Subject
The social sciences study how people think, decide, and organize together, from individual minds to markets, governments, laws, schools, organizations, and cultures. Mettica emphasizes the models and evidence behind social claims, so patterns can be examined rather than assumed.
Structured lessons for social sciences are being designed. The disciplines and connections below show how this subject will be organized.
Disciplines
10 disciplines. Each is listed under one subject for browsing, and many connect to others.
How people and societies produce, exchange, and allocate scarce resources.
Microeconomics · Macroeconomics · Econometrics · Behavioral economics …
Related: Formal Sciences
Power, government, and political behavior within and between states.
Comparative politics · International relations · Political theory · Public policy & administration …
Related: Philosophy
How societies are structured, how groups form, and how social change happens.
Stratification & inequality · Social institutions · Networks & organizations · Urban & rural sociology …
Mind and behavior: perception, thought, emotion, development, and social life.
Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Social psychology · Personality psychology …
Related: Natural Sciences · Applied Sciences
Human cultures and human diversity, past and present, studied comparatively.
Cultural anthropology · Biological anthropology · Linguistic anthropology
Related: Humanities & Arts · Natural Sciences
How people shape and are shaped by places, regions, and environments.
Economic geography · Political geography · Urban & population geography · Cultural geography
Related: Natural Sciences
How messages, media, and information systems shape public life.
Media systems & journalism · Political communication · Digital communication
Related: Humanities & Arts
Legal rules and institutions: how they are made and interpreted, and what they do to society.
Public & constitutional law · Criminal law · Private law · International law …
Related: Philosophy · Humanities & Arts · Applied Sciences
How people learn, and how teaching, schools, and education systems work.
Learning sciences · Curriculum & instruction · Education policy · Educational technology
Related: Philosophy · Applied Sciences
How organizations are led, financed, and run, and how they reach their markets.
Management & organizations · Marketing · Finance & accounting · Operations & supply chain …
Related: Formal Sciences · Applied Sciences
Connections
These concepts pass through social sciences and continue into other fields.
What it means for one thing to bring about another: analyzed by philosophers, formalized in causal models, tested in experiments, and inferred from social data.
Abrupt structural change: in political orders, in frameworks of thought, and in artistic movements.
Outputs that loop back to change the system producing them: control in engineering, homeostasis in biology, self-reinforcing cycles in markets and societies, and stability in dynamical systems.
Depth
Lessons in this domain will follow Mettica’s depth model, from first orientation to research-level questions.
Level 1
Orient the learner before requiring specialized vocabulary.
Level 2
Make distinctions and relationships explicit.
Level 3
Introduce the technical representation appropriate to the field.
Level 4
Expose complexity rather than conceal it.
