Epistemological observations on sociological thought

pp. 1-14

in: Bart Landheer, Mind and society, Berlin, Springer, 1952

Abstract

There is an increasing tendency in contemporary social thought to operate with a concept of reality that is accepted as a working hypothesis, although this hypothesis is but rarely stated and even less frequently analyzed in all its implications. It is often assumed that this reality corresponds to the findings of factual and statistical investigations, and that the methods employed-which are largely quantitative ones-create a picture of this reality which in itself possesses a certain objectivity and does not have to be translated into a theory. The mere fact that certain things occur in a majority of cases is assumed to give them a claim to acceptance as "natural occurrences' which derive their justification from the fact of their existence.