CHAPTER 1: Lesson 2
The Social Sciences: Sociology, Anthropology,
and Political Science
SOCIOLOGY
LESSON PRETEST
Which of the scenes below qualify as a form of social
engagement?
LESSON PRETEST
Which of the scenes below qualify as a form of social
engagement?
THE SOCIAL AS “DRIVER OF INTERACTION”
The study of society can be accomplished in three
different ways:
1. Mapping the social forces impinging on the social
actors as their lives intersect in the society.
2. Rehearsing the structures and components of cultural
practices and traditions.
3. Exposing the asymmetrical power distribution among
members of social communities and organizations.
SOCIOLOGY
• The science that deals with the study of society and
the social interactions.
• A discipline dealing with the interpretation and
explanation of social action, defined as action
involving orientation to the actions of one or more
other actors. (International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001)
Simply put, sociology is the study of societies and the complex entities
and relations inside it.
SOCIOLOGY
• At the personal level, sociology investigates the
social causes and consequences of such things as
romantic love, racial and gender identity, family
conflict, and religious faith.
• At the societal level, sociology examines and explains
matters like crime and law, poverty and wealth,
prejudice and discrimination, and social movements.
• At the global level, sociology studies phenomena such
as population growth and migration, war and peace,
and economic development.
SOCIAL FORCES
• It represent a constellation of unseen yet powerful
forces influencing the behavior of individuals and
institutions.
• It can be interpreted as any human created way of
doing things that influence, pressure, or force people
to behave, interact with each other, and think in
certain ways.
• It is also considered remote and impersonal because
mostly people have no hand in creating them, nor do
they know anyone who do or did it.
SOCIAL FORCES EXAMPLE
1. Rules – a statement that tells you what is or is not
allowed in a particular situation.
Example:
Written Rules - Are easily seen and hence are
easily observed and obeyed.
Unwritten Rules - These are rules that aren’t
necessarily laws but we follow them on a day to
day basis
SOCIAL FORCES EXAMPLE
2. Norms – standards of proper or acceptable behavior.
It is an informal understandings that govern the
behaviors of a group.
3. Expectations – a belief that something will happen or
is likely to happen.
SOCIAL MAP
It refers to a person’s specific and economic location.
The assumption here is that a person coordinates in
his/her social map determines his/her opportunities and
limitations in life. Social maps, therefore, lock out any
possibilities of social mobility.
WRIGHT MILLS’ SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
Individuals can transcend the limitations posed by their
social locations by understanding how their personal
experiences (individual biographies) intersect with
broader societal events (history).
SOCIAL AWARENESS
It allows us to see opportunities where there are none
and to create one if need be.
Being socially aware means that you understand how
you react to different social situations, and effectively
modify your interactions with other people so that you
achieve the best results.
SOCIAL AWARENESS
It allows us to see opportunities where there are none
and to create one if need be.
Being socially aware means that you understand how
you react to different social situations, and effectively
modify your interactions with other people so that you
achieve the best results.
PIONEERS OF SOCIOLOGY
August Comte
• “The Father of Sociology”
• He became interested in the two interrelated issues: social
order (social static) and social change (social dynamics).
• He concluded that the way to answer the problems of social
order and social dynamics was to apply the scientific method.
Herbert Spencer
• “The Second Founder of Sociology”
• He believed that society operates under fixed laws
• He considered that societies evolve from lower to higher
forms
• He developed “Social Darwinism” that advocated that “let the
fittest survive”.
PIONEERS OF SOCIOLOGY
Karl Marx
• He introduced one of the major perspectives in sociology –
Conflict Perspective
David Émile Durkheim
• His primary goal was of getting sociology recognized as a
separate academic discipline.
• According to him that people were likely to commit suicide if
their ties to others in communities were weak.
• He identified the key role of social integration in social life.
Max Weber
• He used cross-cultural and historical materials in order to
determine how extensively social groups affect people’s
orientations to life.
ANTHROPOLOGY
ANTHROPOLOGY
• It focuses on human diversity around the world.
• “Science of Man”
• Is the scientific study of the origins of humans, how we
have changed over the years, and how we relate to each
other, both within our own culture and with people from
other cultures.
QUESTION TO PONDER
How can you
prove that a Man
is a unique animal
kingdom?
SUBDIVISIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Physical Anthropology
• Biological anthropology, also known as physical
anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned
with the biological and behavioral aspects of human
beings, their related non-human primates and their
extinct hominin ancestors.
• Physical anthropologists focus on the evolution of
human anatomy and physiology, rather than culture.
SUBDIVISIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Archeology
• It is the study of the ancient and recent human past
through material remains. It is a subfield of
anthropology, the study of all human culture. It
offers a unique perspective on human history and
culture.
SUBDIVISIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Cultural Anthropology
• It is a branch of anthropology focused on the study
of cultural variation among humans.
• Cultural anthropologists study such topics as how
people make their living, how people interact with
each other, what beliefs people hold, and what
institution organize people in the society.
SUBDIVISIONS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Linguistic Anthropology
• Concerned with man’s language, a non-literate or
literate, past and present.
a) Descriptive linguistics- Deals with the
classification, arrangement and study of the
features of language.
b) Comparative or Historical Linguistics- Takes up the
changes in language, the borrowings from other
languages, and the comparison of languages.
PIONEERS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Franz Boas
• “The Father of Anthropology”
• The Founder of American Anthropology
• Believed in:
(a) accurate records and a large data base (the scientific
method),
(b) cultural relativism: “cultures should be judged by their
own values, as successful adaptations to their own
environments” and
(c) established the importance of ethnology: “the study of
the origins, similarities, differences between races and
cultures”.
PIONEERS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Henry Morgan
• He came up with a “Theory of Social Evolution” (savagery,
barbarism, and civilization)
• Once widely accepted, now the assumption of social or
cultural evolution is considered ethnocentric: Morgan was
“judging other cultures according to one’s values.”
PIONEERS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Ruth Benedict
• Looked at how culture and religion shape personality.
• Concluded that cultures have personalities: some cultures
believed in restraint, and others might believe in fierceness.
Main Idea: the main personality traits of the culture become
the main personality traits of persons of that culture.
PIONEERS OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Margaret Mead
• Student of Franz Boas
• Her studies of 3 cultures in the south Pacific resulted in her
conclusion that, “nurture” (socialization) was more influential
in development than nature.
• This is where the Nature – Nurture debate began.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Polis – “City”
Scire – “to know”
Classical meaning: It refers to the art or science of
government concerned with the proper management of
the affairs of society.
Simplest meaning: It is the systematic study of the state
and the government.
SCOPE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Theory – The entire body of doctrines relating
to the origin, form, behavior, and purposes of the state
are dealt with in the study of this subject.
Public Law – (a) organization of governments, (b)
powers and duties of governmental office and officers,
(c)limitations upon government authority (d) and
obligations of one states to another.
Ex: Constitutional Law
Administrative Law
International Law
SCOPE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Public Administration – Attention is focused upon the
methods and techniques used in the actual management
of state affairs by executive, legislative, and judicial
branches of Government.
GOALS IN THE STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Education for Citizenship – It is the preparation of students
for careers in politics, law, teaching, the civil service and the
foreign service is secondary to the task of equipping them to
discharge the obligations of democratic citizenship, which grow
constantly heavier in the modern world.
Essential parts of liberal education – Most political science
courses should be viewed as essential parts or liberal education.
GOALS IN THE STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Knowledge and understanding of Government – Political
science seeks to gather and impart knowledge and understanding.
The “good” citizen who behaves himself and votes regularly is no
longer enough. He must also be the citizen who knows the
answers. He must know how is government really operates, what
interests and forces are behind particular policies, what the results
of such policies are likely to be, what his rights and obligations
are, who his elected representatives are and what they stand for.
PIONEERS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Aristotle
• Father of Political Science
• To investigate, on the basis of the constitutions collected,
what makes for good government and what makes for bad
government and to identify the factors favorable or
unfavorable to the preservation of a constitution.
Niccolo Bernardo Machiavelli
• Father of Modern Political Science
• The Prince
TYSM
