social sciences

One of the three major fields of science

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Social Science refers to the study of various social phenomena in general or any of them by scientific methods. It is a science that studies various social phenomena, such as Sociology Study human society (mainly contemporary), political science Studying politics, policies and political activities, economics Research resource allocation.

Disciplines covered: economics 、 political science 、 Law 、 ethics 、 history 、 Sociology 、 Psychology 、 education 、 Management 、 Anthropology 、 folklore 、 journalism 、 Communication Etc.

Some disciplines, such as Anthropology 、 Psychology 、 archaeology , social science and natural science The intersection of. The Chinese mainland lists psychology as a natural science, such as the establishment of Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Of Department of Psychology, Nanjing University Before 1956 (including Republic of China (Period) were all under the College of Science; and Hong Kong SAR follow Europe and America Put it in the social sciences.

political science 、 economics 、 Sociology 、 Law 、 Military science Such disciplines are typical social sciences in a narrow sense. Some disciplines, such as history Is the narrow sense of social science and humanities It is generally understood as the humanities. The broad sense of "social science" includes humanities, such as Chinese Academy of Social Sciences It has two types of research institutes, namely, social sciences and humanities.

stay modern science In the process of development, the new scientific and technological revolution has provided new methods and means for the research of social sciences. The trend of mutual penetration and interaction between social sciences and natural sciences is increasingly strengthened.

Chinese name: social sciences
Foreign name: Social Science^[1] (English)

Research object: social phenomenon
Discipline classification: economics 、 political science 、 Law 、 ethics etc.

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Discipline classification

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Economic Science

economics It mainly involves the description and analysis of production, supply and demand, consumption and other aspects of goods and services. One of its main branches is Microeconomics , studying the behavior of individual categories in economic activities, such as the business activities of individual farmers, trade names and merchants. Another major sub discipline is Macroeconomics Its research object is the whole economic system, especially focusing on the general level of output and income and the relationship between different economic sectors.

Political science

The Logic of Social Science Research

Political science It is generally considered as a science that systematically studies various management procedures by using scientific analysis methods. Narrow and traditionally speaking, this discipline has always been regarded as the study of the country and the various institutions and systems on which it relies to exert its governance effectiveness. international relation It is a branch of political science, which studies the relationship between countries and their foreign policy 。

Sociology

Sociology Including relevant human society, social customs and social relations Such scientific research can also be clearly defined as systematic research on the development, structure, mutual influence and collective behavior of all human organizations. A subject related to this is social psychology To study the ways in which individual personality, attitude, motivation and behavior are influenced by social groups.

Cultural Science

Study human culture, focusing on language , literature Art And so on. cultural anthropology In particular, various ways of human behavior should be summarized and social phenomena should be generally described.

Comparative jurisprudence

It can also be regarded as a part of social science. This subject involves legal principles, legal systems legal proceedings And systematically comparative study 。

development history

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Strictly speaking, social science only appeared in the 19th century, but if there is no ancient Greek The spirit of rational inquiry will not lead to today's social science. In medieval theology, there was a complex shaped according to the concepts of human and society; These concepts are actually political, social, economic, geographical and anthropological concepts.

Throughout the medieval times , even entering The Renaissance During the period of the Reformation, the church paid great attention to and tried to control scholars' ideas about human thought and social behavior.

When Scholastic philosophy At the time of decline, the magic and Cartesian School The inference method of the 18th century and the fact that social reform and social science were regarded as one thing also hindered the development of social science.

With the spread of social science ideals in the 17th and 18th centuries, people's understanding of the complexity of human experience in the world and the social and cultural state of human social behavior is gradually expanding. Reflected in theory, there are the concepts of structure and development and change. Most of these innovative ideas exist in some works, aiming at attacking the political and social system of Western Europe at that time.

As far as social science is concerned, some decisive ideas of the 19th century have appeared in the first two centuries. stay French Revolution and industrial revolution Under the dual strike, Western Europe The old system began to disintegrate, which has changed the status, authority, wealth and other factors. The history of social thought in the 19th century is to give new meanings to these factors in theory.

The major themes of social thought at that time were almost all related to the two revolutions, such as population explosion, poor working conditions, changes in property, urbanization, technology and mechanization, factory system, and the development of the number of people participating in politics. These all almost immediately became the basis of the new ideology. In addition, positive philosophy, fraternity spirit and evolutionary perspective also affect social science.

When social science was first established, it was to establish a general social science, while some people pursued the specialization of individual subjects. The result was that the latter won. Economics and political science first reached the independent scientific level; Next are anthropology and sociology. social psychology It also began in the 19th century, but the outline is not as clear as other disciplines. Finally Sociostatistics and Social geography 。 Various processes triggered by democracy and industrial revolution spread to other parts of the world in the 20th century. Various relations between the West and non West, that is, the West and the Whole“ new state ”The relationship between phenomena is an extremely important aspect of social science.

Development trend

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Viewing the Discipline Trend from the Changing Characteristics

The specialization of social science can be seen only from the number of courses offered by colleges and universities;

The other trend is multidisciplinary complementarity and cooperation, with the emergence of political sociology Economic anthropology , Election Psychology and Industrial Sociology Some single concepts are also often applied to multiple social sciences, and have achieved beneficial results;

Another outstanding point is that due to specialization, tensions inevitably arise in social sciences;

Other characteristics are that in recent decades, he has been engaged in social science research and become a hundred times more valuable; Mathematical methods, other quantitative methods and computers have been widely used in scientific research and teaching.

In the 20th century, we can see from the theoretical way that: The theory of development has begun to revive; The study of social system is conducted by cybernetics Promote; Structuralism and functionalism focus on model and dynamic aspects; The interaction theory emphasizes the influence of "other things".

One thing that is necessary to consider about social science in the 20th century is its relationship with organized society, government and industry. Since the emergence of social sciences, people have always wanted to use knowledge to influence social policies. However, in the process of trying to influence the important institutions of modern power and function, social science itself may be affected by the power and financial resources possessed by these institutions. The purpose of social science, its relationship with the government and society, and the role of individual social scientists in the society of the 20th century are likely to become major issues for several years.

interpretative statement

Although many sociologists deny that social research can be regarded as science only when it is based on natural science, the use of the term social science does not include any concept of science.

There is a central question about the scientific status of social research, which is meaningful and purposeful in social life social action And choice, will weaken the basis of the interpretation of universal scientific laws to what extent. In addition to the question of whether the interpretation based on scientific principles is effective, there is also the question of what kind of ethical attitude should be taken by social actors.

For some sociologists, the essential characteristics of social behavior mean that sociology can only make a perfect explanation by means of meaningful understanding and interpretation, while scientific laws cannot work in this respect. Although most sociologists believe that there are significant differences between social science and natural science, they generally deny these differences, saying that sociology can only be regarded as a systematic research method and meaningful interpretation, and there are a variety of more common forms of sociological interpretation, so the use of the term "social science" is justified.

So although there are a few special exceptions among sociologists, they generally believe that sociology is still regarded as a scientific discipline according to one or more meanings of the word science. Sociologists and philosophers who deny the word "social science" generally put forward this negative view based on the narrow concept of science. In fact, the concepts of social science and natural science are more open and diversified than this concept.

Discipline characteristics

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complexity

Social things (or social and historical phenomena) studied by social sciences are generally very complex. They are subject to the constraints of natural and social variables, and these variables are often interrelated and non-linear.

The research objects of social sciences generally have the ability of self-organization, self creation and self-development; The emergence of social things is often triggered by accidental events or individual characters, with strong randomness and fuzziness; Social science often involves more "should", "wish" and other issues, and the judgment of these issues is strongly dependent on the ideological motivation of the observer, restricted by many internal and external variables, showing strong randomness and fuzziness.

It is difficult for people to find out the inevitability factors behind these random factors, and it is difficult to find the objective motivation from the ideological motivation, which brings great difficulties to the accurate and objective analysis of social science, so they can only use a large number of qualitative analysis methods.

dependence

General social things are based on or connected with many natural things, so any social science often involves many natural science fields, and to a large extent depends on the overall development of natural science. If natural science has not been fully developed, it will be difficult for social science to make major breakthroughs in accuracy and objectivity.

subjectivity

The understanding and evaluation of social things are restricted by many subjective factors (especially emotional factors), which mainly depends on the interest relationship (especially economic interest relationship) between the observer and the object of observation. Therefore, various social sciences are easy to have strong nationality and Class nature 。

This subjective factor of "preconception" caused by the interest relationship (especially national feelings and class feelings) induces people to form a non neutral, non objective and irrational attitude of observation, which is easy to form a "social science" representing the interests of different nationalities and classes, and does not compromise with each other and acts independently, Thus seriously hindering the healthy development of social sciences.

Difficult to verify

Social things generally have a long operation cycle and are irreversible in time. The operation of some social things is easy to cause huge conflicts of interest and unpredictable disasters, so it is difficult to carry out repeated experiments. Many social science assumptions and predictions are difficult to verify in a short time and in a small scope. 　

Relationship with natural science

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1. Social things are special natural things.

Social things are often subject to the constraints of nonlinear variables related to each other, and generally have the ability of self-organization, self creation and self-development; Social things are based on or connected with many natural things; Social things generally have a long running cycle and are irreversible in time.

two Social law It is a special natural law.

The origin of social law is natural law. Any social law can be dialectically restored to some natural laws, and its original form can be found in natural laws; Social laws comprehensively reflect the specific contents of various natural laws. Social laws are by no means simple superposition and mechanical mixing of various natural laws, but organically cooperate in accordance with a certain space-time order, logical structure, and mode of action to produce some coherent effect, thus forming a new objective law; Social law embodies the development direction of natural law in the overall effect of open system; Social law embodies the objective content of natural law at a higher logical level; Social law embodies the inevitability of natural law with greater contingency and volatility; Social law embodies the certainty of natural law with more fuzziness and chaos; Social laws reflect the objective prescriptive characteristics of natural laws with more sufficient initiative and creativity. Human initiative and creativity cannot be completely arbitrary and unconstrained, but is based on following and obeying natural laws. In essence, they cannot violate the objective prescriptive characteristics of natural laws, on the contrary, It is the reflection of the objective stipulation of natural laws in a higher sense.

In short, social things are the complex way of existence of natural materials; Social law is the complex form of natural law; Social law is not a negation of natural law, on the contrary, it is a demonstration of natural law at a higher level.

3. Social science is a special natural science.

Since the origin of all social laws is natural laws, all social sciences can base their assumptions on the basic axioms of natural science; Since social laws comprehensively reflect the specific contents of various natural laws, all social sciences can be described comprehensively by various natural science methods; Since social laws reflect the development direction of natural laws in the overall effect of an open system, social science can be regarded as a special part of natural science as a whole, and its ultimate destination is natural scientization; Because social laws embody the objective content of natural laws at a higher logical level, social science is more abstract than general natural science and follows more complex logical laws; Because social laws reflect the inevitability of natural laws with greater contingency and volatility, that is, social laws often need to be reflected through many accidental and irreversible social events, and various social laws expounded by social science are often not easy to be verified, which determines that social science has a strong speculative but weak empirical nature; Since social laws are characterized by more fuzziness and chaos to reflect the deterministic characteristics of natural laws, that is, various social laws are often difficult to be clearly and accurately presented to people due to too many and complex variables, and people usually can only conduct imprecise qualitative analysis; Because social laws reflect the objective and prescriptive characteristics of natural laws with more sufficient initiative and creativity, that is, people can not only passively adapt to the environment, but also actively choose, transform and create the environment, and to a certain extent, they can flexibly choose and apply social laws according to their own subjective wishes or interests, And some subjective assumptions and fuzzy judgments are made, which determines that social science has a strong subjective will, emotional tendency and class nature, and less objectivity, rationality and fairness.

Scientific research

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overview

Marx He once predicted that "science can only learn from natural science Starting is the real science. History itself is a natural history, that is, the real part of the process of nature becoming human. In the future, natural science will include human science, just like human science science Including natural science: this will be a unified science "（《 Complete Works of Marx and Engels 》42, p. 128).

Over the past hundred years, human beings have made rapid progress in both natural science and social science, especially in natural science, which has not only penetrated into the macro, cosmological and micro fields of nature, but also deeply developed into the human body (including brain) and human society, And these two aspects are still constantly infiltrating and integrating with each other. Social science (including thinking science) is increasingly affected by natural science. Many research methods of natural science have been effectively applied to the research process of social science, which has effectively promoted the development of social science. The development trend of social science that constantly adopts the research methods of natural science is called "natural scientization" of social science.

research method

The so-called "research method of natural science" is based on the basic mathematical logic It is the premise of the hypothesis, and accurate theory, experimental means and Scientific language To avoid subjectivity and fuzziness of research premise to the maximum extent. Its basic characteristics are:

① Assumptions must be based on basic axioms;

② . The reasoning operation must follow strict logic program ；

③ The results must withstand strict practice or experiment test 。

Among the research methods of natural science, the mathematical method is the most important. This method can provide concise formal language, accurate quantitative analysis means, and rigorous reasoning and demonstration procedures for scientific research. Obviously, the research method of natural science is the best way for people to grasp the essence and law of the objective world completely, objectively and accurately. The ultimate goal of social science is to grasp the essence and law of human society and thinking completely, objectively and accurately. Only social science that has realized natural science is truly mature social science, It is an inevitable requirement for the development of science to introduce the research methods of natural science into social science. It can be seen that the general trend of social science is objectification, precision and systematization, which is essentially "natural science".

necessity

The degree to which social productivity needs social science in terms of accuracy, objectivity and systematicness is the decisive factor restricting the development of social science. When the development level of social productivity is low, social things are relatively simple, and society only needs macro and rough control. People only need to adjust and control their behaviors and thoughts by simple subjective reflection. Social productivity does not require high accuracy and objectivity of social science, The impetus to promote the development of social sciences in the direction of accuracy and objectivity is not too great.

With the continuous development of social productivity, the degree of complexity of social things is further improved, and the error caused by people's subjective reflection is also increasing. The resulting social harm is becoming more and more serious, and the power to promote the development of social science in the direction of accuracy and objectivity is growing.

At the same time, due to the increasingly subtle social division of labor, the increasingly complex social structure, the means of social control have become increasingly rich, diverse, accurate and timely, and various legal provisions have become increasingly specific and accurate, which in technology has produced higher and higher requirements for the accuracy and objectivity of social science.

With the continuous development of social productivity, social relations are becoming more and more complex and changeable, which requires social sciences to constantly improve their objectivity, accuracy and systematicness.

To achieve these points, we must do the following: first, reasoning and argumentation follow strict logical rules; Second, the theoretical premise must be the basic axiom; Third, mathematical means are widely used.

possibility

Many scientists have seen the inevitable trend of social sciences to become natural sciences, and have done a lot of research work, but many of them ended in failure. Therefore, some scholars even fundamentally deny this inevitable trend. They absolutize the distinction between social science and natural science, and mystify social science, especially the humanities. They believe that social science involves "what should be", that is, "what should be", and natural science involves "what is", that is, "what is objective" It is impossible to study these two problems together, so it is impossible for social science to develop on the basis of natural science.

Many people believe that the objects of natural science are natural objects without soul and self-consciousness, while the objects of social science are human beings with soul and self-consciousness. In fact, the problem of "ought to be" can also be described by the method of natural science, because in essence, the problem of "ought to be" is actually a problem of "maximum" or "maximum" selection, which is not so complicated in mathematics. Therefore, the difference between "what should be" and "what is" is not the essential difference between social science and natural science, and cannot be used as the theoretical basis for denying the realization of natural scientization of social science. It is not only necessary but also possible for social science to move towards natural science. No matter how complex society is, it is the product of nature, and it is the same with nature in a higher sense. No matter how super perceptual and super material human beings are, they are ultimately a form of material movement. The complexity and mystery of human and society can finally be fully, accurately and objectively revealed and described through the high development of natural science. Both natural science and social science will eventually converge to the same axis and be completely integrated, which can completely eliminate the subjectivity, fuzziness and imprecision prevalent in current social science.

With the development of modern science, system theory, cybernetics and information theory, which are highly abstract and comprehensive, have come into being. These theories have been widely penetrated into various fields of social science, greatly improving the natural scientization speed of social science. Especially in the 1970s Dissipative structure theory Synergetics Catastrophe theory and Hypercycle theory It has laid a preliminary theoretical foundation for pushing natural science to the biological world and then to the human society, gradually eliminated our sense of mystery and reverence for social science, and made us see the new future and dawn of the development of social science.

bridge

Traditional axiology cannot build a bridge between social science and natural science. Many social science problems cannot be described and analyzed by natural science methods. On the one hand, it is because of the imperfection of natural science research methods and the inability to adapt to complex and changeable social things, not because of the limitations of natural science itself. As long as natural science develops to a certain extent, Any complex social science problem can be described and analyzed by natural science methods; On the other hand, it is because social science has not found an appropriate breakthrough to open up the channel of contact with natural science, or has not built a bridge to natural science, rather than because there is an insurmountable gap between social science and natural science. As long as such a theoretical bridge is built, the natural scientization of social science can be successfully realized.

The reason why the traditional value theory cannot serve as a bridge between social science and natural science. On the one hand, because its connection with social sciences is superficial, scattered and narrow, which is embodied in: the value theories followed or implied by different social sciences are often inconsistent, and sometimes there are huge contradictions between each other; Every kind of value theory can only elaborate the movement law of value things from a narrow perspective; The movement law of value things is not related to many social laws. On the other hand, its connection with natural science is also superficial, scattered and narrow Specifically, the basic concepts are not related to the basic concepts of natural science, the assumptions are not based on the basic axioms of natural science, the theoretical demonstration does not strictly follow the logical laws of natural science, the measurement method of value is inconsistent with the measurement unit, and mathematical methods are rarely used in the research process.

Specific approach

The realization of natural scientization of social sciences does not mean that social sciences individually or partially introduce the research methods of natural sciences, but that social sciences must fully take the basic axioms of natural sciences as the premise of assumptions, all reasoning, argumentation and operations must strictly follow the prescribed logical procedures, and the conclusions must withstand the test of strict practice or experiment. To realize the natural scientization of social science, two major tasks must be completed:

(1) Implementation Value theory The natural science. To realize the natural scientization of value theory is to take the basic axioms of natural science as the premise, dialectically reduce the value movement of human society to the general physical and chemical movement, and use natural science methods to objectively and accurately analyze various value phenomena. Specific approach: see value from the perspective of energy, define value from the perspective of physics, and realize the unified calculation of value.

(2) Establish a wide and deep connection between social science and value theory. After the value theory has become a natural science, it is necessary to extend the value theory to all fields of social science. All social phenomena can find its value motivation, and all social laws can be described by a certain law of value change. The specific way to establish a broad and in-depth connection between social science and value theory: from the perspective of value, the world is derived from the maximum order rule Generalized law of value And apply it to other social science fields.

Obviously, the unified axiology has successfully completed the above two tasks, thus building a bridge between social science and natural science, and creating conditions for the new leap forward development of the entire social science.

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