Differences between Economics and other Science Subject
Economics is different from other science subjects like physics and chemistry. One of their areas of differences is that while Economics belongs to the group called social sciences, Physics and Chemistry belong to the area of physical or natural or pure sciences.
Another area of difference is that Economics as a social science studies mainly human beings and their behaviours while pure sciences like Physics and Chemistry study mainly inanimate objects.
Unlike the natural or physical sciences that can isolate their objects of study in order to arrive at a conclusion Economics which is a social science, the objects of study can never be isolated. When an Economist is studying human beings and their behaviours, he is at the same time studying himself and his behaviours.
Economics is also different from natural or physical sciences like Physics and Chemistry because, it does not have a defined laboratory and uses no specific apparatuses. Human society as a whole serves as laboratory for Economics.
Another area of difference between Economics and other science subjects like Physics and Chemistry is that experiments performed in Economics are not subjected to effective control as is done in Physics and Chemistry.
Furthermore, the objects of study of physical or natural sciences are rigid and not flexible in their reactions like human behaviours that constitute the objects of study of Economics which are flexible and vary with situations.
Economics, unlike the pure science subjects, does not arrive at definite conclusions because human beings and their behaviours change like weather and not consistent. As a result of this inconsistency in human beings who have free will and so cannot be subjected to rigid unbending laws, Economists coined the Latin phrase ceteris paribus (other things being equal) to counteract the uncertainty of their laws and conclusions.
Finally, while the natural sciences use positive statements which state what is and can be refuted by contradictory evidence, Economics uses normative statement which states what ought to be and cannot be refuted by contradictory evidence.
Click here to download “Differences between Economics and other Science Subject” as PDF.
Click here to save this Post as PDF
