ABSTRACT
In his first book, Vie et science, Henri Berr deplores the isolation to which the members of the scientific community have consigned themselves. Henri Berr's approach was driven by a keen concern for organization. Synthesis presupposes unity. From a theoretical viewpoint, the program of the Revue de synthese historique sought merely to reinforce the historical psychology that Henri Berr was constantly promoting in his own works: To arrive through history at psychology is absolutely necessary, but it is infinitely delicate task. The Revue de synthese historique sought, to move beyond sociology while drawing inspiration from it. As Henri Berr saw it, sociology, far from being the master science that it claimed to be, was in fact merely an introductory course to historical synthesis. The second round of collective work orchestrated by Henri Berr began in 1920, when he launched a vast historical encyclopedia, entitled L'Evolution de l'Humanite, which he proposed as a "mirror of world civilization".
