S1L4P1 - La science politique, une science sociale

In this lesson, we will learn how a « subject of political study » can be approached in a scientific way. What makes political science a science, and, more specifically, a social science? In order to answer these questions, we have to remind ourselves of the meaning of « scientific approach ». Science is an approach that aims to describe,

explain, or even predict certain events. Science may be able to make predictions because the fundamental laws behind some events and the data relative to them are known. That is especially true concerning "hard" sciences focused on natural events. Knowing gravity, we are able to predict the exact place where an item will fall if we are able to identify the necessary data:

initial speed, friction coefficient, etc. But it is a bit different for social sciences studying human beings, who are fitted with both conscience and freedom for their choices. These fields tend to distantiate themselves from the characteristic determinism of natural sciences, not to mention the role played by the randomness in the phenomena. Beyond the inherent limits set by its subjects: humans,

social sciences and “hard” sciences share the same requirements for rigour when dealing with research on phenomena. Concerning methodology and epistemology, let's make an important distinction between the hypothetico-deductive model and the inductive model. Let's start with the inductive model. It advocates for an approach that goes from the empirical reality, from the measurable facts to the identifications of common features between different events,

in order to classify them into elaborate typologies. By identifying common features, a zoologist can distinguish between mammals and oviparous In the same way, a political scientist can distinguish between an authoritarian and a totalitarian regime. Establishing categories that go beyond the single different empirical realities serves at least two science purposes: describing to make understandable and providing an explanation for something.