What Is Science?

In Depth Discuss :

1. Definition Science.

2. Social Sciences and Sociology.

3. Definition of Sociology and Its Nature.

4. Object of Sociology.

Humans were actually created by God Almighty as conscious beings. Human consciousness can be inferred from his ability to think, will, and feel. With his mind man acquires knowledge; with his will man directs his behavior; and with his feelings man can achieve pleasure.

Thus with knowledge are the impressions in the human mind as a result of the use of the five senses, which is very different from superstition and false illuminations. For example, there was an assumption (in ancient times) that the white race had a level of intelligence that exceeded the intelligence level of races with other skin colors. These beliefs, which cannot be proven to be true, create uncertainty, while knowledge aims to obtain certainty and eliminate prejudice as a result of this uncertainty.

Science is knowledge that is arranged systematically by the use of the power of thought, knowledge which can always be examined and analyzed critically. The goal of science is to know more about and explore aspects of life.

In essence, science arises because of the desire to know in humans. This curiosity arises because there are so many aspects of life that are still dark for humans and humans want to know the truth of that darkness. After humans acquire knowledge about something, their satisfaction is immediately followed by a tendency to know more. In his search for this truth, humans can take various ways, including :

A). Chance discovery. This means a discovery that is unplanned and calculated in advance. Such discoveries, although sometimes useful, cannot be used in a scientific manner because of their uncertain circumstances or lack of certainty.

B). Chance thing. This means discovery by means of trial and error. The difference with chance discovery is that in this method humans are more active in conducting experiments, even though there is no definite knowledge of the results.

C). Authority. Namely based on respect for opinions or findings produced by a certain person or institution deemed to have authority or authority. In this case, no attempt may be made to test the correctness of these opinions or findings which are not normally based on any research or in-depth investigation.

D). Speculative endeavors. This means that from the many possibilities, one possibility is chosen even though the choice is not based on the belief whether the choice is the correct way.

E). Experience. It means based on critical thinking. However, experiences are not necessarily orderly and purposeful. Maybe the experience is just for the record.

F). Scientific research. That is a method that aims to study one or several symptoms by means of analysis and in-depth examination of the facts of the problem that is highlighted, and then trying to solve it.

Thus, research is the main tool used to strengthen, foster and develop knowledge. Science develops at a high level, namely when it comes to :

A). Trial and error methods.

B). Studying or applying the effects of the first method on commonly encountered situations.

C). Perception and visual investigation of potential action alternatives.

D). Learning by observation, is based on observing the efforts and results of the actions of other parties.

E). Imitation, observation and imitation of the behavior of other parties.

F). Verbal instructions and receipt of verbal information from other parties.

G). Thought and symbolic confrontation of potential behavior with the adopted reality model.

H). Collective decision making based on observations of the reality carried out by many people in the same conditions.

In general and conventionally there are 4 groups of knowledge known, namely :

1. Mathematical Sciences.

2. Natural Sciences, namely groups of science that study natural phenomena, both living and non-living.

3. Social Sciences, namely groups of knowledge that study the behavior of people's lives, both human behavior and animal behavior.

4. Spiritual Science, namely a group of knowledge that studies the spiritual manifestation of life with humans.

The four groups of knowledge above are based on their object. From the point of view of its nature it can be distinguished between exact science and non-exact science. In general, social sciences are non-exact, although economics, for example, often use exact science formulas and so do psychology and sociology (socio-metri). The group of natural sciences is generally inexact, whereas on the other hand, spiritual sciences can be said to be inexact.

From the point of view of its application, it is usually distinguished between pure science and applied science. Pure science primarily aims to shape and develop science in an abstract manner, namely to enhance its quality. The applied science aims to use and apply this knowledge in society with a view to helping society in overcoming the problems it faces.

The social sciences are so called, because they take society or life together as the object they study. The social sciences do not yet have permanent rules and arguments that are accepted by the majority of society, because the social sciences have not developed for a long time, while the object of which is a society which is always changing. Due to the ever-changing nature of society, until now it has not been able to be thoroughly investigated and analyzed in a deeper way, the relationship between elements in society. It is different with natural science which has developed, so that it has rules and arguments that are regular and accepted by society, which is also because the object is not human.

One of the rather easy ways to obtain the characteristics of a science is to describe it in a concrete way. To obtain a simple description of a science, at least the following criteria are needed :

A). The first thing is that it is necessary to concretely detail the content of social science. That is, more strictly speaking, what is the focus of attention of experts and scholars who specialize in a particular science.

B). Furthermore, it is very important to detail what are considered to be the specific causes of the dependent variable. For example, if a sociologist examines the numbers and degrees of occurrence of divorce, then he may look for information about the rate of urbanization, relations between classes, relations between religions, inter-class marriages, and so on.

C). Thus, the focus of a science can be detailed by suggesting the independent and dependent variables. However, this is incomplete if there is no regular arrangement of these variables which is commonly called Logical Order.

D). What is then required is knowledge of the techniques commonly used by each science to obtain the truth or to achieve its goals. This includes the methods and techniques for researching the science.

he term social in the social sciences has a different meaning from, for example, the term socialism or the social term in the Ministry of Social Affairs. When the term "social" in the social sciences refers to its object, namely society, socialism is an ideology which is based on the principle of public ownership (of the means of production and services in the economic field). Meanwhile, the term social in the Ministry of Social Affairs refers to activities in the social field. This means that activities aimed at overcoming problems faced by the community in the field of welfare, such as unemployment, prostitutes, elderly people, orphans, and so on, whose scope is work or social welfare.

Sociology is clearly a social science whose object is society. Sociology is a science that stands alone because it fulfills all the elements of science, whose main characteristics are :

1). Sociology is empirical, which means that science is based on observations of reality and common sense and the results are not speculative.

2). Sociology is theoretical, that is, science always tries to construct abstractions from the results of observations. The abstraction is a logically structured framework of elements and aims to explain cause-effect relationships, so that it becomes a theory.

3). Sociology is cumulative, which means that sociological theories are formed on the basis of existing theories in the sense of improving, expanding and refining old theories.

4). Sociology is non-ethical, that is, what matters is not the merits of certain facts, but its purpose is to explain these facts analytically.

A sociologist also pays attention to the past, but he only pays attention to events which are social processes that arise from relationships between humans in different situations and conditions. Thus, the benefits of social sciences and the relationship between social sciences and sociology are :

A). There is a general terminology that homogenizes various behavioral disciplines.

B). A research technique for large and complex organizations.

C). A synthetic approach that eliminates fragmentation analysis in terms of internal relationships between parts that cannot be investigated outside the overall context.

D). A point of view that allows analysis of basic sociological problems.

E). Much research has focused on the relationships of the parts, with emphasis on processes and the likelihood of change.

F). The possibility of conducting operative and objective research into goal-oriented or goal-based behavioral systems, cognitive-symbolic processes, self-awareness and social awareness, stages of socio-cultural emergencies, and so on.

It is very difficult to formulate a definition (meaning limitation) that can convey the whole meaning, nature, and essence referred to in several words and sentences. Therefore, a definition can only be used as a temporary guideline. Even though the investigation is continuing and science is growing in the direction of various possibilities, there is still a need for a basic and comprehensive understanding. As a provisional benchmark, the following definitions of sociology will be given :

A). Pitirim Sorokin, said that sociology is a science that studies :

- The reciprocal relationship and influence between various kinds of social phenomena (for example, between economic and religious phenomena; family and morals; law and economy; social and political movements).

- The relationship and reciprocal influence between social symptoms and non-social symptoms. For example, geographic, biological, and so on.

- General characteristics of all kinds of social phenomena.

B). Roucek and Warren, argued that sociology is the study of the relationship between humans in groups.

C). William F. Ogburn and Meyer F. Nimkoff, argue that sociology is a scientific study of social interactions and the result is social organization.

D). J.A.A van Doorn and C.J. Lammers, argues that sociology is the science of stable social structures and processes.

If sociology is examined from the point of view of its nature, several clues will be found which will help determine what kind of science sociology is. Its essential properties are :

A). It is well known that sociology is a social science and not a natural science or a spiritual science. This distinction is not a distinction regarding the method, but is related to the distinction of content, which is used to distinguish the sciences that are related to natural phenomena from the sciences that are related to social phenomena.

B). Sociology is not a normative discipline, but it is a categorical discipline, meaning that sociology limits itself to what is happening today and not about what is happening or should happen.

C). Sociology is pure science and not applied or used science. It should be noted that from the point of application, science is divided into two parts, namely pure science and applied science.

> Pure Science is a science that aims to form and develop science in an abstract manner only to enhance its quality, without using it in society.

> Applied Science is science that aims to use and apply this knowledge in society with the aim of helping people's lives.

D). The fourth characteristic, sociology is that sociology is an abstract science and not a concrete science.

E). Sociology aims to produce general understandings and patterns.

F). Sociology is an empirical science and rational.

G). Sociology is a general science and not a specific science. That is, sociology studies the symptoms that are common in every human interaction.

In conclusion, Sociology is a categorical, pure, abstract social science, which seeks to find general, rational and empirical meanings, and is general in nature.

As only with other social sciences, the object of sociology is society as seen from the point of view of human relations and the processes that arise from human relations in society. It is rather difficult to give a definition to society, because the term community covers too many factors, so that even if a definition is given that seeks to cover the whole, there are still some that do not fulfill the elements. Some scholars have tried to provide a definition of society such as :

A). Mac Iver and Page who say that: "Society is a system of customs and ordinances, of authority and cooperation between various groups and classifications, of the control of behavior and of human freedoms. This ever-changing whole we call society. Society is a social fabric. And society is always changing."

B). Ralph Linton: "Society is any group of people who have lived and worked together long enough to organize themselves and perceive themselves as a social entity with clearly defined boundaries."

C). Selo Soemardjan, stated that people are people who live together, who produce culture.

Although the definitions of these scholars are different, they are basically the same, namely a society which includes several elements, as follows :

1). Humans living together. In social science there is no absolute measure or exact number to determine how many people there are. However, the theoretical minimum is two people living together.

2). Mixed for quite a long time. A collection of humans is not the same as a collection of inanimate objects such as chairs, tables, and so on. Because with the gathering of humans, new humans will emerge. Humans can also converse, feel, and understand; they also have desires to convey impressions or feelings. As a result of living together, a communication system emerged and regulations that govern the relationships between people in the group emerged.

3). They realize that they are a unity.

4). They are a system of living together. The system of living together gives rise to culture because each member of the group feels himself bound to one another.

Humans have always had a strong instinct to live together with others. When compared to other living things such as animals, for example, it is impossible for humans to live alone. Humans without other humans will definitely "die"; humans who are "locked up" alone in a closed room, will definitely experience disturbances in their personal development, so that over time they will "die".
Since humans are born they have an instinct to live in friends, so they are called Social Animal. As a Social Animal, humans have an instinct called Gregariousness. In the relationship between humans and others, it seems that what matters is the reaction that arises as a result of this relationship. These reactions result in a broader attitude towards one's actions. In giving these reactions there are tendencies, that to give human reactions tends to harmonize it with the actions of other parties. This is because basically humans have two strong desires within themselves, namely :

1). The desire to be one with all or other human beings around him (for example, society).

2). The desire to become one with the natural environment around him.

A society is actually an adaptive system, because society is a container to fulfill various interests and of course also to be able to have various needs that must be met, so that the community can live on. These needs are, among others, as follows :

A). There is a population and population replacement

B). Information

C). Energy

D). Theory

E). Communication system

F). Production system

G). Distribution system

H). Social organization system

I). Social control system

J). Protection of community members against threats to their life and property

Thus, every society has its basic components, namely :

A). Population, namely the citizens of a society seen from a collective point of view. Sociologically, the sociological aspects that need to be considered are, for example :

1. Constant genetic aspects.

2. Genetic variables.

3. Demographic variables.

B). Culture, namely the work, creation, and taste of life together which includes :

1. The system of symbols.

2. Information.

C). The results of material culture.

D). Social organization, namely a network of relationships between members of the community concerned, which includes :

1. Individual citizens.

2. Roles.

3. Social groups.

4. Social classes.

E). Social institutions and systems.

Thus, it can be said that society is always a system, because it includes various basic components that are functionally related.

People are the entire population of an area regardless of the way they socialize or their way of life. What is important here is the fact of the general will expressed by all the local population. When viewed from the point of view of political science, the term people is used to distinguish it from the government; the government that controls, the people who are ruled. So the term folk refers to :

A). A large number of residents.

B). Who has a common common will.

C). Faced with the government that regulates and governs the will.

For clarity, it is better known as the People's Representative Council rather than the Community Representative Council, because the Council is intended for the general interests and wishes of the population. On the other hand, the term Community Development and not People's Development is always used, because this development is in the interests of the advancement of all members of society.

In the term "Nation", what is important is the matter of common fate of the people living in an area who leave the question of common fate to the state, which has absolute authority to guarantee the common fate of the people. The term nation, which is widely used in international politics, is more of an attribute than a state; the contents of a country is a nation.

and learning that I have done through some of my notes and experiences while studying."

:) :)