The role of theory in the social sciences

In this article, Andrew Abbott makes a case for deductive social science theory—"a book of social theory is a loosely deductive structure"—and explains why it has become so difficult to develop such a theory today. Abbott mentions historical reasons, e.g., that the greats of the social sciences (Weber, Durkheim, Adam Smith, Marx…) still had the first mover advantage as pioneers of the subject, whereas today knowledge has become so broad that a defensible synthesis (i.e., theory) is increasingly difficult. Abbott also presents an ontological argument, namely that the subject of social science (people, social groups) is fundamentally different from those of the natural sciences (people not only have cognition, but also will). The adoption of natural science methods in the social sciences leads to an alienation of empirical research from theory, which is often normatively driven. Abbott argues for a clear definition of the "knowledge ideals" (for the social sciences), especially in view of the necessary distinction from AI.