The two social sciences History and Sociology, are different. The points of difference between the two may be noted.
1. Sociology is interested in the study of the present social phenomena with all their complexities. But History deals with the past events of man. It is silent regarding the present.
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2. Sociology is relatively a young social science. It has very short history of its own. It is not even two centuries old. But history is an age-old social science. It has a long story of 2000 years or even more.
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3. Sociology is an analytical science. But history is a descriptive science.
4. Sociology is abstract in nature. It studies mostly regular, the recurrent and the universal. For example, the sociologist’s does not study all the wars or battles Waged by the mankind. But History is concrete.
The historian is interested in the Unique, the particular and the individual. For example, the historian studies all the wars waged by mankind in the past-the wars, the world wars, the Indo- Pak war, etc. For him each war is unique and significant.
5. Sociology is a generalising science. Sociology seeks to establish generalisations after a careful study of the social phenomena. But History is an individualising science. History rarely makes generalisations.It seek to establish the sequence in which events occurred.
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6. Sociology follows the sociological approach. It studies human events from the sociological point of view, i.e., from the view point of social relationship involved. But History studies human events in accordance with the time and order. Its approach is historical.