Foicopynue;Oluilia 7-,L; !..JH VOCUENT RESUME ED 128 272 SO 009
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
II 1.25 foIcopyNuE;OLuiliA 7-,L; !..JH VOCUENT RESUME ED 128 272 SO 009 AUTHOR Handy, olio; Harwood, E.C. TITLE A Current Appraisal of the Behavioral Sc nces, Revised Edition. PUB DATE 73 NOTE 157p.; For a related document, see SO 009 390 AVAILABLB FROM Behavioral Research Council, Great Barrington, Massachusetts 01230($12.50 cloth-bound, 10 or $5.00 each) 5 PRICE MP-$0.83 NC-$8.89 Plus Postage. CRIPTORS Anthropology; *Behavioral Sciences; Bibliographies; Cybernetics; Economics; Game Theory; BistorY; Information Theory; *Intellectual Discipanes; Linguistics; Periodicals; Political Science; *Problem Solving; Psychology; Scientific Methodology; *Social ScienCes; Sociology IDENTIFIERS *Inquiry Methods; Scientific inquiry ABSTRACT This book discusse. _modern scientific inquiry and examines the pr cedures of inquiry into human behavior used in the behavioral science disciplines. Psychologists look at the individual's adjastive procedures and the evolution of:those adjustments within a species. Anthropologists inquire into the behavioral similarities and differences of human culturaa groupings, from earliest man to the present. Sociologists investigate the behavior of people in groups and organizations, including the patterns, regularities, variations, and developmental changes in human relations, customs, and institutions. Political scientists study the behavior of human Individuals and groups, withan emphasis on tte distribution and attainment of political influence and power wad on the functione organization, and connections among the political units, institutions, laws, and customs. Other disciplines examined in the book are economics, history, jurisprudence, linguistics, game and decision theory, information theory and cybernetics, and general systems theory.:The book devotesa chapter to each field. In addition to the discussion, a selected bibliography and a listing of germane journals are provided for each discipline. (Author/R.1) Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to ottain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions BRIC makes available * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EBBS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. *********************************************************************** A CURRENT APPRAI AL of the BehavoraiSciences Revis Edi;ioz by ROLLO HANDY and E. C. HARWOOD First Ed ROLLO HANDY and PAUL KURTZ I3EHAVIORAE RESEARCH COUNCIL Great Barrinioi,lasbathilsetts Copyright 1973, by Behavioral Research Council, Gi-cat Barrington, Mass. 01230 Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 73-79255 motional Standard Book Number 0-913610-01-1 Manufactured in the United States ofmerica PREFACE rfIIE BehavioralResearchCouncilisaprivate the various sections. In the preparation of the revised nonprofitresearaandeducationalinstitution edition, additional consultants criticized the chapters as designed to promote and to carry on research into they appeared in the first edition. the problems of men in society. Its aim is to suprIt.ment rather than duplicate the work of existing agencies. The followingindividualsservedas consultantsfor either the first or the revised editior,: C. Lester Anderson, A canvassof currentagencies shovedthat such l'ehoshua Bar-Hillel, J. L2onard Bates, Samuel H. Beer, supplementing seems most needed on !cog-term and Frederick K.Beutel, Robert Bientedt, Hadley Cantril, large-scale social research that requires and would develop JohnB. Carroll,Joseph B. Casagrande,Alphonse the most useful interdiscipliniwy methods and the most Chapanis, F. Stuart Chapin, C. West Churchman, jere W. talented researchers todirect such inquiry. The BRC Clark, Henry V. Cobb, William K. Estes, Robert E. L. therefore seeks to supplement the present agencies: (I) Faris, Ralph W. Gerard, John P. Galin, Bertram Gross, through gathoing funds arid resources on a massive scale GeorgeC. Hornansrohn Kirk, Samuel Krislov, Bert eventually, however modest atthe start; (2) through James Loewenberg, David G. Mandclbaum, Robert thorough research training of talented youth who would Meade, Delbert C. Mille:, Richard K. Morris, George P. he well_ supported for midi complex inquiry; (3) through Murdock, GeorgeII.Nadel, Martin Ncurneyer, Henry far-reacting research projects commensurate with man's Ladd Smith, Walter E. Spahr, George A. Theodorson, wajorproblems,carriedthroughtopublicationof Richard T. Vann, and John E. W einrich. scientifically warranted information on the probable costs aid consequences of alternative courses of action. 'Ole The Council is grateful for the work of the consultants ery remoteness of these goals makes it the more urgent and acknowledges its indebtedne.to them. However, the that sorne supplementing agency begin work along these consultants are not responsible for the final wording of lines prorriptly- the reports and should not be under-stood as necessarily agreeing with the views expressed in them. The authors of de first edition of .4 Current Appraisal of theBehavioralSciencesundertooktheex tensive BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH COUNCIL investigations and writing involved. Their first drafts were subsequentlyreviewedindetailbytheBehavioral ResearchCouncilAfterthemanuscriptwasthus Alfred de Grazia processedthe various sections of it were scnt to leading Stuart C. Dodd scientists in all fields covered. These individuals, who are Rollo Handy listed separately as consultants, were given research grants E. C. Harwood to cover their time-consuming work involved ;11 reviewing 7aul W. Kurtz iii t TENTS IN RODUCTION: MODERN SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY .. vii Ch. I PROCEDURES OF INQUIRY INTO HUMAN BEHAVIOR... Ch.2 PSYCHOLOGY . .... 15 Ch. .3 ANTHROPULOGY Ch.4 SOCIOLOGY 37 Ch.5 i'OLtTiCeL SCIENCE. ... ...... ......... Ch. 6 ECONOMICS .. ........ ....... 8 Ch. 7 HISTORY 71 Ch. 8 JURISPRUDENCE 79 Ch. 9 LINGUISTICS..... .... .. .. 87 NOTE ON THE NEWEF,. FIELDS.... Ch. 10 GAME AND DECISION THEORY .. .. ....... , ... , 97 Ch. 11 INFORMATION THEORY AND CYBERNETICS . ....106 Ch. 12 GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY 116 CONCLUSION . .. ...... ... ... 123 APPENDIX: TRIAL NA ES 127 INDEX .137 INT DCT 10 N MODERN SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY Y the mid-Twenticth Century the inquiries of inquiry satisfactory to them have yielded ultimate truth. ntoproblemsituationshadachievedemit] The rroeedures of inquiry suggested herein are radicariy succem to encourage hope for rapid progress. different and apparently are the only ones that provid.: new xelopmentsareperhapsthemostimportant for continuing devdopment including revision aS may be "breakthrough" ia the long history of man's evoiutionary advisi;!ilefor themselves as methods as well aS fur the progression. When the significantfeatures are generally findings of Inquiry. understood and applied, inquirers into the problems 01 men in society may become as .-uccesdul in developing Traditional Inquiry warranted assertionsaSthe phys:eal ncientists and the The record of man's inquiries into problem situations physiological scientists have by n M recent centuries. extends back only a few thousand yinra. Of course, such A highly important aspect of the new developments in inquiries had i:cen eveloring for uncounted centmies inquiry'isreorientation to a different goal. Apparently, since the beginning of man s existence; bnt the details of fromdiebeginning of men'sinquiriesinto problem earlier inquiries we can only infer rrom the Lilt:facts liat situations, the accepted objective was TRU Eli or absolute have been discovered. By the time: written records were certainty. By the time written records were kept, that eunsistaittykept in aformavailableforfuture goal was unquestioned. Moreover, the quest for certainty generations, the early Creek philosophers had devel,tiped was the accepted goal even of the relatively modern their ideas L...s to the proper objective of inquhy. scientists during recent centuries. The different goal now To those catty philosophers, the situation seen-id clear. accepted by those who have pioneeredinthelatest Thenaturalthingstheyencounteredwerealways advancesininquiryissimplya description of what changing,stnuctirnesdowly,sometimesrapidly.Ob- happens ionler specifnni circumstances. viously, the early philosophers coneluded, knowledge of is Ascertaining what happens part of the scientific what alwaysisin the process of becoming something inquirer's job, hut his task is not completed until he has different cannot he eternal, absolute, aid certain. Real rovided a scientifically useful dtscription of his findM knowledge, theyassumed, must he aboutBeing,an Scientifically useful" dnnignates a description that can imagined realm, eternal and unchanging, that men can used by othersaswellas the inquirer concerned for seek to know with absolute certainty. rechecking the inquiry, orfor further inquiry, or for In short, the early Greek philosophers accepted as the modifying either extern& evnnts or Mtcmal adjustive proper objective of serious inquiry what Dewey 30mtle tw o behavior. thousandyearslaterreferredtoasthe'questfor The objective of scientific inquiry here suggested does eertainty." That certainty was attainable, that absolute not include achievement of "knowledge" in any absolute TRUTH could be found, seemed to be assured by the then orfinal inquiry form. The repons of