Social theory in context: Relational humanism

What is the "the mark of the social " in contemporary theory? Or more generally, how are we to regard the demarcation of a phenomenon or a domain of scholarly inquiry? If we remain within the long honored and companionate discourses of the Enlightenment and "the scientific world view, " the answers are readily forthcoming. In comprehending the world in which we live, in submitting it to rational analysis and empirical scrutiny, ontological clarity is imperative. We must carefully delineate among entities, or else thinking becomes clouded and research may become irrelevant. Clarity in such matters is also important for purposes of professional efficacy. With domains of study carefully delineated, the goals of the various professions are legitimated, we avoid redundancy of effort, and we encourage scholarship in depth. In the present context, to distinguish the social from the psychological, the interpersonal from the societal, the relational from the autonomous, then, is to lay the foundations for productive and complementary disciplines of inquiry. Yet, as scholarship has accelerated exponentially within the present century, we hav