"Many psychologists, sociologists and especially anthropologists and psychiatrists raise serious objections against routine attempts to "extend the methods of the of the physical sciences" to the study of man. These objections cannot be dismissed simply on the grounds that they are not constructive; for inherent in the objections may well be a conviction that there can never be a "behavioral science" as scientists understand science. Whether there can be such a science or not will be decided neither by citing successful applications of "scientific method" to carefully circumscribed sectors of human behavior nor by pointing out what has not yet been done. Therefore on the question of whether a can in principle be constructed, we shall take no sides. That some kinds of human behavior can be described and even predicted in terms of objectively verifiable and quantifiable data seems to us to have been established."
React to this quote
More by Anatol Rapoport
See allResonant Thoughts
"Soon after this the blacks who brought me on board went off, and left me abandoned to despair. I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country, or even the least glimpse of h…"
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"I know my fate. One day my name will be associated with the memory of something tremendous — a crisis witho…"
— Friedrich Nietzsche"It is funny that men who are supposed to be scientific cannot get themselves to realize the basic principle…"
— Gertrude Stein"Science cannot be stopped. Man will gather knowledge no matter what the consequences – and we cannot predic…"
— Linus Pauling"I remember reading a Scientific American article about the use of new physical techniques – including neutr…"
— Venkatraman Ramakrishnan"Each age finds its own technique.. .I mean, the strangeness will wear off and I think we will discover the …"
— Jackson Pollock"Learn the ABC of science before you try to ascend to its summit."
— Ivan Pavlov
Related Thinkers
Related Topics
Deep Dives
- Leonardo da Vinci on Science
- Kenneth Arrow on science
- Charles Babbage on science
- John Wallis on science
- William A. Dembski on science
- Leonardo da Vinci on life
- Leonardo da Vinci on nature
- Leonardo da Vinci on art
- Leonardo da Vinci on knowledge
- Leonardo da Vinci on philosophy
- knowledge & Beauty
- knowledge & Change
