ABSTRACT
Among social scientists there is now an increasing interest in fundamental theory, in explaining social facts rather than merely describing them. At present the only social sciences possessing a well-developed systematic theory are economics and demography. But there is a clear trend towards greater emphasis on theoretical analysis in social and cultural anthropology, sociology, social psychology, social and cultural history, political science, legal theory, etc. There is also a growing realization of the fact that society is a causal mechanism so closely inter-connected as to require analysis to a large extent in terms of one basic theory common to all social sciences rather than merely in terms of independent theories particular to the various disciplines. The interest of social scientists in recent years has tended to center upon problems which by their very nature require study by a cooperative effort of specialists in different social sciences, such as the problems of cultural change, economic development, the relation between culture and personality structure, comparative politics, etc.; and experience with interdisciplinary research projects in such fields has made even clearer to what an extent our understanding of social phenomena is restricted by the lack of an integrated explanatory theory of society.
From Behavioral Science, 5 (1960): 136–145. Copryight © 1960 by Behavioral Science. Reprinted by permission of the publisher and the author. John C. Harsanyi is Professor of Business Administration and Economics, University of California, Berkeley.
