Three decades ago, the Board of Directors of the University of Hanoi, now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, wished to organize a course named after...
Schools of thought in social scienceThis is intended for postgraduate students. Professor Pham Hong Tung shared this: "When I first returned to the country, the Board of Directors proposed implementing this course. But time passed, and only now has it become a reality. This is a tireless effort by generations of leaders of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, as Associate Professor Bui Thanh Nam stated. This affirms the vision of the university's leadership and is an extremely difficult task, but the Board of Directors remains determined to do it."
Associate Professor Dr. Dang Thi Thu Huong, Vice Rector of the university, acknowledged that generalizing the various schools of thought in social sciences is a significant challenge for those involved, but we will proceed and adjust accordingly to create a "backbone" course in social sciences and humanities, the first of its kind to be taught in Vietnam. To address this issue, Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh proposed that this course should not provide all foundational knowledge but rather encourage self-learning and research, thus requiring interdisciplinary approaches. From there, students can delve deeper into their own specialization.
It can be said that the school leadership's vision was well-timed.
VUCA world [1] and education 4.0Interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches are having an enormous impact on science in particular and human life in general. According to Professor Hoang Anh Tuan, "interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches will be the fundamental trend in the context of a university ecosystem operating on the principle of connection and innovation. For quite a long time, Vietnamese universities have followed a narrow and specialized orientation… Specialized training has certain advantages, but in the era of digital human resources with artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, interdisciplinary/cross-disciplinary approaches have more outstanding advantages." It is easy to see that interdisciplinary science today is not only about linking social sciences with each other but also about combining with natural sciences and technology. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) has been disrupting many institutions in science and society, such as copyright issues. This requires social scientists to provide policy advice and find ways to cope with the enormous impact of science and technology.
Over the past 2000 years, "natural" science has evolved from
Five elements(Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth) to the discovery of most chemical elements (Mendeleev's periodic table), delving deeper into the microscopic world to find molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, the Higgs particle, etc., and going even further to the world of galaxies, the Milky Way, and the universe. Meanwhile, social sciences still only do one job: exploring human life and society. This is also the most difficult task that humanity has had to painstakingly undertake, just to answer the eternal questions such as: Who are we? What are we here for?... The complexity of human beings and society is the reason for the emergence of schools of thought in social sciences; conversely, the purpose of
schools of thought in social sciencesIt is about understanding and finding solutions to the complexities of human nature and society.
From a historical perspective, from ancient sages like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in the West, to Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Zarathustra in the East, and Enlightenment philosophers such as Thomas Paine, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant, and David Hume, all focused their attention on humanity and society. Whether building institutions, policies, and laws, or exploring differences in religion and beliefs, schools of thought in social sciences throughout history have always combined various disciplines. Some viewpoints have endured for millennia, while others are no longer relevant, but the work of social scientists has only one goal: to find schools of thought or viewpoints that are relevant to their time and the society in which they live. Therefore, finding suitable "slices" is the purpose of this course.
Schools of thought in social scienceThis requires that learners possess certain qualities. This can only be achieved through interdisciplinary thinking.
From a contemporary perspective, it seems that schools of thought in social science throughout history have consistently aimed for a common principle: building a better society and elevating humanity to a higher level of civilization. To achieve this, people need not only intelligence but also human dignity, tolerance, love, compassion, and, further, a spirit of freedom, humanity, and enlightenment. These are precisely the principles that religions and institutions throughout history have established. In fact, harmonizing the relationship between nature, humanity, and society are principles that sages like Lao Tzu and Buddha Shakyamuni addressed more than two thousand years ago.
Today, social scientists have increasingly more tools to explore human beings and society with countless approaches, theories, and research methods across social sciences, natural sciences, and technology. However, social scientists also face numerous challenges from emerging issues. For example, is Elon Musk's implantation of chips in the human brain consistent with nature? Is it ethically acceptable? The answer will not come from natural scientists or technology corporations, but rather from the responsibility and duty of social scientists.
With the strategic vision and correct direction of the leadership of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, a leading training center for social sciences in Vietnam, we hope to find answers to the challenging issues mentioned above. At least through appropriate "slices" provided in this course.
Schools of thought in social scienceequipping learners.
[1] Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity. See: “Higher Education 4.0: Interdisciplinary and Innovation for Development” on the website: https://ussh.vnu.edu.vn
