Introduction: seeking to establish the foundations of social sciences, we must consider, first, the accepted methodology (the science in this case), then the causes and motivations of our actions (behavior) and finally how we can know our surroundings (knowledge). Hence, the topics will be:
Behavioral Science
Science Knowledge
Before the advent of the theory of evolution, the existing knowledge in biology made little sense, since it consisted in a large number of apparently meaningless data. Available after a descriptive theory, begin to have full meaning each of the data before it disconnected.
Similarly, you must have, in Social Sciences, a theoretical framework that allows to make sense of most of the dispersed knowledge in the various branches of social knowledge. While there
partial theories, with its own scope, is necessary to have more general theories, even the existence of a general theory, as the ideal case. There are two basic requirements, but insufficient to achieve these objectives:
a) should be used observable aspects of reality.
b) to organize the knowledge in axiomatic form
The use of variables and comparable (or measurable) is a basic requirement to be met by any scientific description. That way you can be verified in comparison with the reality described, and knowledge may well have objective validity.
Regarding the need for the axiomatization, gives rise to the need for a logical system of concepts, but, being a knowledge summarized in a few basic principles that allow synthesis at the level of the reader's mind making sense proposed to all knowledge.
This synthesis has to take a level of observation to be identified with a preponderance in the human sciences. In this case it will be a position closer to the Social Psychology and that is what is in a compromise between the individual and society, allowing them to descend to the level of individual psychology and neuroscience, and ascend to the levels of sociology, economics and politics. Behavior
Given the social interaction, through which the influence occurs between individuals, we must consider some basic aspects: Appearances
OBJECTIVE: Based on studies conducted by Paul Ekman and other psychologists, it can be said that much of sign language, through which we communicate our emotions, has a biological rather than cultural. Social interaction and communication between human beings would be totally ineffective if our actions reflect something other than what we feel in reality. Induction
personality: this name can refer to the existing change in the attitude of a person when he is influenced by another. When available memory, part of the momentary influence due to social interaction, will become a long-term influence.
Attitude: Arguably, the personal attitude promotes a response to a stimulus received from materializing individual action. Therefore we define with some precision, although there have been numerous definitions in this regard.
Response (Action) = x Stimulus
Attitude Attitude feature: each individual tends to respond similarly in similar circumstances, at least during one stage of his life. Hence each individual has a proper attitude, different from all other human beings, so we can speak of the existence of a "characteristic attitude."
If no such personal attitude, and each individual responds differently way in similar circumstances, we could not foresee any behavior or know anyone, but would have to dominate a chaotic and unpredictable behavior.
As we saw, the basic definition of the attitude implies a link between response and stimulus. In addition, we consider the causes that produce it:
Heritage + Attitude = Influence
This means that we are born with certain inherited traits (biological factors), while social interaction produces permanent influences on our personal approach, which is found in neuroscience through brain plasticity. This implies that much of the information received by the individual produces changes in the connections between the neurons and thus substantiating the influence received from the social environment. Classification
attitudes: from the emotional point of view, or emotional, there are four basic attitudes that cover the entire spectrum of possible answers. So, imagine the interaction of two individuals, A and B. If one good thing happens, the other share that joy or grieve, or be indifferent. If something bad happens, the other will share the sorrow, or rejoice, or be indifferent.
Hence we can define the four basic attitudes that would be added in different percentages (shown with different people) make up the affective attitude of every human being:
Love: attitude which share the joys and sorrows of our fellow
Hate: attitude which feels very sad for joy Others (envy), and joy in sadness others own (possibly mock).
Selfishness: attitude which the individual is indifferent to what happens to the others because only interested in himself.
Neglect attitude which the individual is indifferent to what happens to others and is indifferent to what happens to himself.
emerging principles: from the existence of the four basic attitudes, we may assume the existence of natural ingredients that act as "forces" that push individuals to adopt these attitudes.
In the case of love, we can associate the Principle of Cooperation, as a force that drives us to the achievement of moral satisfaction.
In the case of hatred, we can associate the principle of competition, like a pressure that drives us to excel others and avoid being overtaken by others. The attitude of hate can arise in the loser.
In the case of selfishness, we can associate the Pleasure Principle, as a pressure that drives us to achieve the comfort and pleasure our body, or the selfish looking to compete successfully no matter what happens to others.
In the case of negligence, we can associate the Principle of Meaning of Life, as pressure to adopt a way to motivate our individual action, that is decreased in the case of negligence.
is worth mentioning that these principles have been stressed by the Christian religion as a path to cooperation and happiness, by Alfred Adler and his Principle of inferiority, by Sigmund Freud and the Pleasure Principle and Viktor Frankl and the sense of life. Ethics
natural: ethics being the science that describes the human activities that are of good causes and Evil, we can identify such cases in the basic attitudes of man
Well: Love
Evil: hatred, selfishness and neglect
Following the proposition here made, we can say that there is an ethic of objective validity that does not change with time or with the people. This applies strictly considering the existence of the basic attitudes of man, as defined above. Knowledge
evolutionary theory of knowledge: given by Karl Popper and others, provides an analogy between the process of evolution by natural selection and the method used by experimental science. Even accepting the process includes all kinds of knowledge. The theory of knowledge is concerned, then, both the common and the individual scientist.
Thus, while variations and subsequent selection favors individuals and suitable species, different scientific proposals and subsequent experimental verification favors theories that are best suited to reality.
natural logic: the process, like evolution, and that allows knowledge, is supported by some logic operations carried out by our mind. Thus, the process of trial and error, associated with negative feedback systems, involving the operation "compare" as the error is the result of setting a previous comparison (or subtraction arithmetic) between the proposed model and describe reality.
The second operation is to "cluster". The possibility of establishing groups of deductive type information, as is the axiomatization of knowledge, has its analogy in the grouping made in our own brain and follows the guidelines established by the learning neural assemblies proposed by Donald Hebb.
Language: In addition to nonverbal communication, man has the ability to encode the basic aspects of reality in order to provide symbol (phonetic or graphics) allowing you to transmit information to other individuals. You can set a basic description of what we see through three basic concepts:
a) Organisations: are the different objects, animate or inanimate, that exist.
b) Attributes are the features associated with the entities.
c) Activities: are the actions taken by institutions. Linking
nouns to entities, characterized by the question "who?, Adjectives to the attributes (how?), And verbs to activities (what changes occur?), We have the bases natural language or elementary.
It has been suggested this basic outline as a possible basis for the Social Sciences. Reader is encouraged to test the concepts expressed, as it does with any description which purports to be scientific.
