social sciences

academia

academics

humanities

graduate school

is entirely founded on the 20th century need to observe the observer.

The social sciences, which are very largely twentieth-'century in origin, are entirely founded on the need to observe the observer. I think of criticism as ultimately a form of social science.

is a field in which one should only generalize in order to individualize better.

is an impediment, like a distorting mirror, preventing us from seeing the obvious

In the natural sciences, language (mathematics) is a useful tool: like the microscope or telescope, it enables us to see what is otherwise invisible. In the social sciences, language (literalized metaphors) is an impediment: like a distorting mirror, it prevents us from seeing the obvious. . . That is why in the natural sciences, knowledge can be gained only with the mastery of their special languages; whereas in human affairs, knowledge can be gained only by rejecting the pretentious jargons of the social sciences.

social sciences, n.All

social sciences