The Human Sciences

Anthropology - Business studies - Criminology - Demography - Development studies - Economics - Education - Human geography - Law - Media studies - Philosophy - Political science - Psychology – Sociology

What do these share?

The first objective is to explain human behaviour, and just as in natural sciences, the first way of doing this is to ask the question why? What causes us to behave in the way we do, and what causes human phenomena to occur?

The systematic study of human behavior. Like natural science, human science attempts to develop laws and theories to predict based on observations and experimentation.

"Under the most rigorously controlled conditions of pressure, temperature, humidity, and other variables, the organism will do exactly as it pleases." (Anon)

The Human Sciences

Primary Ways of Knowing: Reason & Perception

Human Scientists need to use "reason" to decide which "observations" are relevant to their investigation and which are not. This "selection" is necessary or else we would have "too much information" and no real understanding regarding human behavior. Unfortunately we may also mistakenly include irrelevant observation or not include important ones thus affecting our "perception".

Expectations - Investigators are sometimes influenced by their beliefs, predictions or hypothesis to the extent that they do not notice "observations" that do not support previously held beliefs - confirmation bias.

The Human Sciences

How do the Human Sciences differ from the

Natural Sciences?

Consider in pairs why a man may pick up a glass of wine and drink from it. Try to find at least five motives why this may happen.

How do the Human Sciences differ from the

Natural Sciences?

An expression of politeness

A show of honour or loyalty

A religious observation

A gesture of despair

An act of pleasure

A taste test

An attempt to seduce

An attempt to corrupt

An attempt to summon up courage

The act of someone with a serious medical condition

How do the Human Sciences differ from the

Natural Sciences?

Take, in contrast, the scenario of an antelope at a river. The antelope bends her neck, and drinks from the river. Why does she do so. The answer is:

She is thirsty

How do the Human Sciences differ from the

Natural Sciences?

“But now we must ask how it is that I come to make my choice. Either it is an accident that I choose to act as I do or it is not. If it is an accident, then it is merely a matter of chance that I did not choose otherwise; and if it is merely a matter of chance that I did not choose otherwise, it is surely irrational to hold me morally responsible for choosing as I did. But if it is not an accident that I choose to do one thing rather than another, then presumably there is some causal explanation of my choice.”

A J Ayer

An Approach: The Human Sciences as an AOK

Does Prediction Change the Future in the Human

Sciences?

Can you think of any examples of economists, for example, not predicting things perhaps as well as they could do?

Does Prediction Change the Future in the Human

Sciences?

If They Tell You They Predicted The Financial Crisis, They're Lying John Tammy

Forbes Magazine