ABSTRACT
Science as intellectual innovation of a specific kind represents finding and solving problems. And the nature of the problem, the way it is posed, determines the kind of solution possible; problem selection is a major part of social inquiry. Resolution may come about in rationalistic ways, by taking thought and subsuming the problematic situation under general regularities already known, or inventing new kinds of regularities that may not have been propounded before. The policy problem was the first sort to be attacked empirically, for its resolution must be in empirically testable terms. It is the problem of everyday life in the society, a problem of practical urgency. The source of problems for social science is in the philosophy of history, or more broadly social philosophy. The solution to a problem of this sort requires focusing upon theory, evidence, and the rules by which each enters into the argument.
