09 The Humanities and the Social Sciences

Published

2026-07-17

What are the differences and connections between the humanities and the social sciences?

Connections Between the Humanities and the Social Sciences

Influence of the Humanities on the Social Sciences

The Humanities as the Generative Matrix for Many Social Science Disciplines

19th century: the social sciences emerged as independent disciplines from the humanities
E.g., in ancient China, economics was primarily studied by historians and philosophers
- Sima Qian, Records of the Grand Historian · Biographies of Merchants (《史记 · 货殖列传》): economic life
Hence it is said: “When the granaries are full, the people understand propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, the people know honour and disgrace.” Ritual is born of abundance and perishes in want. Thus when the gentleman is wealthy, he is fond of practising virtue; when the common man is wealthy, he applies his strength to good use. Where the waters are deep, fish are born; where the mountains are deep, beasts come; when a man is wealthy, benevolence and righteousness adhere to him. When the wealthy gain influence, their virtue shines all the more; when they lose influence, their guests have nowhere to go, and they are displeased. This is even more true among the barbarians. There is a proverb: “The son of a thousand gold pieces does not die in the marketplace.” This is no empty saying. Hence it is said: “All under heaven bustle and hurry—all for the sake of profit; all under heaven rush and crowd—all for the sake of gain.” Even kings of a thousand chariots, marquises of ten thousand households, and lords of a hundred chambers still worry about poverty—how much more so the common people who are registered in households!
- Han Fei, Han Feizi · The Five Vermin: the contradiction between population growth and the increase of wealth; similar to Malthusian ideas
In ancient times, men did not till the fields, yet the fruits of plants and trees were sufficient for food; women did not weave, yet the skins of birds and beasts were sufficient for clothing. Without exerting labour, sustenance was ample—the people were few and wealth was abundant—hence there was no contention among the people. Thus generous rewards were not dispensed, and severe punishments were not applied, and the people governed themselves. Now, if a man has five sons, that is not considered many; and if each son again has five sons, then before the grandfather has died, there will be twenty‑five grandsons. Therefore, the people are many while wealth is scarce; labour is toilsome while provision is meagre—hence the people contend, and even doubled rewards and multiplied punishments cannot avert disorder.

Integration of the Two

Public ethics
Sociology of literature

--- title: "09 The Humanities and the Social Sciences" date: "2026-07-17" --- What are the differences and connections between the humanities and the social sciences? # Differences Between the Humanities and the Social Sciences ## Object of Study Human essence vs. human behaviour - Essence: language, consciousness, history, etc. → philosophy - Behaviour: education, law, sociology, etc. ## Method of Research Non-empirical vs. empirical - Empirical: fieldwork, social surveys, on‑site investigation, case studies, etc.; primary sources; mathematical analysis; results tested against real‑world conditions ## Outcomes of Research No practical utility, not oriented toward usefulness vs. practical utility, immediate results - "Useless usefulness" (无用之用), intangible utility; spiritual anchor --- # Connections Between the Humanities and the Social Sciences ## Influence of the Humanities on the Social Sciences ### The Humanities as the Generative Matrix for Many Social Science Disciplines - 19th century: the social sciences emerged as independent disciplines from the humanities - E.g., in ancient China, economics was primarily studied by historians and philosophers - Sima Qian, *Records of the Grand Historian · Biographies of Merchants* (《史记 · 货殖列传》): economic life > Hence it is said: "When the granaries are full, the people understand propriety; when food and clothing are sufficient, the people know honour and disgrace." Ritual is born of abundance and perishes in want. Thus when the gentleman is wealthy, he is fond of practising virtue; when the common man is wealthy, he applies his strength to good use. Where the waters are deep, fish are born; where the mountains are deep, beasts come; when a man is wealthy, benevolence and righteousness adhere to him. When the wealthy gain influence, their virtue shines all the more; when they lose influence, their guests have nowhere to go, and they are displeased. This is even more true among the barbarians. There is a proverb: "The son of a thousand gold pieces does not die in the marketplace." This is no empty saying. Hence it is said: "All under heaven bustle and hurry—all for the sake of profit; all under heaven rush and crowd—all for the sake of gain." Even kings of a thousand chariots, marquises of ten thousand households, and lords of a hundred chambers still worry about poverty—how much more so the common people who are registered in households! - Han Fei, *Han Feizi · The Five Vermin*: the contradiction between population growth and the increase of wealth; similar to Malthusian ideas > In ancient times, men did not till the fields, yet the fruits of plants and trees were sufficient for food; women did not weave, yet the skins of birds and beasts were sufficient for clothing. Without exerting labour, sustenance was ample—the people were few and wealth was abundant—hence there was no contention among the people. Thus generous rewards were not dispensed, and severe punishments were not applied, and the people governed themselves. Now, if a man has five sons, that is not considered many; and if each son again has five sons, then before the grandfather has died, there will be twenty‑five grandsons. Therefore, **the people are many while wealth is scarce; labour is toilsome while provision is meagre**—hence the people contend, and even **doubled rewards and multiplied punishments cannot avert disorder**. ### The Humanities Provide the Conceptual Framework for the Social Sciences Foundational and overarching questions in the social sciences - 19th‑century jurisprudence and philosophy of law - The human foundations of law - Economics and philosophy of economics ### The Humanities Examine the History of the Social Sciences - History of law, history of economics, etc. - Volume IV of *Das Kapital*: history of the theory of surplus value ### The Humanities Can Profoundly Reveal Social Problems - Shakespeare: commodity fetishism > Gold? Yellow, glittering, precious gold? No, gods, I am no idle votarist! ... Thus much of this will make black white, foul fair, wrong right, base noble, old young, coward valiant. ... This yellow slave will knit and break religions, bless the accursed, make the hoar leprosy adored, place thieves and give them title, knee and approbation with senators on the bench: This is it that makes the wappen'd widow wed again; she, whom the spital-house and ulcerous sores would cast the gorge at, this embalms and spices to the April day again. Come, damned earth, thou common whore of mankind, that putt'st odds among the rout of nations. > > — Shakespeare, *Timon of Athens* ### The Humanities Infuse the Social Sciences with Humanistic Spirit - One of the developmental goals of economics: the all‑round development and perfection of the human person - Introduced from outside: economic ethics, philosophy of money, philosophy of economics, etc. - Human‑centred approach - Value choices, distributive justice ## Influence of the Social Sciences on the Humanities ### Methods Mathematics #### Social Survey Method E.g., in ancient history studies: Xiyu Studies (西域学), Dunhuang Studies (敦煌学) - Western powers conducted on‑site investigations and plundered materials - Wang Guowei: the "Double Evidence Method", marking the beginning of modern Chinese historiography > We of this generation are fortunate to have, in addition to the materials on paper, new materials from underground. With these materials, we can certainly supplement and correct the materials on paper, and we can also prove that certain parts of the ancient books are entirely true records—even the unrefined sayings of the various schools do not fail to reveal one aspect of the facts. This method of double evidence can only be carried out in the present day. > > — Wang Guowei, *New Evidences on Ancient History · General Introduction* #### Class Analysis Method - Mao Zedong, *Analysis on the Classes in China Society* - Chen Yinke, Wan Shengnan, *Lectures on the History of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties* : "The Social Classes of the Rulers of the Wei and Jin Dynasties" ### Content #### Literature: Deepening the Intellectual Content of Literary Studies - Sociology, gender studies: modern and contemporary Chinese literature and feminist thought #### History: Expanding the Horizons of Historical Research - The French Annales School: shifting from history to the study of social life > "All history is social history." - Lucien Febvre, Marc Bloch: rural history of the pre‑industrial era - Fernand Braudel: total history - Subsequent developments: influence of particular factors - *Montaillou*: 14th‑century inquisition records, detailed social life in a late‑medieval French village #### Social Sciences: Incorporating Humanistic Content into Research - Philosophy of religion, philosophy of education, cultural anthropology, etc. - Lewis H. Morgan: fieldwork among Native Americans - *Ancient Society* - Savagery → Barbarism → Civilisation - Implicitly contains elements of materialist historiography - Friedrich Engels, *The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State*; an important source of fieldwork data for Marx ## Integration of the Two - Public ethics - Sociology of literature