Human Sciences for ToK

Presentation on the Human Sciences for IBToK

1. The proper study of mankind is man. Alexander Pope

2. ANTHROPOLOGY the study of human beings, study of their physical character, evolutionary history, racial classification, historical and present day geographic distribution, group relationships, and cultural history

3. GEOGRAPHY the study of the location and distribution of living things and the physical environment in which they live

4. SOCIOLOGY the study of social customs , structures and institutions and of the effects on individuals of participation in groups and organisations

5. PSYCHOLOGY the study of mental processes and behaviour through the observation and recording of how people relate to one another and the environment

6. POLITICAL SCIENCE the study of the functions performed by governments as well as patterns in the behaviour of voters, political parties, pressure groups etc

7. ECONOMICS the study of the process through which people make a living, the production and distribution of goods, the organization of industries, banking, trade, and the use of resources

8. Related to Human Sciences Linguistics Criminology International relations Business and management studies Religious studies Archaeology History

9. Some aims of Human Sciences Knowledge about human behaviour and interaction in society Understanding of influences on human behaviour Explain underlying patterns Understanding how decisions are made Predicting human behaviour Informing decisions

10. Particularity of human sciences Man is the subject and the student Compare Martian as student The car engines malfunction when the lights go red! Wir verstehen!

11. Claims about Human and Social Sciences Human sciences permeated with values Concepts in social sciences are vague and imprecise Unavoidable interaction between the scientist and what he studies Human scientist cannot state and verify hypotheses with precision and universality No social scientist can predict with any assurance

12. METHODOGLOGY Questionnaires and surveys Interviews Observation Gathering and interpretation of statistics Study of written sources (official records, books …) Study of artefacts Experiments

13. Issues in observation Surveys Scope and scale Sample size and choice Question ( er ) bias / loaded questions Quality of answers

14. Issues in observation Are you in favour of bringing back National Service?

15. Issues in Experimentation People as the subject / Interaction between scientist and subject Behaviour of people being observed Margaret Mead Case (the observed respond to the expectations of the observer) Hawthorne Effect (presence of observers produces a bias and unduly affects the outcome of the experiment)

16. Issues in Experimentation Controlled or repeat experiments (impossible in almost all cases )

17. Issues in Experimentation Ethical Problems Milgram experiment Zimbardo experiment at Stanford University

18. Measurement and interpretation Can everything be measured satisfactorily? Thought in a child? Happiness? Economic data? The use of numbers and data Statistics Models Isaac Newton: “I can calculate the motions of heavenly bodies , but not the madness of crowds ”

19. The Model 1 - The Credit Crunch " It was the failure to properly price …. risky assets that precipitated the crisis . In recent decades, a vast risk management and pricing system has evolved, combining the best insights of mathematicians and finance experts supported by major advances in computer and communications technology. A Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of the pricing model that underpins much of the advance in derivatives markets. This modern risk management paradigm held sway for decades. The whole intellectual edifice, however, collapsed in the summer of last year because the data inputted into the risk management models generally covered only the past two decades, a period of euphoria.“ Dr. Alan Greenspan, US House of Representatives Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, October 23, 2008

20. Measurement and interpretation Correlation v. Causation The Phillips curve When in the 1970s this failed to explain stagflation , Milton Friedman argued that there were a series of different Phillips curves for each level of expected inflation . If people expected inflation to occur, then they would anticipate and expect a correspondingly higher wage rise .

21. Correlation v. Causation Facebook users have lower overall grades than non-users, according to a survey of college students Students who supplement their studies with interactive, game like computer animations retain a much better understanding of a scientific concept than those who don't. Men with deep voices tend to have more children than those who speak at a higher pitch, scientists say.

22. Causation and social policy Tony Blair: 'tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime' Feeding children a diet rich in fish could prevent violent and anti-social behaviour in their teens, according to research ….. which suggests the root causes of crime may be biological rather than social. The study raises major questions over the extent to which criminals exercise free will, as well as fuelling fresh debate over whether simple childhood interventions might be more use in preventing crime than blaming parents or organising draconian crackdowns on crime. The Observer, Sunday 14 September 2003

23. Free Will - C’est écrit là-haut ! How did they meet ? By chance, like everyone else. What were they called ? What does that matter to you ? Where were they coming from ? From the nearest place . Where were they going ? Who knows where they were going ? What were they saying ? The master was silent and Jacques was saying that his captain in the army used say that all the good and bad that happens to us down here on earth was already written up there .

24. Oedipus He knew (because of a prophecy) theat he would kill his father and marry his mother To what extent did his knowledge of the prophecy affect his behaviour and choices? Why does he punish himself? Why does he blind himself as a punishment?

25. The Oedipus effect. “ …… the oracle played a most important role in the sequence of events which led to the fulfilment of its prophecy. … For a time I thought that the existence of the Oedipus effect distinguished the social from the natural sciences. But in biology, too—even in molecular biology—expectations often play a role in bringing about what has been expected. ” Karl Popper

26. Self fulfilling prophecy - psychology. A person who expects people to be friendly, may smile more and thus receive more smiles A person expecting to be lucky, may enter many more competitions and thus increase their chances of winning. Children randomly allocated to a group labelled ‘ bright ’ did better in an experiment than a similar group labelled ‘ less bright ’ BUT you may also do your utmost to ensure a prediction made by a psychologist does not happen !

27. Self fulfilling prophecy - Economics Told that a bank was in trouble , people rushed to take out their money thereby causing the bank to fail . Bear and Bull markets – expectations of market rises and falls tend to make them rise or fall . Predictions of depression make people behave in a way which (at least ) hastens it

28. Placebo and Nocebo A patient given a pill expects it to make him better ( placebo ) and often does In a classic nocebo experiment conducted in the early 1980s volunteers were told that a mild electrical current would pass through their head, and although no electrical current was used, two-thirds of the volunteers complained of a headache after the experiment.

29. The Purposes of Human Sciences Understanding of how people and societies work To make people or societies work better ( or how we think they should work ) Involve predictions on the basis of which we make Personal choices Economic and social policy Business and management decisions

30. BUT are Human Sciences able to produce reliable Laws?

31. … some of the reasons Confirmation bias Question ( er ) bias Difficulties in measurement Observation of people may affect their behaviour

32. .. and more reasons? Problem of (no) controlled experiments Human sciences often affected by moral issues Limitations on willingness or ability to experiment Human science suggests the ‘probable’ Uncomfortable with falsification