The Theory Of Social Science - 936 Words

Luckily for the individual, other theoretical traditions disagree with this idea that it is the society or market that gives human existence meaning but instead the individual’s being and actions that form the basis for understanding society. To these existentialists, individuals are not merely products of structure as many theorists before determined; each person is made with his or her own thoughts, emotions, and distinguishing experiences that embody that individual’s ability to shape social life and the existing world. There is a more fundamental basis to understanding social science than accepting a macro-social order of human nature as the disconnect of social sciences previous to the rise of existentialism reduces these personal experiences. How a person understands and recognizes the world does not fall passively to norms or values as a structural functionalist would believe nor the surrounding economic system as Marxists recognized. Instead, it is the continual interaction in a social environment that causes the agent to actively evaluate and execute his or her own response. By taking on the assumption that each person has the ability to exert agency over his or her own life, theorists applied this knowledge as a method to call people to action. If individuals are not simply cogs in a social system incapable of making decisions free of outside influence, then each now has an acute responsibility, a personal freedom from stagnation. No longer bound by absolutes yetShow MoreRelatedApplying Social Science Theories in Research679 Words   |  3 PagesTheories in the social sciences are usually created like theories in the hard sciences first by observation and empirical testing and then by drawing educated conclusions. After a series of empirical tests have been conducted and a sufficient body of research has been gathered, it may be possible to devise a theory based on the research. Alternatively, a social scientist might come up with the t heory first and then go about observing the world through this theoretical lens. From there, the socialRead MoreCumulative Inequality Theory And Social Science1166 Words   |  5 Pagesal. (2009) developed cumulative inequality theory by integrating various theories in a systematic way incorporating elements of both macro and micro sociological content. In order to clarify the meaning of cumulative inequality theory, Ferraro et al., (2009) offered many inter-related axioms- and propositions that aided in the further development of the theory. While developing the theory, the authors critiqued the cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory and provided their rationale for why theyRead MoreRational Choice Theory : Theories Of Political, Social, And Economic Sciences1467 Words   |  6 PagesFor nearly half a century rational choice theory (RCT) has dominated analyses of political, social, and economic sciences. Due to the theory’s objectivity and systematic predictability, rati onal choice is able to provide a comforting procedure to studying the decision-making process. However to truly gauge how and why actors make decisions, a more diversified and complex degree of emotions and behaviors must also be analyzed. Despite our efforts to prove the contrary, actors are human, thereforeRead MoreSimmels versus Du Boiss Theories in the Social Sciences1254 Words   |  6 Pagesinfluence on imperative theories and concepts developed in the area of social sciences. Two of the most significant and distinguished concepts fostered by both of these theorists are the concepts of â€Å"double consciousness† and â€Å"the stranger†. In this essay, I will be analyzing each of these works to draw upon differences and similarities concerning the two. The resemblances I will be expanding on are the usage of the paradoxical figure, which both theorists discuss in their theories, and the coexistingRead MoreNotes On Blaise Pascal s Theory Of The Classical Probl em Of Modern Economics, Social Science, And Pascal2312 Words   |  10 Pageson the development of modern economics, social science, and Pascal’s Theorem. Blaise Pascal is best known for his correspondence of 1654 with Fermat, which originated the theory of probability. He was also the author of ‘Traite du triangle arithmetique avec quelques autres petits traites sur lameme matiere’ written in 1654. He included in his treatise separate tracts describing the use of the Pascal’s triangle in the theory of figurate numbers, the theory of combinations, the solution of the classicalRead MoreEssay on Political Science864 Words   |  4 Pagesof Political Science being an actual science. Furthermore, there are opposing viewpoints between political science scholars as to the discipline being a social science or a synthesis of natural and social science. One such academic; Charles Merriam asserts that political science has the characteristics of both sciences, be cause it adapt the study of human behavior to provide an analysis of political institutions. Political scientists in theory espouse the notion that political science borrows elementsRead MoreDifference Between Natural And Social Sciences Essay1510 Words   |  7 PagesWhen one thinks of the concept of science, the terms natural and social do not come to mind. However, one would assume there is no difference between social and natural science, if it is not acknowledged as one or the other to begin with. Is one science more inferior to the other science? Michael Scriven, Brian Fay, J. Donald Moon and Fritz Machlup are just a few individuals who have primarily discussed the distinction between natural and social sciences. These discussions led to the question ofRead MoreScience Throughout the Ages912 Words   |  4 PagesThe term Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning knowledge. The definition of science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in t he form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. An older term of science refers to a body of knowledge itself, of anything that can be successfully applied to a situation. Someone who practices science is known as a scientist. Modern science has been traced back to the early modern period and in particular to theRead MoreScientific Method and Sir Karl Popper1407 Words   |  6 Pagesponder on the meaning of science, the methods to find truth, is one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Of particular importance to scientific methods of inquiry is the brawl between the development of theory and the criteria for science. In Popper’s own words, it is in this brawl that Popper decided to â€Å"grapple with the problem: When should a theory be ranked as scientific? or Is there a criterion for the scientific character or status of a theory?† (Popper 1957), p. 1). Read MoreEmile Durkheim: the Division of Labor1152 Words   |  5 P agessociology as a science. He believed that every social structure existed only because it satisfied a specific social need. Additionally, it was Durkheim’s desire to delineate how sociology would be used and considered and to give it the tools of scientific methodology (Vissing, 2011). To integrate the tools of science with the theory of functionalism Durkheim examined how social structures integrated with social living. It was not until after Durkheim examined the interactions within the social structures