THE SEARCH FOR KNOWLEDGE IN SOCIAL SCIENCES : AN ANALYSIS FROM BUDDHIST SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

This article aims at presenting certain concepts related to the analysis of
the knowledge inquiring method in social Sciences based on the Buddhist social
and political philosophy. The knowledge investigating method as generally
employed in social sciences has been under the influence of scientific method ;
especially the theory of knowledge as envisaged in Positivism seem to have been
influential and become an important foundation of the scientific method,
emphasizing the observation, the experiment and the empirical data usage. In
addition, other fundamental theories for research in social sciences are post
modern approaches and interpretative approaches. The knowledge inquiring
method on the part of the Buddhist social and political philosophy may be
concluded in line with the Integrative method that does not extremely emphasize
qualitivism nor quantitative. The Noble Truth-based study method could be
regarded as the master methodology in terms of the Buddhist theory of
knowledge. The importance inevitably given to the influence of the environments
and human needs is a crucial proposition to the study of human behavior. Even
though there is an argument over the reliability of the knowledge investigation
method based in the Buddhist philosophy, as such, there is by any means no
argument which could write off the Buddhist truthful principle : The social
Sciences on even the natural sciences study method must be under the superb law
of impermanence, state of suffering and state of being not self, which is the
immortal principle explaining all the phenomena most validly.