I wasn’t quite sure whether to post this in GQ or here, but as I look over this before posting, this is a better fit. Here’s the question:
We’ve studied different parts of the human condition for some time now - have we learned anything practical from what we’ve studied?
Well, for example, have we determined any real principles of education that help us teach kids better than we used to? Have we made any real progress in determining which rehabilitation programs work, and which ones don’t?
It seems to me that one of the real scourges of society is “group think,” where the group gets a bad idea, but anyone who has second thoughts is encouraged (explicitly or not) to shut up. Surely there must be studies of the worst conditions for this and what techniques can be used for prevention - yes?
…Right, it’s not like we can easily run double-blind studies on people, and it’s not like these different social situations can be isolated for study, anyhow - or even well defined. Sure, for any given social problem there might be many different measures of success, and most of these problems might be things that can only be “treated,” not “solved.”
Social science is a very broad field and it would be hard to pinpoint even the most important discoveries. Economics is a social science and I would posit that the theories of supply and demand and capitalism have radically changed society for the better. Thats just one example.
I agree, but I don’t the OP is asking about the mental development gained by individuals who study these things.
I believe the OP is referring to what research and scholarship in the social sciences have told us about human behavior and society. What do we know? How much more do we understand? How has that been applied? Has this bettered society?
I think the answer is “it depends.” Consider crime. It’s an advancement, IMHO, that we don’t merely chalk it up to, say, the influence of Satan. But the study of crime has not always given us clear answers about why people commit it or how to prevent it. Insofar as we still have substantial problems with crime, it’s hard to know whether the problems lies with incorrect explanations for why it occurs, or with a failure to act correctly on those theories. We still seem to flounder a lot. But in the end, I think social sciences have provided us with some pretty powerful and thought-provoking ways to frame and understand human behaviors. We’ve just got a ways to go.
Depends on the peer reviewer/professor. Certainly there are those that take an even more radically change-receptive attitude toward the current establishment thinking than even the most daring scientific researchers.
But equally certainly there are researchers and professors in the arts and social “sciences” that have a theologically powerful prejudice against anyone not toeing the party line. That’s not conducive to critical thinking. Neither, now that I think about it, is defying the standards for the sake of defiance.
Clinical Psychology- Talk therapy is still a very valid and important part of treating mental illness.
History- Your average American has a better idea of what exactly happened with Columbus, why the Middle East looks the way it does, what the civil war was about and other aspects of history and this affects how they vote.
Film Theory- Theory is an important part of French New Wave and some other film movement which affects even popular film. Our cinema is richer in part because of some theory based movements.
I don’t know what “we” have learned, but I know what I have learned. I now know that I do not have the know-how or brains to solve all of the world’s social problems. That’s what my professor told me, anyway. My failure in this capacity glared at me in the form of a huge fat red C that he slashed across my final paper. The only problems I can solve are my own, and I have lots of those. I better start working on improving myself soon!
said as I light up a smoke, take another bite of my double cheeseburger from McDonalds, and pour myself another shot of whisky
Since when? The average American knows f* all about the Middle East, and barely has a grasp on colonization of the Americas.
Anyway, I don’t know what people have against social sciences. Look back on that recent thread about science vs. the humanities. Science makes life possible, the humanities makes it worthwhile.