Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between Social Science and Natural Science

Social Science vs Natural Science

Social science and Natural science are two subjects that differ from each other in terms of their subject matter. Social science is any study that is centered on society and its development. In short, it refers to any subject that does not come under the gamut of natural sciences.

Thus, social sciences include a variety of subjects such as anthropology, education, economics, international relations, political science, history, geography, psychology, law, criminology, and the like. Anthropology is a social science that deals with the history of man. Human biology and humanities get covered too by the term anthropology.

Economics is a social science that studies the various theories and problems relating production of goods, distribution of goods and of course the consumption of wealth. Physical geography and human geography are covered by the term geography which is yet another social science. History is a social science that explores into the past human events.

On the other hand, natural sciences are the branches of science that go into the details of the natural world by using scientific methods. It is important to know that natural sciences employ scientific methods to go deep into details regarding natural behavior and natural condition. This is the main difference between social science and natural science.

Sciences such as logic, mathematics, and statistics are called as formal sciences and they too are different from natural sciences. Astronomy, Biology, Earth Science, Physics, Chemistry, Oceanography, Material Science, Earth Science and Atmospheric Science are some of the well-known natural sciences.

It is interesting to note that subjects such as meteorology, hydrology, geophysics and geology also fall under natural sciences since they all involve scientific methods in their approach. These are the differences between the two important terms, namely, social science and natural science.