soft science

soft science (plural soft sciences)

1. A field of scientific inquiry that is limited by the nature of its subject matter in its ability to establish strictly measurable criteria.

Most people consider fields such as psychology, sociology, political science, and economics to be soft sciences. Some consider anthropology to be a soft science, while others consider it to be a quasiscience.

• hard science

• natural science versus social science
• pure science versus applied science
• formal science versus quasiscience
• sociology of science