Social Science and Knowledge Methods

Herbert Spencer is the primary figure associated with social evolutionism, specifically the organic analogy where society is compared to a biological organism. While others like Comte contributed to sociology, Spencer is the one most famously linked to this specific evolutionary analogy.

The Industrial Revolution triggered massive urbanization as people moved from rural areas to cities for factory work. This shift led to the emergence of new social classes, such as the industrial working class and the bourgeoisie.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a foundational document of the French Revolution, established equality before the law, protected fundamental freedoms, and shifted sovereignty from the monarch to the nation.

The 18th century in France is famously known as the Age of Enlightenment, a period characterized by intellectual movements that emphasized reason, science, and individualism over traditional authority.

Rationalism is the philosophical view that emphasizes reason as the primary source of knowledge, often relying on deductive methods to derive specific conclusions from general principles.

Empiricism is the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience and observation. It contrasts with rationalism by emphasizing the role of the senses in forming concepts.

Francis Bacon is widely credited with formalizing the scientific method, emphasizing inductive reasoning and the systematic observation of nature.

The scientific method is a general framework for inquiry used across all sciences, including social sciences. While social sciences have specific techniques (like qualitative or comparative methods), they still operate within the broader scientific method.

A method is defined as a systematic procedure or set of steps followed to achieve a specific goal or conduct an investigation.

Empirical knowledge in a social context often refers to common sense or traditional knowledge passed down through a group, which is based on shared beliefs rather than rigorous scientific testing.

Intuitive knowledge is often described as immediate, direct, and seemingly obvious, occurring without a conscious process of reasoning or external verification.

Concept development is the process of forming ideas and categories that allow humans to reason about and explain their environment.

The construction of knowledge is a continuous human process that has occurred since the dawn of humanity, as people have always sought to understand and adapt to their surroundings.