Final answer:
The study of human beings—encompassing their biology, history, cultures, and social institutions—is anthropology, a discipline that includes the branches of biological anthropology and sociology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Study of Humanity
The field that encompasses the scientific and humanistic study of human beings - including their biology, history, cultures, and social institutions - is anthropology. Anthropology examines human life from a variety of angles, from the physical or biological anthropology that explores our biological development and diversity to the study of societal roles and relations in sociology.
Human biology is a component of anthropology that delves into human anatomy, physiology, genetics, and evolution. It is concerned with how humans function and our role in the natural world. This segment of anthropology helps us better understand human health and aspects relevant to maintaining it.
Anthropology's narrative is to understand humanity in the context of different environments and historical times, aiming to overcome bias by viewing cultures as integrated wholes. Sociologists study society and social behavior by examining groups and institutions, the way they influence individual behavior, and how individuals affect those groups and institutions. Historians may engage in biohistory, which considers human situations within the evolutionary backdrop of life on Earth.