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‘Sociology of Law* looks at law and legal systems as a part of society and also as social institutions related to other institutions and changing with them. It regards law as one means of social control. Hence law is often made to be related to a moral order, to a body of customs and ideas about society. From this point of view, sociology of law is itself related to jurisprudence. Still it is not like jurisprudence. Sociology of law requires an understanding of the system of law no doubt. But it is still wider in scope. It seeks “to perceive the relationship of systems of law to other social subsystems like the economy, the nature and distribution of authority, and the structure of family and kinship relationships”. In Britain, some social anthropologists have examined the systems of law and courts in relatively simple societies and tried to determine their relationships to the other aspects of the social system.

The study of ‘Sociology of Law’ is well known in Europe but not in America and Britain. In fact, sociologists have hardly turned their attention towards sociology of law in modern societies. Previously, Durkheim (through his classification of law into retributive and restitutive) and Max Weber (through his “Law in Economy and Society” — Translated work) had made some initial studies in this field. Austrian scholar E. Ehrlich published one of the most outstanding works on sociology of law in 1913 which was translated into English under the title “Fundamental Principles of the Sociology ofLaw ” in 1936. Another famous work is that of Georges Gurvitch s ‘Sociology of Law’ 1942. Due to the work of some jurists in America considerble interest is now being shown to sociology of law. Due to this growing interest only a number of sociologists and lawyers have made a joint venture to produce an interesting work entitled “Society and the Law: New Meanings for an old Profession ” 1962.

“In all ages and human times, ever since our erect and restless species appeared upon the planet, men have been living with others of their kind in something called Societies. Wherever these societies may be and whatever their chapter of history whether primitive Polynesian or ancient Egyptian, classical Chinese or contemporary Russian, medieval English or modern American they all exhibit common elements and constant features. These are the elements that give to society its form and shape, that constitute its structure and that, in a word, comprise the social order. It is the task of general sociology to discover these constants, to describe them with an economy of concepts, and to delineate their inter-relations”.

Sociology is the science of society. No other science endeavours to study it in its entirety. Economics studies man as a wealth-getter and wealth-disposer and inquires into the relations of wealth and welfare. History deals with the human past in accordance with the time order. Cultural Anthropology studies man, particularly the primitive man and it concentrates more on the primitive communities and their cultures. Psychology studies the man as a behaving individual. Social Psychology, as a branch of psychology, is concerned with the ways in which the individual reacts to his social conditions. Political Science studies man as a citizen, as a ruler and as being ruled. Religion deals with man as a spiritual being and inquires into his faith in the supernatural power. Sociology alone studies social relationships, society itself. Thus the’ focus’ of no other social science is identical with that of sociology. Indeed, it is the focus of interest that distinguishes one social science from another.

Sociology is Interested in social relationships not because they are economic or political or religious or legal or educationaLbut because they are at the same time, social. “Society”, as Maclver says, “is the marvellously intricate and ever-changing pattern of the totality of these relationships”. Further, in sociology y/e do not study everything that happens “in society” or under social conditions. But we study culture, for example, only for the light it throws on social relationships. Similarly, we do not study religion as religioner art as art or inventions as inventions. We study social relationships, their specific forms, varieties and patterning. We study how the relations combine, how they build up smaller or greater systems, and how they respond to changes and changing demands or needs. Hence our study of society is essentially analytically.

In the second half of the 19th and in the beginning of the 20th centuries a large number of sociologists and social thinkers contributed a great deal to the development of sociology. Karl Marx 1818-1883, Lester F. Ward 1841-1913, George Simmel 1858-1918, Alfred Vierkandt 1867-1953, Gabrial Tarde 1843-1904, Small 1854-1926, Giddings 1855-1931,C.H. Cooley 1864-1929, James Ward 1843-1925, Lloyd Morgan 1852-1932, L.T. Hobhouse 1864-1929, E.A. Westermarck 1862-1939. Pareto 1848-1923, Charles A. Elwood 1873-1946, Benjamin Kidd 1858-1916, E.L. Tylor 1832-1917, J.G. Frazer 1854-1941, B. Malinowski 1884-1942 and others are some of them.

Sociology experienced a rapid development in the 20th century, most notably in France, Germany, the United States and England. Recently famous sociologists like P.A. Sorokin, Talcott Parsons, R.K. Merton, R.M. Maclver, M. Ginsberg, Kingsley Davis, W.F. Ogburn, A. W. Green, Kimball Young, P.G. Murdock, W.I.H. Sprott, E.A. Ross, Wilbert Moore, Karl Manheim, M.N. Srinivas, G.S. Ghurye and a host of others have further enriched the subject by their social investigations and writings. Today, sociology is firmly established as a discipline. The developments of the 20th century provided a great stimulus for the study of social sciences in general, and sociology in particular. All major universities in the world, now offer instruction in the subject. Even in the U.S.S.R. sociology is a legitimate discipline now. “It is not yet in many respects, a mature science and the student will find in it therefore, more divergent points of view and rather less systematic agreement than in such other sciences as physics, astronomy and biology”. (Robert Bierstedt)

These “four founding fathers’* – Comte, Spencer, Durkheim and Weber-it seems, agreed upon the proper subject-matter of Sociology.

(1) Firstly, all of them urged the sociologists to study a wide range of institutions from the family to the state.

(2) Secondly, they agreed that a unique subject-matter for sociology is found in the interrelations among different institutions.

(3) Thirdly, they came to the common consensus on the opinion that society as a whole can be taken as a distinctive unit of sociological analysis. They assigned sociology the task of explaining wherein and why societies are alike or different.

(4) Finally, they insisted that sociology should focus on ‘social acts’ or ‘social relationships’ regardless of their institutional setting. This view was most clearly expressed by Weber.

1. Spencer very strongly supported the views of Comte who insisted on the need to establish a separate science of society.

2. Spencer stressed upon the interdependence of different parts of society. Spencer argued, the various parts of society, such as the state and the economy, are also interdependent and work to ensure the stability and survival of the entire system.

3. Spencer through his “theory of Organic Analogy” contributed to the development of the tradition of comparative studies in sociology. Though this theory has its own limitations it influenced Ward, Sumner, Giddings and other later writers.

4. Spencer emphasized the “laws of evolution” and tried to universalize them. According to L.A. Coser, the laws of evolution popularized by Spencer could be taken as his contribution to the philosophy of sociology rather than to the science of sociology.

5. Spencer’s theories had a special appeal for two reasons: (i) they satisfied the desire for unifying knowledge; and (if) they stressed the need for the “principle of free enterprise” [or "laissezfaire principle"]. Spencer was a supporter of the principle of “individualism”. The policy of free thinking advocated by him supported the cause of the development of the new science of sociology.

6. Spencer’s works such as -”Social Statics”, “First Principle”,” The Study of Sociology** % “Principles of Ethics”, “Principles of Sociology”The Man Versus The State** have been a great contribution to the enrichment of sociological literature.

An English scholar, Herbert Spencer, known as one of the most brilliant intellects of modem times, contributed a great deal to the establishment of sociology as a systematic discipline. His three volumes of “Principles of Sociology**, published in 1877 were the first systematic study devoted mainly to the sociological analysis. He was much more precise than Comte in specifying the topics or special fields of sociology.

According to Spencer, the fields of sociology are: the family, politics, religion, social control and industry or work. He also mentioned the sociological study of associations, communities, the division of labour, social differentiation, and stratification, the sociology of knowledge and of science, and the study of arts and aesthetics.

Spencer stressed the obligation of sociology to deal with the inter-relations between the different elements of society, to give an account of how the parts influence the whole and are in turn reacted upon. He insisted that sociology should take the whole society as its unit for analysis. He maintained that the parts of society were not arranged unsympathetically. The parts bore some constant relation and this made society as such a meaningful entity’, a fit subject for scientific inquiring.

Spencer’s another contribution is his famous organic analogy, in which society is compared with the human organism. Spencer was influenced by the theory of organic evolution of his contemporary, Charles Darwin. Even L.F. Ward, Sumner and Giddings were highly influenced by the or-ganismic theory of society advocated by Spencer.

I. Comte gave to ‘sociology’ its name and laid its foundation so that it could develop into an independent and a separate science.

2. Comte’s insistence on positive approach, objectivity and scientific attitude contributed to the progress of social sciences in general.

3. Comte, through his “Law of Three Stages” clearly established the close association between intellectual evolution and social progress.

4. Comte’s classification of sciences drives home the fact that sociology depends heavily on the achievements of other sciences. The ‘interdisciplinary approach’ of the modern times is in tune with the Comtean view.

5. Comte gave maximum importance to the scientific method. He criticised the attitude of the armchair social philosophers and stressed the need to follow the method of science.

6. Comte divided the study of sociology into two broad areas:”social statics” and “social dynamics”. Present day sociologists have retained them in the form of*social structure and function and “social change and progress’”

7. Comte had argued that sociology was not just a”pure” science, but an “applied” science also. He believed that sociology should help to solve the problems of society. This insistence on the practical aspect of sociology led to the development of various applied fields of sociology such as “social work”, “social welfare etc.

8. Comte also contributed to the development of theoretical sociology. I Comte upheld the ‘moral order’ in the society. The importance which he attached to morality highly impressed,the later writers such as Arnold Toynbee and Pitirim A. Sorokin

The credit for having established sociology into an independent and a separate science and to obtain for sociology a respectable position in the family of social sciences, goes to Comte and Spencer. Both of them championed the cause of sociology. In addition to Comte and Spencer, other thinkers such as Durkheim, Marx and Weber also took a leading role in making sociology a science. Hence these five thinkers are often called the “pioneers” or “founding fathers of sociology”.

Auguste Comte (1798 – 1857] the Founding Father of Sociology

Auguste Comte, the French Philosopher, is traditionally considered the “Father of Sociology*. Comte who invented the term “Sociology” was the first man to distinguish the subject-matter of sociology from all the other sciences. He worked out in a series of books, a general approach to the study of society. Comte is regarded as the “Father of sociology” not because of any significant contributions to the science as such, but because of the great influence he had upon it. It would be more appropriate to regard him as a philosopher of science rather than as a sociologist.

Comte introduced the word “sociology” for the first time in his famous work “Positive Philosophy” at about 1839. The term “Sociology” is derived from the Latin word Socius, meaning companion or associate, and the Greek word logos, meaning study or science. Thus, the etymological meaning of sociology is the science of society. He defined sociology as the science of social phenomena “subject to natural and invariable laws, the discovery of which is the object of investigation.**

Comte devoted his main efforts to an inquiry into the nature of human knowledge and tried to classify all knowledge and to analyse the methods of achieving it He concentrated his efforts to determine the nature of human society and the laws and principles underlying its growth and development.

Inspiration from the Growth of Natural Sciences

Nineteenth century was a period in which natural sciences had made much progress. The success attained by the natural scientists inspired and even tempted good number of social thinkers to emulate their example. If their methods could be successful in the physical world to understand physical or natural phenomena, could they not be applied successfully to the social world to understand social phenomena? As an answer to this question Comte, Spencer, Durkehim, Weber anc others successfully demonstrated that these methods could be used to study the social world.

Inspiration provided by the radically diverse societies and cultures of the colonial empires

The colonial powers of Europe were exposed to different types of societies and cultures in the colonial empires. Their exposure to such diversities in societies and cultures provided an intellectual challenge for the social scientist of the day. Information about the widely contrasting social practices of these distant peoples raised fresh questions about society: Why some societies were more advanced than others? What lessons could the European countries learn from comparisons of various societies? Why the rate of social change was not the same everywhere? The new science of society called “sociology” had emerged as an independent science in an attempt to find convincing answers to these questions.

The science of sociology was taking its shape to emerge as a distinct science in the second half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. According to T.B. Bottom^1 S sociology assumed the following characteristics:

Early sciology was encyclopaedic in character. It was “concerned with the whole social life ofman and with the whole of human history

Early sociology, which was under the influence of philosophy of history and the biological theory of evolution, was largely evolutionary in nature.

It was generally regarded as a positive science similar in character to the natural science “Sociology in the 19th century was modelled upon biology This fact could be ascertained from the widely used conceptions of society as an organisation and from the attempts to formulate general laws of social evolution.

Sociology was virtually recognized above all, “a science of the new industrial sociology Even though sociology claimed itself to be a general science, it dealt particularly with social problems arising from the political and economic revolutions of the 18th century.

Sociology as an ideological as well as scientific character Various conservative and radical ideas entered into its formation, gave rise to conflicting theories, and provoked controvert which continue to the present day.

Sociology has a long past but only a short history. Sociology which is known as the science of society, is one of the youngest as well as one of the oldest of the social sciences. It is one of the youngest sciences because only recently it came to be established as a distinct branch of knowledge with its own distinct set of concepts and its own methods of inquiry.

Sociology is also one of the oldest of the sciences. Since the dawn of civilization, society has been a subject for speculation and inquiry along with other phenomena which have agitated the restless and inquisitive mind of man. Even centuries ago men were thinking about society and how it should be organised, and held views on man and his destiny, the rise and fall of peoples and civilizations. Though they were thinking in sociological terms they were called philosophers, historians, thinkers, law-givers or seers. Thus,”Broadly it may be said that sociology has had a fourfold origin: in political philosophy, the philosophy of history, biological theories of evolution and the movements for social and political reforms…”

There was social thought during the ancient age: Though sociology came to be established as a separate discipline in the 19th centry due to the efforts of the French philosopher Auguste Comte, it is wrong to suppose that there existed no social thought before him. For thousands of years men have reflected upon societies in which they lived. In the writings of philosophers, thinkers and law-givers of various countries of various epochs we find ideas that are sociological. For instance, in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Manu, Kautilya, Confucius, Cicero and others we find major attempts to deal methodically with the nature of society, law, religion, philosophy etc. Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, the Smriti of Manu, Confucius’ Analects y Cicero’s “On Justice” are some of the ancient sources of social thought.

During the middle ages and early modern times the teachings of the church dominated the human mind and hence most part of the human thinking remained as metaphysical speculation far away from the scientific inquiry. Intellectuals became more active since the 16th century onward. Their quest for an understanding human society, its nature, socio-political system and its problems now received new impetus. The literary works of some prominent intellectuals of this period clearly reveals this urge to understand and interpret man’s socio-political system.

Machiavelli’s “The Prince”, Thomas Hobbes’ “Leviathan \ Rosseau’s Social Contract\ Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of Laws”, Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations”, Condorcet’s “Historical Sketch of the Progress of the Human mind’ serve as examples of such literary works. Thinkers like Sir Thomas More in his “Utopia”, Thomasso Campanella in his “City of the Sun”, Sir Francis Bacon in his “New Atlantis”, James Harrington in his “Common Wealth of Oceana”, H.G. Wells in his “A Modern Utopia” – had made attempts to project a picture of an ideal society free from all shortcomings.

As it has already been said earlier social sciences refer to a related group of disciplines that study various aspects of human behaviour. The main social sciences are — sociology, economics, political science, anthropology and psychology. History is also included in this category. Human behaviour, of course, does not come in such neat compartments, in reality the boundaries between the social sciences are very vague and constantly shifting. Each one of these sciences has different historical origins and each science is dying to preserve its distinctness. In spite of the specialization, found among the social sciences, they are interrelated and interdependent. Nobody could possibly by an expert in all of them. Because, social scientists are aware that their sciences overlap. This awareness has been responsible for the development of what is known as an “interdisciplinary approch This approach stresses the idea that each science is necessarily related to, and sometimes depends on the other. This approach gives them a free hand to “invade” each other’s territory whenever is seems useful to do so. ‘

1. Economics

Economics studies the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. constitutes the central problem of economics. It studies man as a wealth-getter and wealth-disposer Economics is in many ways the most advanced of the social sciences. Its subject-matter is often more easily measured than that of the other disciplines. But the economy is also a part of society; goods and services do not produce, distribute and consume themselves. The economic processes depends upon Society. The social aspects of economic life are the subject matter of “sociology of economics”, one of the major branches of sociology.

2. Political Science

Political science is the science of state and government. Traditionally it has focused on two main areas. Political philosophy and actual forms of government. Political science has close links with sociology. In the recent years political science has been very strongly influenced by one of for branches of sociology, known as “political sociology*’. Political sociology analyses political behaviour and studies the social interaction involved in the process of government. The interests of politics, scientists and political sociologists have been gradually converging and in many instances they now overlap

Among the disciplines that formed the social sciences, two contrary, but powerful tendencies at first dominated them,

(i) The first was the drive towards unification, that is towards a single, master social science. Some thinkers felt that it was better to have a single science of society [that would take its place in the hierarchy of sciences] than to have a plurality of social sciences. In the 1820s itself August Comte wrote calling for a new science, the one to study man as a social animal. Comte, Spencer, Marx, Bentham and many others to join them, saw the study of society as a unified enterprise. Since society is an indivisible thing, the study of society must be a unified one. This was their basic belief.

(ii) The second tendency was towards specialization of individual social sciences. It was this opposite tendency of specialization or differentiation that won out. In spite of the dreams of Comte, Spencer, Marx and others, there were to be found at the end of the 19th century not one, but several distinct, competitive social sciences. Development of colleges and universities throughout Europe and America very strongly supported this process. These formal educational institutions in fact, started the “age of specialization. This began first in Germany and later on spread to England, America, France and other countries. The philosophy of specialization became so fascinating that no major field of study could esape the lure of specialization.

The twin revolutions, [the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution of Britain] that took place in the 18th century in Europe let loose a new intellectual and philosopical wave. Intellectual currents in the form of socio-political ideologies were also witnessed. For example, the ideologies of individualism, socialism, utilitarianism, utopianism etc. took their birth. It became fashionable for intellectuals and thinkers to float new ideologies and spread novel ideas.

Of the various types of intellectual influences, the impact of positivism, humanitarianism and evolutionism on social sciences was considerable.

1. Positivism

Positivism implied not merely an appeal to science but almost reverence for science. The positivist appeal of science was to be seen everywhere. The 19th century saw the virtual institutionalization of the ideal of science. The great aim was that of dealing with moral values, institutions, and all social phenomena through the same fundamental methods that could be used so successfully in such areas as physics or biology.

Prior to the 19th century, no very clear distinction had been made between philosophy and science. But now the distinction between philosophy and science became very clear. It was also felt that every area of man’s thought and behavior could be put to scientific investigation. More than anyone else, it was Auguste Comte who heralded the idea of the scientific treatment of social behaviour. His book “Positive Philosophy*1 [original French name:"Cours de Philosophie Positive"] published in six volumes between 1830 and 1842, sought to demonstrate the necessity of the science of man in society. He coined the word “sociology” to name such a science. He argued that this science called “sociology” would do for “man the social being” exactly what biology had already done for “man the biological animal”. Comte was not alone to argue and to think in this manner. He was supported by many thinkers of the day.

2. Humanitarianism

Humanitarianism, though a very distinguishable current of thought, it was closely related to the idea of “science of society”. Humanitarianism is an ideology committed to the cause of human welfare or societal welfare. The ultimate purpose of social science was also thought by almost every -one to be the welfare society. Humanitarianism entered the sphere of “social consciousness” and ™ade the people to realize the need for doing something for the improvement of the poor and needy-

Due to the influence of humanitarianism, several social service organisations, orphanage* poor houses, child protective laws came in. Great concern was shown towards the poor in the artistic.literary, religious and political communities. Hospitals and sanitaria sprang up in many cities Making provisions for drinking water facilities, educational opportunities, economic assistance etc. for the benefit of the needy, became a part of the local administrative bodies. The need for more “social philosophising” was called for. A genuine application of the science of human understanding was needed. It is clear from the above, that humanitarian ism and social science were reciprocally related in their purposes. All that helped the cause of the one could be seen as helpful to the other.

3. Evolutionism

The third of the intellectual influences is that of evolution.* It affected everyone of the social sciences each of which was concerned with the idea of “development**. It was believed that the idea of evolution would help people to understand the development in social structures or societies as it had helped the biologists to understand the development in the structure of animals.

The impact of Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species**, published in 1859, was of course great and further enhanced the appeal of the evolutionary view of things. It should be noted that even before the publication of Darwin’s work, Comte, Spencer and Marx had already given shape to the idea of evolution in their literary works. “The important point, in any event, is that the idea or the philosophy of evolution was in the air throughout the century, as profoundly contributory to the establishment of sociology as a systematic discipline in the 1830s as to such fields as geology, astronomy, and biology. Evolution was as permeative an idea as the Trinity had been in medieval Europe

The beginning of the tradition of social sciences has been one of the major developments of the 19th century. Social sciences such as economics, political science and history though have a long story of their own, could get the recognition as “social sciences” only in the 19th century. Thinkers and writers such as Herodotus [known as the "Father of History"]; Aristotle [often known as the "Father of Political Science"]; Manu, the great law giver; Kautilya, an authority on *Arthashastra and many others had written good treatises on different areas of social sciences more than 2000 years ago. The political and social atmosphere of ancient Greece, Rome and India also favoured this kind of intellectual exercises. Due to historical reasons these countries could not maintain the same tempo during the Middle Age. [500 A.D. to 1550 A.D.] But during 17th and 18th centuries the processes of Renaissance, and Enlightenment gave a big impetus to the continuation of the tradition of reasoning. This change in the intellectual atmosphere favoured the development of sciences which came to be called “social sciences

Sociology is one of the members of the family of Social Sciences. As a young social science, it has acquired a distinct status for itself. Its importance and practical usefulness are widely recognized today.

Like all other social sciences, sociology also is concerned with the life and activities of man. It studies the nature and character of human society, and also its origin, and development, structure and functions. It analyses the group life of man and examines the bonds of social unity.

Sociology tries to determine the relationship and inter-dependence between different elements of social life; between the moral and the religious, the economic and political, the intellectual and the philosophical and the artistic and the aesthetic, the scientific and the technological, and non-material and so on.

Sociology also discovers the fundamental conditions of social stability and social change. It analyses the influence of economic, political, technological, cultural and other forces and factors on man and his life. It endeavors to examine the influence of biological and geographic factors on man also. It throws more light on various social problems like poverty, beggary, over-population, crime, unemployment, etc.

Social Sciences are Less Exact

When compared with the physical sciences, the social sciences are less exact and less precise. The social scientists face many difficulties while making their studies. Scientific method, with all its established procedures, cannot be strictly used in social investigations, because experiments of laboratory conditions are difficult to be arranged in the social field. Controlled experiments are almost impassible here. The whole society constitutes the laboratory for the social scientist Since the social scientists have to deal with man who is more complex and ever changing, their studies become less precise though not completely dubious. Complexity of social data, interdependence of cause rod effect, problems of objectivity and prediction etc., have made social science comparatively less exact.

The Necessity for Social Sciences

The two global wars of the 20th century have created new anxieties and new fears for the mankind. These wars the world had to bear with before it could properly maintain its balance which was previously disturbed by the process of Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. The scientists, philosophers, administrators, politicians and many other thoughtful observers have been warning human beings for many years of the dangers of the increasing imbalance in their culture The recent scientific advances in physical sciences culminating in the atomic bomb, hydrogen bomb, germ warfare and even the tragedy of Hiroshima, have at last awakened even the innocent people all over the world to the need for comparable competence in social sciences.

The science has shown that it is capable of organizing the forces of the atom to cause the destruction of the entire world by a single explosion. It has posed a challenge whether it is possible to organised the forces inherent in human beings and in human society to make such destruction impossible. Hence the necessity of social science. This need, the humanity is obliged to fulfill in mutual self-defense.

It is an irony that the material resources like coal, iron, oil, forest, soil and minerals are better organised than human resources like human energy, intelligence, inherent goodness of man etc Today governments are busily engaged in armament race. Every country spends millions for inventing or possessing destructive weapons on agencies. But no country spends even a fraction of it to stop such dangerous and suicidal works.

It is humanly impossible for any individual to master the whole of knowledge with all its complexity and diversity. One can only attempt to understand more about one or the other branch of knowledge. There are different sciences to deal with different branches of knowledge. These sentences are of two kinds: (i) Physical Sciences, and (ii) Social Sciences.

Physical Sciences

The physical sciences deal mostly with the natural inanimate objects. They are regarded as more precise, exact and less dubious. Ex: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Geology, Geography, Astronomy, etc.

The physical scientists make use of the scientific method in order to acquire knowledge in their respective fields. They can conduct experiments to verify the facts. Theories and laws of universal validity are established more easily and accurately in physical sciences. They provide less scope for doubt and uncertainty. Prediction is not only possible, but also easy and accurate. The problem of objectivity can be overcome easily. The relationship between cause and effect is relatively more clear here.

Social Sciences

The term Social Science is often loosely applied to any kind of study which is concerned with man and society. But, in the strict sense, it refers to “the application of scientific methods of the study of intricate and complex network of human relationships and the forms of organization desired to enable people to live together in societies”. As Young and Mack say, “By Social Science we mean those bodies of knowledge compiled through the use of scientific method which deal with the forms and contents of man’s interaction Ex: History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology etc.

To be social is to interact, to participate in group life. All human beings are social. People interact with other people in order to survive. All human beings live in society, that is to say, every person is a member of the same human group or some social environment. The physicist, the chem ist, the astronomer and the biologist study the universe, in which we live and the elements of which it is composed, in an attempt to understand our physical environment. Similarly, the social scientist studies the environment in which we live in, and attempts to understand human society and to predict how people will interact in a given set of circumstances.

Science is concerned with knowledge. It refers to the body of knowledge systematically arranged. Knowledge is its purpose and system refers to the method that has to be followed for the acquisition of knowledge. Exploring the different horizons of knowledge is not only a challenge but also a matter of great intellectual delight to a scientist. Knowledge is as vast as an ocean. The more a scientist acquires it, the more it remains to be acquired. Not only a scientist is more interested in acquiring knowledge but also he is better equipped to do so.