Scientific Method and Social Problems

Abstract

SCIENTIFIC cial sciences methodology has, somewhat in the decepsoS IENTIFIC cial sciences has, somewhat d cep tively, an appearance of definiteness. There is an intellectual unity of aim and procedure in all science ; but to discuss this with any clarity requires definition of terms. Men have long tried to fix science within a rigid definition, and have not agreed. Much unnecessary and unhelpful debate about the scientific standing of the social disciplines has been based on uncertain and divergent premises as to what constitutes science. To Francis Bacon science was unbiased observation of nature and inductive reasoning to generalizations. This was a good start. Some positivists have wished to limit science to ob-

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