The Human Sciences

1
The Human Sciences

• (Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology,
  Economics)

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Quotes-Choose the one that is the most
interesting to you and briefly explain why.

• I am more interested in how a man lives than how
  a star dies-(Sherwin Nuland).
• The only possible conclusion the social sciences
  can draw is some do, some dont-(Ernest
  Rutherford).
• In carefully controlled laboratory conditions
  animals do whatever they damn well please-(The
  Harvard Law of Animal Behavior).
• Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to
  look at the word itself MANKIND. Basically, it
  is made of two separate words-MANK and IND
  What do these words mean? Its a mystery, and
  thats why so is mankind-(Jack Handy).

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Why the separate category of Science?

• Human Sciences are an attempt to reduce the
  mystery by studying human behavior-(257).
• Include Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology,
  Economics
• Why the different classification when, according
  to the theory of evolution, we are natural
  animals too-composed of over 99 of the same
  genes as apes and are composed of almost exactly
  the same basic ingredients-63Hyrdrogen, 25.5
  Oxygen, 9.5 Carbon, 1.5 Nitrogen, 0.5 other
  trace elements.
• If so, why cant we just use Science then if we
  are so similar? What makes Human different from
  Animals?
• Why are Humans so difficult to study?

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Why not use the Scientific Method on the study of
Human Beings?

• Soul? Language? Free Will? Creativity?
  Consciousness?
• Mirror Test
• Observation
• Possible problems when applied to humans?
• Survey Question-Rank yourself in terms of your
  ability to get along with others
• very poor, poor, mediocre, above average,
  excellent
• 1 Million Dollars (Above Averages)

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Observation continued

• Complete Survey on pg. 259
• Loaded Questions
• Create 2 Abortion Surveys One Pro Choice
  one Pro-Abortion
• Observer Effect
• Ways around it?
• Are they Reality shows?
• Habituation or Going Native? Hidden Cameras
  (Ethical?)
• Self Fulfilling Prophecies?

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Experiments-Problems with Observation

• Psychology-2 random groups of kids, one labeled
  bright or advanced one labeled less bright.
  Outcome?
• Questions-Box 1 pg. 263
• Economics- Bear vs. Bull Markets
• Questions-Box 2 pg. 263
• Anthropology-Aborigine Tribe voodoo- A spell is
  cast and the individual invariably sickens and
  almost always dies-(Anthropologist Wade Davis
  263). WHY?
• Box pg. 264-Question 2
• Psychological Reactance-So Dont do your homework!

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Scientific Method Applied to Human Sciences
continued-Measurement

• Can you accurately measure human beings?
• How many thoughts have you had today? Last hour?
  Last minute? Feelings? Urges? of times you
  have been nice? Mean? Good? Bad?
• Stream of Consciousness
• Behaviourism
• Question Box pg. 265
• Example-Who won the Centennial Olympics? (-Pg.
  265-266) Boxes 267

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Experiments

• Are experiments as important in Human Sciences as
  Natural Sciences?
• Three Problems-
• 1. Trying to make sense of complex situations
  where it is impossible to run a controlled
  experiment.
• 2. The artificial design of experiments often
  distorts the behavior of the participants
• 3. Ethical boundaries that cannot be crossed, or
  if crossed, have a negative impact on the
  participants.
• So, what to do?

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The Way it Should be

• Wait for nature to provide appropriate
  opportunities-i.e. brain damage, separated twins,
  etc.
• Devise inventive experiments-How do babies see
  the world? (Box 268)
• The Milgram Experiment-
• Shocking! (box 269)
• How awesome would that be?!!!!
• 2/3 of volunteers continued to administer shocks
• If paired with other teachers who refused, only
  10 continued. Unethical Experiment? Why?
  Ethical? Why?

10
Scientific Method continued-Laws

• Role of science is to develop Theories
• and Laws to explain the phenomena that is
  being studied. So if human possess HUMAN FREE
  WILL, can laws about human behavior be formed?
• Newton Quote
• Then why are human so predictable?
• 2nd Box 270
• Can accurate statistical predictions be made
  about large numbers?
• Law of Large Numbers
• How is the entire concept of
• Insurance predicated on this law?
• Are Probalistic laws inferior to Universal ones?

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Trends Laws

• Despite Law of Large Numbers, Human Sciences have
  a poor record of prediction. Why?
• Example-1973 Paul Ehrlich predicted 65 million
  Americans would be starving due to
  economic/environmental factors in 1990 in fact
  that is the exact number of Americans considered
  overweight that year and it has grown. 'We Are
  Running Out of Environment'
• Population expert Paul Ehrlich says we must see
  the links in our planet's ills

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Trend vs. Law cont

• Often, scientists discover Trends-(studies that
  shows the direction in which a variable is
  moving, but gives very little or no information
  as to why it is moving, thereby making it
  unreliable)
• Just because the Seahawks have lost 3 in a row,
  that gives NO indication that they will beat the
  Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
• Phillips Curve
• Causation vs. Correlation Post Hoc Ergo Propter
  Hoc
• Bouchards TV, GPA, IQ example
• Box 272

13
Complexity of Real World Situations

• Man crashes his car on a simple two lane street.
  He was unhurt, car is a write off, so insurance
  company wants to investigate Cause of accident.
  
• Factors include 1. It was a very windy road at
  2. nighttime with 3. some ice. 4. The man was 4.
  speeding, had 5. drunk four pints of Guinness,
  was 6. a racecar driver used to driving fast, and
  7. had been fiddling with his cell phone at the
  time
• What caused the crash?

14
Hard vs. Soft Sciences

• If you cant determine that, then how are we
  supposed to be able to determine the cause of
  teenage angst, inflation, the recession, or the
  rise of crime in a certain city?
• Is it possible to make If ______, then ______
  statements utilizing Human Sciences?
• If so, then are the labels Hard Sciences and
  Soft Sciences accurate? Fair?
• IS IT REALLY TRUE that in the Human Sciences the
  only conclusion that can be drawn is Some Do,
  Some Dont-Earnest Rutherford (1871-1934).

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Reductionism vs. Holism

• Is there are hierarchy of sciences? What would
  be the order?
• Reductionism
• Reductive Fallacy-H20Wet stuff? Sodium Frickin
  ChlorineMost prevalently INGESTED food additive
  in the world?
• Holism
• Are you creating the culture around you or is the
  culture around shaping you?

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Verstehen Position

• Martians trying to understand stoplights
• Not just observe physical movements, but also how
  they see the situation
• Box 277
• Meaning vs. Mechanism
• Are the human sciences more prone to BIAS?
  Confirmation Bias? Use Falsifcationism?
• Who is the best judge of a childs character? A
  friend, parent, teacher, a therapist, or a person
  watching from afar that is not known?

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Predictions

• Human Sciences are less successful than Natural
  Sciences at making predictions.
• 1. Human Sciences generally deal with complex
  real, real world situations with uncontrollable
  variables.
• 2. Some predictions are valuable, not because
  they are accurate, but because they produce
  incentive for change. Our economy right now for
  example.
• 3. Is the purpose of Human Sciences to explain
  and predict or to try to describe and understand?

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Summary of Problems using Scientific Method in
the Human Sciences

• Observation-
• 1. Cant observe human mind
• 2. Surveys can/are misleading and biased
• 3. Observing people affects the way they behave
• Measurement-
• 4. Social phenomena are difficult to quantify and
  measure
• Hypothesis-
• 5. The act of predicting can affect predicted
  behavior

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Cont

• Experiments
• 6. Human Science is the study of humans in
  complex real world situations
• 7. Limited by ethical/moral boundaries
• Laws
• 8. Not good at predictions
• 9. Usually uncover Trends not laws
• 10. Human Sci is probabilistic in nature

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Human Sciences Conclusion

• Human Sciences probably not as flawed/bad as
  critics believe nor is it the panacea for
  humanity.
• Yet, is it VALUABLE? Do we learn from it?
• And it leads to some great BIG Questions.
• How is the mind related to the body? Will
  machines think? Could a mind exist independent
  of a body? Do we truly have Free Will?

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Free Will vs. Determinism

• Free Will is obvious right?
• Determinism
• Nature vs. Nurture Debate within Determinism
  Camp-Still NO FREE WILL
• Box 289 LaPlace Quote
• Does Determinism oppose Free Will? How?
• First, Free Will does not mean you are free to do
  WHATEVER you want (i.e. I want to be an NBA Balla
  Balla ShotCalla, but Im short) Limited by
  Nature Enviornment
• However Free-Willer says that I had options

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Fatalism vs. Determinism

• Determinist does not say that the future is
  determined irrespective of what you do. That is
  Fatalism.
• Fatalismyour destiny is written by the stars
  and there is nothing YOU can do to change the
  future.
• If you belief that what you do DOES affect your
  future, than Fatalism is false.
• Determinism steers between Fatalism and Free Will.

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Choices

• You could
• 1. Reject the claim that every event has a cause
  and argue for Free Will
• 2. Accept Determinism, but still adamantly insist
  that Free Will is compatible with it
• 3. Accept Determinism and conclude that Free Will
  is a human illusion no matter how unappealing
  this may be.

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Choice 1-Does Every Event have a Cause

• Cancer, a car wreck, down syndrome, a Seahawk
  losing streak, the universes existence
• Example-A light goes out-Do you need a cause
• Everything needs an empirical cause that can be
  verified, right?
• This is very attractive why? Does Science exists
  without this belief?
• Subatomic Randomness Heisenbergs Uncertainty
  Principle
• So, actually all events governed by chance?
• Is this irrelevant to Free Will? Is Free Will the
  same as Random Will?

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Choice 2

• A believer in Free Will might claim that no
  matter what physics says, I WILL NOT be bullied
  into denying the plain facts of my existence. I
  am free and my experience proves it! Nanny
  Nanny!
• Ok-Give an example of a free will choice and
  lets back-map it and prove it freeness.
• Did you consciously shower, eat, sleep, potty,
  wake up, drive, and think this morning totally on
  your own volition? Or was it initiation of Plan
  A known as morning routine?
• How did you choose breakfast this morning?

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What is a Choice?

• Scene-Lunch today Choice-delicious cheeseburger
  or scrumptious pizza. What happens at the
  precise moment of decision?
• Vs.
  Vs.
• Box 292
• Choice Harvard-(you are admitted, no
  scholarships only 40,000 a year in loans vs. UW
  ½ scholarship so you only need a loan for 10,000
  a year. How do you decide? Is one a destiny?

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Choice 3-Human Free Will is an Illusion

• Just because you feel free,
  
• Doesnt mean you are.
• Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) stated that men think
  themselves free because they are conscious of
  their actions, but ignorant of their causes. If
  falling stones were conscious, they would
  probably believe that they were falling of their
  own free will. Perhaps we are simply puppets
  unaware of the strings of physical causation that
  are pulling us.
  
  

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So, can they be compatible? Lets be friends!

• Compatibilism
• I do what the frick I want, so I
• am Free Yo! but the determinist will argue that
  you were only free to an extent than had been
  determined by all the events and factors leading
  up to that choice. So, they coexist in that way
  
• Box 294-Case of a dog
• What if I want to smoke crack, but I also dont
  want to? Which is Free Will?

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Controlling of desires Choice vs. Addiction

• Differentiate between ordinary choice and
  addiction?
• Compatibilism says that you are free when you do
  what you desire, but if your desires are beyond
  your control than are you free?
• Box 295
• My Favorite Question Could you have done
  otherwise?
• I love chocolate covered Nutter Butters
• I often eat the whole bag in one sitting.

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Favorite Question Cont

• Free Will- Yes Fattypants, you could have if you
  had shown more willpower.
• Determinism- If you were given that same choice
  100 times at that same moment with the same
  factors, you would always eat them Fattypants.
  (i.e. given the kind of person you are combined
  with the environment that surrounded you at the
  time, you HAD NO CHOICE!)
• Fatalism-...You were destined to be a Fattypants
• So, Free Will Determinism not compatible
  because you were not actually Free to do what
  you wanted?
• Box 299

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If Free Will is an illusion than

• Does that mean there is no such things as moral
  responsibility or accountability?
• Affect Ethics how? Good people cannot help being
  good, bad people cant help being bad.
• Empty the jails then right?
• Determinist would say No, we still
• Need to 1. protect society, 2 modify future
• Behavior like dogs with rabies
• Retribution Theory vs. Reform Theory
• One consistent with determinism, one not?

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Questions

• Questions in box on 298
• So which is better Reform Theory of Punishment or
  Retribution Theory?
• Does Determinism make Rationalism obsolete?
• Rationalism is? Then?
• So if you believe this to be true then you cannot
  rationally believe it to be true (or false for
  that matter) because in a deterministic world you
  cannot Rationally believe anything.
• Box 299

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Conclusion?

• Religious Factors-
• All Knowing God
• YOU DECIDE