Why Political Science Is A Misleading Phrase

Political science refers to the study of political regimes in a conceptual and historical sense, yet the word "science" in the phrase suggests that these matters fall under the scope of science or that science is the optimal way to approach them.  Conceptual philosophy precedes all science, and history is outside the scope of scientific observations to begin with, as any being trapped in the present moment cannot see into the past; political ideas themselves are understood by rational reflection.  The scientific method, the investigation of the physical world by means of sensory observation (which still requires reason to be understood and contemplated), only brushes up against politics on occasion.  Politics is, after all, about the interaction of different groups of people and their worldviews, not the interaction of physical particles.

Politics inevitably reduces down to worldviews and motivations as they are represented in the actions, laws, and values of a society (or a smaller part of that society).  This means that contemplating political systems is not an issue of scientific observation, for it is not the empirical gathering of data on how the (seemingly inanimate) physical world behaves.  Even observing which political regimes rise and fall is not a scientific endeavor: it is one rooted in the psychology of the individuals in power and the ones being governed as they live out their respective worldviews, however consistent or inconsistent they may live them out.

Yes, other people might have physical bodies that can be observed with the senses (not that visually perceiving other bodies logically establishes that they exist outside of the perceptions), but there is no outwardly manifested psychological, spiritual, or existential aspect of stones, cliffsides, or rain droplets as they are carefully observed.  With humans, however, this is not the case; a government and the community that government presides over are composed of living beings that have their own thoughts and wills (at least other people seem to by all appearances).  There is far more to human life and society than the laws of physics!

Some political decisions certainly pertain to scientific matters, such as those faced in the current pandemic.  Without scientific observations, there would be nothing for one to reason out about a virus other than the fact that no possible aspect of reality, virus or otherwise, is not subject to the laws of logic. However, politics and science are inherently separate aspects of philosophy and life, with the former having to do with human laws, justice, and social psychology, and the latter having to do with the investigation of how various configurations of matter behave.  Science is relevant to some policy decisions, but it remains wholly outside the scope of moral epistemology, evaluations of logical consistency, an introspective motivation.

Broader philosophy encompasses the whole of politics even past the relatively small portion of it connected with science.  Whereas science at most addresses a small territory within philosophy as a whole, politics overlaps with numerous different aspects of philosophical importance.  Politics simply is not science.  Even psychology and sociology cannot legitimately be called subsets of science like they are sometimes deemed, as they are not connected to physics--which all science reduces down to--in any direct way.  Psychology is first and foremost about personal phenomenology, and sociology is about how different people choose to interact with each other.  When metaphysics, core epistemology, ethics, and individual and sociological psychology all are beyond the reach of mere science, it is foolish to think contemplating or studying politics is thoroughly scientific.