Lecture
Sciences belonging to different classes of the above classification possess substantial differences, which are determined by differences in their subjects of study.
The social sciences are characterised by the following features:
1. The dual role of researchers.
2. The presence of feedback between the results of research and the behaviour of the object of research.
3. The weak formalisability of the behaviour of the object of research.
If natural scientists act as outside observers of the spontaneous forces they study, researchers of the regularities of society are themselves direct participants in social processes (they belong to a certain social group, hold political sympathies, participate in the social life of their region, etc.). That is, they are both those who study and those who are studied at the same time. This is what constitutes the dual role of researchers
of social processes. As a consequence, they bring their own subjective evaluative judgments into their research. Whereas the discovery of the laws of physics does not lead to a change in the behaviour of objects of nature, the results of research in the social sciences can be taken into account by the very object being studied, as a result of which its behaviour will be adjusted. This is because the social sciences study phenomena in which thinking participants are involved. While scientists try to understand the situation under study, their understanding serves as a basis for decision-making by those participants who influence the course of events. In other words, there exists
feedback between the results of research and the behaviour of the object of research.
The presence, within the social system, of subjective factors connected with human activity means that this system is poorly amenable to formalisation.
The economic sciences (economic theory, economic statistics, finance and credit, regional economics, etc.) belong to the social sciences. As a consequence, they share all of the above-described features of the social sciences. However, if one looks closely at the classification of the sciences, one can notice that economics – is a two-faced discipline. It is close, on the one hand, to sociology, and, on the other hand, to mathematics. In connection with this, two directions are distinguished within economic theory – positive and normative.
The positive direction of economic theory strives for objective accuracy and impartiality, while the normative direction is based
on subjective judgments (Fig. 1.7).
In economic theory it is usually difficult to separate the positive from the normative. For example, Keynesian analysis contains both positive elements – the study of the regularities governing the emergence and growth of unemployment – and normative elements – recommendations on the use of budgetary policy to reduce the number of unemployed. The statement "Unemployment amounts to 7% of the labour force" – is a
positive statement, representing a statement of fact. At the same time, the statement "Unemployment must be reduced" should be regarded as normative
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