The Realm of Sociology as a Science
1981; Oxford University Press; Volume: 59; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1093/sf/59.4.1054
ISSN1534-7605
AutoresÉmile Durkheim, Elizabeth K. Wilson,
Tópico(s)Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice
ResumoA science hardly born has not, nor could it have at the beginning, anything but a vague and uncertain sense of that sector of reality toward which it should be oriented, or of its proper extent and limits; nor can it achieve a clearer self-image if its inquiries are not guided by some general rules. On the other hand it is extremely important that it should gain such a heightened awareness of its goals; for the scholar's progress is the more certain as he is better disciplined; and he becomes more systematic in his inquiry as he becomes more familiar with the character and limits of the territory he is exploring. For sociology the time has come to bend every effort to make this forward step. Certainly when some belated critics-unwittingly under the influence of the prejudice which has always obdurately resisted the emergence of a new science-reproach sociology for not knowing precisely what its field of concern is, one can reply that such uncertainty is inevitable in the first phases of research and that our discipline was born only yesterday. We must not forget, especially in view of the favored position of sociology today, that it would not even have been possible during the past fifteen years to list ten names which were genuinely and accurately names of sociologists. And let us add that it is too much to require that a science bound its subject matter with meticulous precision: for that sector of reality which it aims to study is never set apart from other sectors cleanly and precisely. In reality everything in nature is bound up with everything else in such a way that there can be no break between the different sciences, no terribly precise frontiers. Yet despite all, it is important to develop as clear a notion as possible of the domain of sociology, to determine where it stands and to establish the dimensions or characteristics by which we recognize the complex of phenomena with which we are concerned, while at the same time not freezing frontiers which must remain indeterminate. This problem is all the more urgent for our discipline since, unless we take care,
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