The "Science" of Social Policy: Max Weber Revisited

Authors

Asoke Basu, California State University, Hayward

Abstract

Science documents two sources of knowledge--sense and reason. Further, according to Kant, "The nature of the outer empirical world is not known, what becomes known is that which is perceived." Human constructs represent outer reality. They do not express reality directly as it is in original nature. The aim of the social scientist can never be to eliminate the relative perspective of social reality. It is to understand and explain it within a larger cultural framework. The nature of this task brings the social scientist "close" to defining the social reality within a broader cultural praxis. Any policy--essentially, a set of judgments and hence, conclusions, must always be tempered with this thought in mind.

Recommended Citation

Basu, Asoke (1978) "The "Science" of Social Policy: Max Weber Revisited," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 5: Iss. 4, Article 10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1302
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol5/iss4/10