Social institutions are plastic, heterogeneous, and contingent. Human action and human nature are historically conditioned as well, in the concrete and ordinary sense that "character," "motivation," "knowledge," and "identity" are all historical products. The social sciences do not need to discover universal, timeless laws of society; such a quest is futile and inspired by a bad philosophy of science. But Rickert was right in doubting the sharp distinction between human action and the natural world ... we are not forced to choose between idiographic and nomothetic science;
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ognjen
2009-12-28 05:57
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