(Plato, Augustine, Galileo, Descartes, Berkeley, Kant) and empiricism (Thales, Empedocles, Aristotle, Bacon, Locke, Hume).
The social sciences represent an attempt to combine the rigors of scientific discipline with the intuitions about human nature.
1. When did the modern sciences first begin to develop, and by whom? Describe the background out of which the sciences, and in particular the social sciences developed.
2. What subjects are included in the social sciences? How do they differ, and what do they have in common?
3. How do the social sciences differ from the physical sciences? What do they have in common?
4. What are the strengths and weaknesses of specialization among the social sciences?
5. Give your own view on what is the purpose of the social sciences; i.e., what benefit can the social sciences bring to mankind?