Enlightenment thinkers were the first Social Scientists.
They apply the Scientific Method to a social problems.
Economics, the study of money.
Politics, the study and practice of governments.
Psychology, the study of how people think and act.
Sociology, the study of human society.
History, the study of past events by humans.
Law, the study of systems of laws.
and Linguistics, the study of language.
These are all examples of Social Sciences that came to exist because of the work of Enlightenment thinkers.