Is Political science a science? Political Political science is a dynamic discipline with various layers and dimensions. Over the years, eforts have been made to efectively categorize the subject. But due to the many uncertainties about what comes under its purview, there is a lac o! consensus on the nature o! Political science. "he phrase #political #political science$ science$ owes its origin to %odwin %odwin and &ary &ary 'ollstonecra! 'ollstonecra!t. t. It was also used by (ico and )ume, and accepted sans hesitation in the !amous wors o! *ir +rederic Polloc Introduction to the )istory o! *cience o! Politics- and *ir ohn *eeley Introduction to Political science-. +urthermore, modern Behaviourists remain convinced o! the #science$ #science$ component o! #politics$. #politics$. )owever, the claim o! politics politics to the ran o! sciences has not gone unchallenged. unchallenged. It has been alleged by many critics as an unwanted intruder in the domain o! science. "hus, in order to understand their reservations, reservations, it is imperative to understand and analyze the word #science$. "he word #science$ has has several meanings, meanings, the most common common being #the #the observation, identi/cation, description, e0perimental investigation and theoretical e0planation o! phenomena$. 1nother de/nition suggests that science is nowledge, especially gained through e0perience. In both these meaning, the emphasis is upon nowledge which is rein!orced again i! we trace the etymological roots o! the word #science$. It is derived !rom the 2atin word #scientia$, which, along with its %ree !orebear #episteme$ means #nowledge$. Owing to this comprehensiveness, comprehensiveness, disciplines lie Political science, "heology, and Philosophy can be considered to be part o! the #scientia$. )owever, such disciplines primarily primarily deal with humans who, because o! their irreducible !reedom, act in ways which are unpredictable. It is because o! these ine0actitudes, that a discipline lie Political science can never be considered to be a #pure science$. 3oes that mean that such a discipline must be e0cluded !rom the scope o! #scientia$ altogether? 4o. In order to understand the uni5ue position o! disciplines lie Political science, we must /rst broadly classi!y science into three categories6 7. Pure *cience 8 &athematics, 9hemistry, Physics, etc., :. 4atural *cience 8 %eography, Physiology, Botany, ;oology, etc., and <. *ocial *cience = )istory, >conomics, >conomics, Psychology, Psychology, *ociology, etc. "he /rst two inds o! sciences sciences are !actual !actual and based based on concrete concrete data and in!ormation, which can be both obtained and corroborated by laboratory e0perimentations. "here is an element o! relativity in natural sciences, which is why a slight distinction can be drawn between the /rst two categories. *ocial *ciences, however, are very diferent !rom the rest, as they deal with behavior o! individuals with other individuals or institutions, such as the state. 4ot only does the nature o! such relationships relationships difer !rom one another, they also cannot be judged without the
normative conte0t. "his is why social sciences have greater degrees o! relativity and predictability than the other two categories. "he ne0t 5uestion that arises is6 'hat maes Political science a social science? "he earlier understanding o! politics suggested that it too place only in the legitimate organs o! the government or within the realm o! the state. "he word #politics$ has been derived !rom the 2atin word #polis$ which literally means, #city states$. "hus, owing to this understanding, Political science dealt only with the activities o! the #polis$. "he scope o! this discipline has e0panded over time to include not only the civil society, but also the economic, social and cultural aspects that are integral to society. "he comple0ity o! political phenomena has grown, owing to the inclusion o! these !actors. "his stands in the way o! scienti/c e0planation and accuracy. +or instance, when a political scientist tries to e0plain the attitude o! voters in a particular constituency, he has to bear in mind social relations, economic conditions, personal aspects and various other !actors which afect their decisions. "he /rst two categories o! science include those sciences which can be typically de/ned as systematic bodies o! nowledge obtained and legitimized through cannons o! a speci/c methodology, i.e. laboratory e0perimentation. "hus, systematization o! !acts, precision, generalization and veri/ability are some o! the characteristic !eatures o! such sciences. "he laboratory o! Political science, and other social sciences, is o! course, the society, at large, and the subject matter is the various social relationships between men, men and state, men and society, etc. In other words, such disciples deal with human behavior which is always relative, and never precise. Political science, there!ore, deals with both tangible and intangible objects. @nlie the intangible objects, the tangible objects are 5uanti/able, and there!ore, precise and empirical. 'hereas the other sciences are mostly grounded in concrete !acts, a discipline lie Political science also ass ethical or normative 5uestions. +or instance, someone might have predicted that the 1mericans would win the (ietnam 'ar, owing to their superior military strength. )owever, what could not be taen into account was the will power and zeal o! the guerrilla /ghters, which were the major !actors that turned the tables on the 1mericans. *uch !actors are intangible in nature. Aet, such aspects o! Political science have o!ten been the subject o! analysis and discourse. +urthermore, the discipline depends on the medium o! language. @nlie the other two categories o! sciences, social sciences, and in particular, Political science, have !ailed, by and large, to evolve a neutral, scienti/c and generally acceptable vocabulary. "he use o! words, as distinct !rom mathematical symbols, is a hindrance to the development o! the objective analysis, as words do not merely play a passive role, but also reect the ideas and principles o! the writer. &ore o!ten than not, the statements made by political scientists are colored by their own prejudices and
predilections, which is why there is a veritable lac o! consensus on even the de/nition o! Political science, let alone other comple0 concepts. &oreover, the readers$ understanding o! concepts would also be predicated on their li!e e0periences, as interpretation is subjective and discursive. "hese !actors add to the relativity o! the discipline. 2astly, and most importantly, an efort to divorce the values !rom the !acts o! Political science would render it completely useless. "he essence o! political science, and !or that matter, any social science lies in not only determination o! empirical data, but also the critical analysis and evaluation o! the same. "here!ore, the nature o! Political science itsel! is a subject o! disagreement. *ome philosophers have tried to designate Political science as a purely art based discipline, completely renouncing the #science$ element o! it. *uch a trend was noticed in the 7C th century when the +rench slogan 2$art Pour 2$art 1rt !or 1rt$s *ae- gained popularity. In %ermany, interestingly, there is no distinction between pure, natural and social sciences. %ermans call all systematic pursuits o! nowledge, learning and scholarship #'issenscha!t$. *ome political scientists, particularly those subscribing to the Dealist school o! thought, pre!erred to call the discipline a #policy science$, because o! its interdisciplinary nature and realistic perspective. "hey also believed that political science should not only guide policy= maers to legislate eEcient policies, but also act as a #science o! crisis management$. In conclusion, not only is Political *cience one o! the youngest disciplines, but it is constantly evolving. +or e0ample, over time, pragmatic elements have been added to Political *cience to mae it more concrete and scienti/c. "hus, the best way to classi!y political science would be to call it a dynamic social science 8 #1 *cience in the &aing$.
