Sociologies (May 2012)
Sciences de l'esprit et sciences sociales : des liaisons dangereuses ?
Abstract
The first objective of this paper is to shed light on the advantages of a naturalistic approach for social sciences and to show that Laurence Kaufmann and Laurent Cordonier cannot be accused of reductionism. However, if a form of compatibilism between social and cognitive sciences is necessary, there are certain characteristics of social sciences that cannot be tackled by a strict experimental approach. On the one hand, the role of the social sciences is to give meaning to complex historical realities that cannot be enclosed in a laboratory. One the other hand, experimental results have to be completed with field observations. And last but not least, understanding human forms of life involves an existential involvement from the observer who cannot reduce what s/he is studying to a mere « object » of inquiry. To understand « what it is like » to be a Bororo or a bewitched, the scientist has to be personally affected by the form of life s/he is studying.
