THE AUTONOMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES: IN SEARCH FOR OBJECTIVITY 2

Social sciences are trying to impose themselves as established ones. For example, it’s used to be preupposed that there is an exemplary social science, like economics. But all the achievements and failures ascribed to social sciences are rooted in economics as well. In order to proceed with alternative and unconventional approaches to social processes it is desirable to start from historical background of social sciences. It may seem superficial but it is hard to escape the feeling of certain dissonance between presumably high weight and relatively young age of social sciences. This is a common feature of all political discourses in seeking to validate their dominance despite the limited period of their existence accordingly. It reveals a complexity within prevailing trichotomy of knowledge – humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. The overlapping history and methodology makes these lines of division quite blurred. Humanities and natural sciences have a longer history and a richer tradition which is still influential even today. As a result, quite many scientists imply that general knowledge consists of “two cultures ” – humanities and science. Despite this challenge the notion of “three cultures ” looks productive although ambiguous. The political dimension remains as the main source of controversy both implicitly and explicitly, especially in social sciences. Interestingly enough, it instigates the reevaluation of th