Presentation for IB Theory of kKnowledge course

1. The properstudyofmankindis 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. RelatedtoHumanSciences Linguistics Criminology International relations Business and management studies Religious studies Archaeology History

9. Some aimsofHumanSciences Knowledgeabouthumanbehaviour and interaction in society Understandingofinfluences on humanbehaviour Explainunderlyingpatterns Understandinghowdecisions are made Predictinghumanbehaviour Informingdecisions

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 …) Studyofartefacts Experiments

13. Issues in observation Surveys Scope and scale Sample size and choice Question(er) bias / loadedquestions Qualityofanswers

14. Issues in observation Are you in favourofbringing back National Service?

15. Issues in Experimentation Peopleas the subject / Interactionbetweenscientist and subject Behaviour of people being observed Margaret Maud 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 motionsofheavenlybodies, butnot the madnessofcrowds”

19. The Model 1 - The CreditCrunch "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 becausethe 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 écritlà-haut! Howdidtheymeet? By chance, likeeveryone else. Whatweretheycalled? Whatdoesthatmattertoyou? Whereweretheycomingfrom? From the nearestplace. Whereweretheygoing? Whoknowswheretheyweregoing? Whatweretheysaying? The master wassilent and Jacques wassayingthathiscaptain in the armyusedsaythatall the good and bad thathappenstous down here on earthwasalreadywritten 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. Childrenrandomlyallocatedto a grouplabelled ‘bright’ didbetter in anexperimentthan a similargrouplabelled ‘lessbright’ BUTyoumayalso do yourutmosttoensure a predictionmadeby a psychologistdoesnothappen!

27. Self fulfilling prophecy - Economics Toldthat a bankwas in trouble, people rushedto take out theirmoneytherebycausing the banktofail. Bear and Bull markets – expectationsof market rises and fallstendtomakethem rise or fall. Predictionsofdepressionmake people behave in a way which (at least) hastensit

28. Placebo and Nocebo A patientgiven a pillexpectsittomakehimbetter (placebo) and oftendoes 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 PurposesofHumanSciences 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?

32. Question(er) bias

33. Difficulties in measurement

35. Human sciences often affected by moral issues

36. Limitations on willingness or ability to experiment

37. Human science suggests the ‘probable’

38. Uncomfortable with falsification