An essay on isomorphic and idiosyncratic characteristics of social and natural science

Abstract

The schools of natural science, especially since Newton, have continuously influenced the social science in two ways. As seen in the example of the systems theory or social Darwinism, many social scientists have got insights from the ideas of natural science. It is quite natural that a scientist discovers a new way of thinking or an implication from a different academic discipline; however, the mainstream social scientists have trapped themselves by confining their science with the methodology obtained from natural science in order to validate it. This paper aims to reveal this methodological trap of social science by showing the influence of natural science to social science in the context of validation and by contrasting the differences between social and natural science issue by issue. The issues raised in this paper include the possibility of the monology and the normal science in social science, the debate over fact-value dichotomy and obtaining objectivity in social science, and the role of science and methodological reductionist issue. Considering such idiosyncrasies of social science, it is claimed that social science should keep its methodological uniqueness and autonomy.