ABSTRACT
In earlier chapters I have presented Blumer’s methodological writings in the context of the development of US sociology during the first half of this century, and against the background of pragmatist philosophy and nineteenth-century discussions of the relation between the natural and social sciences. In this final chapter I want to assess Blumer’s arguments, and in particular his proposal for naturalistic research. The central question I shall address is an apparently simple one: does naturalistic research solve the dilemma thatBlumer identified as facing social science? And if not, how might that dilemma be resolved?
