Empirical sciences are Natural and Social

Relying on or derived from observation or experiment: empirical results that supported the hypothesis.

Verifiable or provable by means of observation or experiment: empirical laws.

Guided by practical experience and not theory.

Based on, or acting on, observation or experiment, not on theory. An empirical view regards sense-data as solid information and strives for objectively verifiable measurements so that knowledge can be derived from experience alone. (Geography dictionary)

Natural and social sciences are empirical sciences, which means the knowledge must be based on observable phenomena and capable of being tested for its validity by other researchers working under the same conditions.

There are also related disciplines that are grouped into interdisciplinary and applied sciences, such as engineering and health science. Within these categories are specialized scientific fields that can include elements of other scientific disciplines but often possess their own terminology and body of expertise.

Formal science:

Mathematics, which is classified as a formal science, has both similarities and differences with the natural and social sciences. It is similar to empirical sciences in that it involves an objective, careful and systematic study of an area of knowledge; it is different because of its method of verifying its knowledge, using a priori rather than empirical methods. Formal science, which also includes statistics and logic, is vital to the empirical sciences. Major advances in formal science have often led to major advances in the empirical sciences. The formal sciences are essential in the formation of hypotheses, theories, and laws,^[4]both in discovering and describing how things work (natural sciences) and how people think and act (social sciences).

A formal science is a branch of knowledge that is concerned with formal systems, for instance, logic, mathematics, systems theory, computer science,information theory, decision theory, statistics, and some aspects of linguistics.

Unlike other sciences, the formal sciences are not concerned with the validity of theories based on observations in the real world, but instead with the properties of formal systems based on definitions and rules. Methods of the formal sciences are, however, applied in constructing and testing scientific models dealing with observable reality.

“One reason why mathematics enjoys special esteem, above all other sciences, is that its laws are absolutely certain and indisputable, while those of other sciences are to some extent debatable and in constant danger of being overthrown by newly discovered facts” Albert Einstein

Lecture notes Course: introduction to political science

2 CREDITS, FRIDAY/ SATURDAY

WEEK 1

SUBJECT

Introduction. Science. Features of humanities and social sciences

Relativity

Some Definitions of Science

Each of these sections begins with conventional definitions or comments and moves toward less conventional but perhaps more revealing statements.  

Definitions by goal and process:

1. The systematic observation of natural events and conditions in order to discover facts about them and to formulate laws and principles based on these facts.

2. the organized body of knowledge that is derived from such observations and that can be verified or tested by further investigation.

3. any specific branch of this general body of knowledge, such as biology, physics, geology, or astronomy. Academic Press Dictionary of Science & Technology

4. Science is an intellectual activity carried on by humans that is designed to discover information about the natural world in which humans live and to discover the ways in which this information can be organized into meaningful patterns. A primary aim of science is to collect facts (data). An ultimate purpose of science is to discern the order that exists between and amongst the various facts. Dr. Sheldon Gottlieb in a lecture series at the University of South Alabama

=Science involves more than the gaining of knowledge. Science is about gaining a deeper and often useful understanding of the world.

=As a matter of fact, I can also define science another way: Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts. Richard Feynman, Nobel-prize-winning physicist,

Humanities

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical [(of knowledge) derived from experience rather than by logic from first principles] approaches (political science generally uses empirical methods)

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural and social sciences.

empirical means “derived from or relating to experiment and observation rather than theory”

(BEWARE HUMANITIES are not equal to SOCIAL SCIENCES)

In our dictionaries “humanities” translated as “гуманитарные науки”.

social sciences (социальные науки, общественные науки) uses empirical and mathematical methods (economics, sociology, political science and others).

=Political science and sociology are the branches of the social sciences

Branches of knowledge that investigate human beings, their culture, and their self-expression. Distinguished from the physical and biological sciences and, sometimes, from the social sciences, the humanities include the study of languages and literatures, the arts, history, and philosophy.

Humanities

In its definition of the humanities, Congress includes: Archaeology; Comparative Religion; Ethics; History; Languages & Linguistics; Literature; Jurisprudence; Philo`sophy; History, Theory, and Criticism of the Arts; Aspects of the Social Sciences Which Use Historical or Philosophical Approach

THEREFORE AS WE MAY SEE, THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IS MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ACADIMIC DISCIPLINE. IT COMBINES TRULY HUMANITIES SUCH AS HISTORY and SOCIAL SCIENCES SUCH AS SOCIOLOGY, ECONOMICS etc WHICH USE MATH and EMPIRICAL METHODS.

The humanities should not be confused with "humanism," a specific philosophical belief, nor with "humanitarianism," the concern for charitable works and social reform.

The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us make sense of our lives and our world. The humanities introduce us to people we have never met, places we have never visited, and ideas that may have never crossed our minds. By showing how others have lived and thought about life, the humanities help us decide what is important in our own lives and what we can do to make them better. By connecting us with other people, they point the way to answers about what is right or wrong, or what is true to our heritage and our history. The humanities help us address the challenges we face together in our families, our communities, and as a nation.

The humanities are academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical [(of knowledge) derived from experience rather than by logic from first principles] approaches (political science generally uses empirical methods)