There are certain terms that people unable to understand use as a substitute for each other. One such example would of the 3 words philosophy, psychology, and sociology.
Somehow I have encountered people just using them in place of each other without a single bit of guilt or sense that maybe, just maybe these 3 words are an entire subject in themselves and are extremely different from each other.
What philosophy means is quite different from what psychology and sociology stand for, however, due to intimidation, considering how serious the topics are, or just plain ignorance, people tend to not clear up this misunderstanding and keeping switching them up with each other.
Well, here is a simple guide to what each of the 3 means and how can you differentiate them from each other:
Psychology
Okay, one major difference between Psychology and sociology and philosophy is the field they come under.
Psychology is an area in the medical field that concerns understanding and studying the human brain. Psychology is studied by people who want to become a doctor in this field and are interested in learning about the mind and its various functions.
A big part of psychology is related to observing and studying behaviour of people, and why someone does what they do but in a scientific manner. What nerves and things can trigger a certain reaction from you.
An example of this would be the interview of Deepak Sharma, apparent meme vigilante who posted a video of beating a person for posting wrong memes on the net. The interview was an attempt to help you understand the psychology of a person like that. How he thinks, what are his motivations, how he justifies the rights and wrongs in his own mind, his expectations of the people around us.
Or check it out this article that talks about the controversial documentary done by BBC about the Nirbhaya rape case:
http://edtimes.in/2015/03/1365-lets-celebrate-womanhood-on-pseudo-womens-day/
Basically, the BBC reporter was trying to under the psychology of such a man and why he did what he did along with what his current mindset was, even after having been sentenced to death.
Read More: What Is The Difference Between Gender Neutrality And Gender Fluidity?
Philosophy
Philosophy, on the other hand, is an academic discipline, wherein the philosophist will try and search the meaning behind more vague and abstract concepts like reality, existence, the world around us, the purpose of a person on this earth.
That person in your group who is always saying, ‘what is the meaning of life? Why do we exist?’ even if not entirely being a philosophist, but is addressing the topic of philosophy.
Or when you start getting obnoxious quotes and gyaan about love and relationships from friends, who also then give you Rumi kind of advice for breakups, just know you are experiencing philosophy.
In today’s time if you want to understand what philosophy is, then just sign up to pages like Tiny Tales, Rumi Quotes and all and you will understand present-day philosophy.
Sociology:
Sociology is related to the society around us, how it functions, how it has developed from the early ages and the current image of it.
In sociology one talks about the social problems and issues we are having right now. So those evening chai discussions you have with your friend, family or at the office, dissing the country and how high the crime rate is, safety of woman or any other number of topics, well, you are talking about sociology only.
The Arnab screaming debates, as bad as they might be, also come under the sociology umbrella.
So keep these 3 things in mind:
Psychology- medical field and individual related.
Philosophy – academic field and can include the entire universe and any amount of abstract notion.
Sociology- is all about the society and civil life around us.
Next time someone asks you what is the difference between the 3 you just sift through these 3 fields just take a look here.
Image Credits: Google Images
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