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The differences between social science and natural science
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The history of medicine essay
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What are the point of conversion and departure between science and social science? Are the two sciences above use scientific methods? And what my opinion on this point? What do we mean when we say that we know some thing? What are the sources of knowledge? If we take the example of part of science that is medicine, we can know that there are different source of knowledge such as personal experience of our won bodies, observation of others, our families, friends" you do look ill", popular culture, bad cough and complementary health practice such as "holistic medicine." Medical knowledge of the general practitioner, we expect the doctor to have access to expert knowledge. This is socially sanctioned "because he describes drugs and treatment to which patients would not other wise have access." Evidence from "X-ray" diagnosis, experiments, observations, instruments, add new knowledge to the patient and the doctor. Another source of knowledge is the language and practices that create knowledge. The specialist language of the doctor produces meaning that has medically recognized status, such language is increasingly entering into the discourses of common sense. We need to ask questions, look for evidence, interpret this evidence and using this interpretation to act, ant to change our understanding of the world. All knowledge requires some social expression and socially accepted meaning, but some has more status than others. The doctor has specialized medical knowledge that the patient lacks. The specialized knowledge is a collection of evidence and theories about how they can best be treated. But the general public also has knowledge of medicine "a common-sense" knowledge that is of a rather different kind. Significan...
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...al Society accepted everything from Newton's laws of motion of stones report on the affect of willow bark on fever. Indeed, if the history of medical knowledge tells us anything, it is that a lack of diversity is more likely to lead to science becoming a series of revolutions. Today, with the acceptance of complementary rather than alternative medicine, there is a diversity of system of medical knowledge available.
Scientific knowledge is not opposed to social science or to common sense knowledge, but is interrelated. Science began as a new method to rationalize and prove knowledge - much of it common - sense knowledge. With an apparent objectivity. However, scientists are members of a society, and the society in which they live shapes and constrains the scientific knowledge they produce. Science is not separate form society, but a part of it.
In modern medicine when an ailment arises it can be quickly diagnosed, attributed to a precise bacteria, virus, or body system, and treated with medication, surgery or therapy. During the time before rational medical thought, this streamlined system of treatment was unheard of, and all complaints were attributed to the will of the multitude of commonly worshiped Greek gods (Greek Medicine 1). It was during the period of Greek rationalism that a perceptible change in thought was manifested in the attitudes towards treating disease. Ancient Greece is often associated with its many brilliant philosophers, and these great thinkers were some of the first innovators to make major developments in astrology, physics, math and even medicine. Among these academics was Hippocrates, one of the first e...
Science is the knowledge gained by a systematic study, knowledge which then becomes facts or principles. In the systematic study; the first step is observation, the second step hypothesis, the third step experimentation to test the hypothesis, and lastly the conclusion whether or not the hypothesis holds true. These steps have been ingrained into every student of science, as the basic pathway to scientific discovery. This pathway holds not decision as to good or evil intention of the experiment. Though, there are always repercussions of scientific experiments. They range from the most simplistic realizations of the difference between acid and water to the principle that Earth is not the center of the Universe. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein depicts this very difference in the story of Victor Frankenstein. A scientist who through performing his experiments creates a monster which wreaks havoc upon humanity. Frankenstein concentrating wholly upon discovery ignores the consequences of his actions.
Earlier Science was treated as an institution but now, it includes many things like "scientific experiments, "theories" etc. The authors argue that this knowledge should viewed in terms of "socially constructed" and not the one known as "scientific truth". This article points that in the social constructivist view, the 'science' it is just another system of knowledge which contains empirical researches and studies. It is basically concerned with what is "truth", how it has emerged, accepted and explained in social domain. ...
Wrong theories of the anatomy have been assumed to be correct for thousands of years. Theories of using a scientific base were not used by the Europeans until the Renaissance period (“Medicine”). These theories, made by a Greek Physician named Galen, were supported by the Catholic Church. The Middle Ages were a difficult time to achieve medical advances because Galen’s theories were not to be questioned or tested(“The Impact of the Renaissance on Medicine”).Even after these theories appeared to be inaccurate, the support from such a high authority made it extremely difficult to change the medical practices and training(“Rennaissance medicine”).
Science has played a significant role in the development of society. Other world views, such as Hum...
Science is the observation of natural events and conditions in order to discover facts about them and to formulate laws and principles based on these facts. Academic Press Dictionary of Science & Technology --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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).
The issue shall discuss the various differences between science and other types of knowledge and discuss the argument whether the science can rely without the separate theories posted by non-scientific educational bodies. ...
Freeman, David H. "The Triumph of New-Age Medicine." The Atlantic. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. .
...ieves that the knowledge is contributing to society. The scientist’s own drive to obtain knowledge versus the society’s need to obtain knowledge differ in the degree of limitations since the society’s moral judgments have more limiting factors on the methods to create the knowledge society demands rather than the artistic or scientific drive to obtain that knowledge.
By the definition, science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment (Oxford dictionary). This crude definition is elaborated further by a world-famous sociologist Anthony Giddens as ‘the scientific study of human social life, groups, and societies. It is dazzling and compelling enterprise, as its subject matter is our own behavior as social beings. The scope of sociological study is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individuals on the street to the investigation of global social processes such as the rise of Islamic fundamentalism.’ (Giddens: 2006)
From the beginning of time, human life has faced problems with diseases and health care. Ancient ailments have been with mankind as far as man can remember, such as arthritis and, infectious bone disease found in fossilized bones and Egyptian mummies, indicating its existence. Then a human life span was only 20-30years, chronic illnesses were rare and preventative medicine primarily consisted of warding off evil spirits by painting the body or sometimes even mutilating it (Mitchell, Heroun 37). As time went on and new “tools” better described as “technology” is created and applied the everyday use in many ways. For example; in the 1600’s the invention of the printing press quickly allowed for new books and information to be widely distributed. By the 18th century progress increased due to the rapid sharing of knowledge from one to the next. With the knowledge of many experiments and studies came the philosophy of “enlightenment” witch took on a more rational approach to problems and knowledge that can be read (Mitchell, Heroun 39). the In the early 19th century preventive medicine made great strides as the average human lifespan increased from 40 years in 1850 to 70 years in1950. As advances were m...
The arguments on both sides include reason and causes, introspection verse observation and holism verse reduction. For social science is the distinction between reason and causes. For social scientist argument is that we should be concern with the purity of causes and not with reasons. An example would be to study what cause people to do the things they do and not study the reason for what people do. The inner argument is we should look into reason why people do thing because it cause people to do the things they do. If we do not look at the whole story, we will miss out. Natural science side believes they should explain the world reasons for purpose and goals rather the causal forces. Example: Why the sun move across the sky verse what the sun want to do. Another example would be is the reason why the birds’ beak is formed to catch food. A cause is, it formed to eat seeds. They believe we should take the purpose and intent out and understand it in a...
The social sciences have and will continue to be in the future will play an important role in studying and solving problems for both society and its individuals. The disciplines that it encompass vary widely but often need to come together to solve issues and study certain facets of humanity. For my personal use social science is a tool to better understand others, be more sensitive to issues that people may face and to anticipate the way people and society may act in certain situations. A social science lens can be productive in that it helps people be more indiscriminate though understanding people and their behavior. I hope to use the socials sciences to impact other people’s lives in a positive manner. The social sciences to me when used in a well-intended manner are able to not only explain phenomena but also be a solution and or make a situation better. The intent of this essay is to better understand and define the social sciences, touch on the many disciplines of the science in addition to its relationships with other scientific areas.
Human evolution and the dramatic social change accompanying progress and transformation demands a uniform discipline which assesses human interaction and the social world issues that pervade society. Hence it was in the context of extraordinary societal change, the Enlightenment period, that the development of a human science or ‘social science’ emerged, defined as the ‘attempt to explain social phenomena within the limits of available evidence” (Lewins, 1992, p.5).The concept of a social science can be further understood from a philosophical stand point where the work of social scientists can be classified in terms of a positivist or non-positivist position. The particular area of social work has gained significantly from the development of a social science centred upon the positivist philosophy and research strategies. While, non-positivist ideas, particularly that of Immanuel Kant and his legacy, has enabled the development of a sociolinguistic perspective reflecting the importance of values within social scientific practice. This essay will further address the issue of what social science is and why it is important through the examination of the emergence within social work of an “evidence-based practice” (Thyer & Myers, 2011) as well as the case study of “sociolinguistic observations on the impact of changing political, economic and sociocultural factors on names and naming practices” (Hailemichael, 2010, p.109), these areas of social science in turn emphasise the importance and need for a social science in order to understand social world issues.
Although science is definitely a method of obtaining knowledge, when it comes to explaining the universe and human experience, it has both strengths and weaknesses in comparison to other explanations such as art and religion.