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Limitations of Evidence
Mr. E (jackechs@EROLS.COM)
Wed, 21 Feb 1996 18:42:32 -0500
Any thoughts on the following ...
"The modern social sciences have tried to overcome the limitations of the
evidence, to extrapolate from the facts, to fill in gaps, and speculate
productively about what is not or cannot be known. These additions to the
historians' equipment have been a product and a by-product of two
overwhelming enthusiasms of the modern West. The first is an enthusiasm for
science, and its application to society. The passion for reform was rooted
in a growing belief that men [sic] had the right and should have the power
to govern themselves, that inherited inequalities and privileges were
unjust, that it was the scholar's and the ruler's duty to reduce human
suffering. The passion in science was rooted in a similarly growing belief
that there were no phenomena in nature, man [sic], or society that could not
be grasped, interpreted, predicted, and perhaps controlled, by human reason,
if nourished in the European Renaissance and in the the Age of Exploration
and Discovery, grew together. Social sciences and social reform were
Siamese twins." Hidden History: Exploring Our Secret Past. Daniel J.
Boorstin. [pp 14-15]
thank you for your time and space ... respectfully submitted,
Anthony Dean Dauer
"We have met the enemy, and he is us." Walt Kelly (1913-1973), Pogo
Copyright 1996 Anthony Dean Dauer. All rights reserved. Permission
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