All right. If we're all settled? Yes? Good.
Welcome.
We are the Social Science department.
Now, I'll get right to it.
The question on everyone's mind:
"Just what the heck is social science?"
Well, let me try to explain.
Social, as in society, as in human beings.
Science, as in the facts, the systematic study of a thing,
the pursuit of its true nature.
We seek to understand the nature of people and society.
What does it mean to be human?
What defines a person?
Is it history? Is it ancestry? How has he worked, struggled, thrived?
In his environment!
Sorry?
In his environment.
Did he live on a mountain?
Or in the desert? Near the sea? In the arctic?
Ancestry is important, but location is paramount.
That's all very fascinating, but I have a question.
What is this person like?
Is it a man or a woman? What's her race? What does he or she do?
Well, profession relies greatly on geography.
The natural resources that exist here.
Proximity to natural resources is fine,
but what about proximity to other people?
The sociological element is undeniable.
What happens when he feels the influence of other human beings?
Then how will he behave?
What will be expected of him?
Will he fulfill these expectations?
Now it's a collection of people.
It's a town. Or a city. It's a community.
Hmm... community.
But who's in charge?
[People talking, yelling, commotion]
Whoa, whoa, whoa. We need structure. Leaders.
Several leaders, if we can. Oh, that's better.
See, when we organize, we give our man a voice,
an identity within his society.
This is where his ancestry and his geography
and his social interaction come together: the political realm.
Ah, but is the true nature of man witnessed only in his interaction
with the world around him?
I ask you: where do his actions begin?
With a thought. And where do his thoughts originate?
The brain, madam, the brain.
Guten doktoren, is it only his experience in society that informs him and shapes him?
Or, or, is he born this way, every cell and synapse forming just so,
making him the man he is?
He is interacting, sure, buzzing around, a busy bee in the hive of society, sure, sure.
But his inner being!
His motivations, his thoughts, his feelings, his hurt, his joy.
This will be largely unknown. Unless, mein doktoren, we study his psychology.
Well, very intriguing, Dr. Psych!
Thank you.
So, as you can see, we social scientists cover a wide range of topics.
But we all agree on one thing:
people, and the societies in which they live, are a fascinating study.