Founding father of Sociology
 First coined the term “Social Physics”
 According to him, there are three stages
of societies namely,
Theological Stage
Metaphysical Stage
Positive Stage
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
 The Founding mother of Sociology
 She wrote her accounts in How to Observe
Morals and Manners (1838)
 She expressed how ethnographic
narrative works
 She also wrote on political economy
Karl Marx (1818- 1883)
 He introduced the materialist analysis of
history which eliminates religious and
metaphysical (spiritual) explanation for
historical development
 He proposed the “Conflict Theory” which
had an element of revolutionary activities
and discounts the class system in society
and economy.
Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
 Made possible the professionalization of
sociology by teaching in the University of
Bordeaux.
 He famously argued that society
preexisted the individuals and will
continue to exist long after the individuals
is dead.
Max Weber (1864-1920)
 He stressed the role of rationalization in
the development of society.
 For him, rationalization refers essentially
to the disenchantment of the world.As
science begun to replace the religion,
people also adopted a scientific or
rational attitude to the world.
Political Science
 It is a part of the social sciences that deals
with the study of politics, power, and
government.
 It studies how even the most private and
personal decisions of individuals are
influenced by collective decisions of a
community.
Various Areas of Interest
 Public Administration
Which examines how the government
functions and how decisions are policies
are made.
 Political Economy
Which evaluates the interplay between
economics, politics and law and its
implication
 Comparative Politics
Compare different government systems
ANTHROPOLOGY
 It is a systematic study of the biological,
cultural, and social aspect of man. It is
derived from the two Greek words,
athropos which means “man” and logos
which means “study” or “inquiry”.
 It has also had diverse field of study and
areas of interest.
Great Anthropologist
1.Franz Boas
- Historical Particularism

2. Bronislaw Kasper Malinowski

- Participant Observation

3. Alfred Reginald Radcliffe- Brown

- Structural-functionalist paradigm
The Colonial Origin of the Social
Sciences
 The Clamor for Decolonization of Social
Sciences
It traces back the origination of studying
societies through having some biases and
racism.
 Indigenization of Social Sciences in the
Philippines
It is trying to eliminate the impression of
western world in viewing Philippines as an
inferior society.
 Social Sciences in the Era of
Globalization
 It aims to consider the sensitivity of the
local culture, and preservation of its
practices, along with addressing the
concerns and problems of the local
communities.
ARE YOU A
MEMBER OF
SOCIETY?
CAN YOU LIVE BY
OWN SELF
WITHOUT ANY
PEOPLE
SURROUNDING
YOU?
Culture and Society
as Anthropological
and Sociological
concepts
 Identity
 It is a distinctive characteristic that
defines an individual or is shared by those
belonging to a particular group.
 People may have multiple identities
depending on the group to which they
belong.
 Society
 Is a group of individuals sharing a
common culture, geographical location,
and government.
 It is characterized by the presence of the
following elements:
a. Social solidarity
b. Shared identity
c. Common language
d. Large population
e. Political, economic and social
organization
 Culture
 Defines as society way of life, and it
provides bases for forging identities.
 It also a composite or multifarious areas
that comprise of beliefs, ideas, values,
practices, knowledge, history, and
everything that a person learns and shares
as a member of society.
What is Culture?
Language
Working Medical
Schedules Cure
Clothes
and Religion
Dressing

CULTURE
Manners Food

Jokes Folk Art

Celebrations
Therefore, Culture is:
 A product of Human Interactions
 A social heritage that is complex and
social transmitted,
 Provides socially acceptable patters for
meeting biological and social needs
 A distinguishing factor.
 An established pattern of behavior
 Cumulative
 Meaningful to human beings
Types of Culture:
Material Culture consist of tangible things
as
1. Food
2. Technological Tools
3. Fashion and Accessories
4. Architectural Structures
 Nonmaterial Culture consist of intangible
things such as:
1. Ideas
2. Behavior, gesture and habits
3. Language ang symbols
4. Religion
Elements of Culture
• It refers to any information received
Knowledge and perceived to be true

• The perception of accepted reality

Belief • Reality refers to the existence of things
whether material or nonmaterial

• These are the established expectations

Social of society as how a person is supposed
Norms to act depending on the requirements
of the time, place, or situation
Different Forms of Social Norms
 Folkways- The Patterns of repetitive
behavior which becomes habitual and
conventional part of living.
 Mores- The set of ethical standards and
moral obligations as dictates of reason
that distinguished human acts right or
wrong or good or bad.
 Values- Anything held to be relatively
important, desirable, or valuable.
 Technology- application of knowledge in
converting materials into finished product.
Perspectives of Culture and Society
Ethnocentrism
it is a perception that arises from
fact that culture differ and each
culture defines reality differently.
- Judging another culture solely by
the values and standards of one’s
own culture.
 Cultural Relativism
- The Attempt to judge behavior
according to its cultural context.
- The principle that an individual
person’s belief and activities
should be understood by others
in terms of the individual’s own
culture.
 Xenocentrism
Inferior point of view towards own
culture.