Scientism and Values.pdf - Ludwig von Mises Institute

56 Scientism and Values
have come to my attention. In an article entitled "Social Scientist:
Man Between," Robert Redfield, with the wisdom and modesty
those who enjoyed the privilege of his friendship expected of him,
acknowledged the differences between the social scientist and the
student of the humanities. 9 In psychology, Abraham Maslow has
courageously and, in my outsider's opinion, successfully tried to
inquire into phenomena in which the imitation of the methods of
the physicist is simply inconceivable.
When I say that physics and biology are sciences, I do not mean
that in any given science at a given time there are not stubborn,
unresolved problems about which scientists are in doubt. These
problems no doubt exist, and they are no doubt the source of disagreements.
But these disagreements seem to arise for the most
part, at least in the Western regions of the science, so to speak,
where the explorers are opening the land and no settlement has
yet taken place. Nor do they seem to be the source of the kinds
of schools or factions that we find in the studies of man.
I am aware that in biology there are unresolved problems that
seem to be cause for factionalism and cannot be said to be frontier
problems: there is a minority that holds that teleology and vitalism
are unresolved problems-if they are two, and not essentially
one. The outsider is in no position to judge the merits of the solutions
proposed for these problems when they are formulated
within the domain of biology. All he can do is suspend judgment
on the ground that if these problems have been resolved successfully,
it is difficult to see why reputable scientists continue to reject
the solutions offered. May not the reason be that these stubborn
problems are philosophic, and not scientific, and seem to
arise from causes similar to those to which the factionalism of the
disciplines of man can be traced, viz., the effort to deal with biological
subject matter in the way in which the physicist deals with
his? However that may be, when allowance is made for these disagreements,
it still can be said in fairness that the factionalism that
is the normal condition in the studies of man does not exist in
anything like the same degree in biology.10
The preceding argument should carry conviction, although it is
external to the disciplines themselves. When it is advanced, stu-