The Human Sciences — Scope and Methods

The human sciences, including psychology, economics, sociology, anthropology, and political science, study human behavior, minds, and societies using systematic, often empirical methods. They occupy a fascinating middle ground between the natural sciences and the humanities, and their distinctive challenges make them rich TOK territory.

The scope of the human sciences

The scope of the human sciences is human beings as thinking, social, choosing creatures: how individuals behave and decide, how groups and institutions function, how economies and cultures work. Unlike the natural sciences, the human sciences study subjects who have consciousness, intentions, and free will, and who may change their behavior because they know they are being studied. This gives the field enormous relevance to p