by Schumpeter
[Google Digitization Notice and Terms of Service]: Standard Google Books introductory text explaining the digitization process, public domain status, and non-commercial usage guidelines for the digital copy. [Title Page and Library Metadata]: Title pages for the second edition of Schumpeter's work on studying social science, including publication details from 1915 and library checkout stamps. [Foreword by the Social Science Academic Association]: A brief note from the Social Science Academic Association in Czernowitz stating that the text is based on a lecture given by Schumpeter in 1910. [The Nature and Challenges of Social Science]: Schumpeter discusses why social science lacks the established educational path of natural sciences, attributing it to the field's youth and the interference of practical/political interests that lead to dilettantism. He argues that one cannot approach social problems without serious prior knowledge and theoretical tools. [The Structure of Social Sciences and the Role of Facts]: The author defines social science as the study of social existence and becoming, noting its necessary fragmentation into specialized disciplines like economics and sociology. He categorizes the four sources of factual material—experience, history, ethnology, and statistics—and emphasizes that while these provide data, they require critical methodological understanding to be useful. [The Necessity of Theory and Value-Free Inquiry]: Schumpeter argues that raw facts are 'mute' and require theoretical analysis through abstraction and isolation of elements to reveal underlying laws. He demands that students sacrifice their social ideals and political biases at the threshold of science to achieve true objectivity, distinguishing between scientific 'is' and political 'ought'. [Methodology of Theoretical Study and Conceptual Analysis]: This section provides practical advice on studying economic theory, recommending the rigorous reconstruction of arguments and the testing of assumptions. Schumpeter critiques the lack of pure theoretical textbooks in German and suggests using works by Menger and Böhm-Bawerk to learn 'conceptual analysis' and the logic of economic systems. [Practical Experience vs. Scientific Insight]: Schumpeter warns against overvaluing the 'practical' perspective of businessmen or politicians, noting that acting successfully in practice does not imply a scientific understanding of the underlying mechanisms. He uses the example of the stock market to show how scientific analysis reveals essential functions that are often obscured by popular moralizing or superficial observation. [Comprehensive Bibliography of Social Sciences]: A structured bibliography categorized by sub-disciplines including National Economics, Finance, Sociology, Agriculture, Trade, and Statistics. It lists key works by authors such as Smith, Ricardo, Mill, Marx, Menger, and Spencer, intended as a guide for students. [Publisher's Advertisements]: Advertisements from the publisher Duncker & Humblot for related contemporary works on German and Austrian politics, finance, and social democracy, featuring endorsements from Sombart and Schmoller.
Standard Google Books introductory text explaining the digitization process, public domain status, and non-commercial usage guidelines for the digital copy.
Read full textTitle pages for the second edition of Schumpeter's work on studying social science, including publication details from 1915 and library checkout stamps.
Read full textA brief note from the Social Science Academic Association in Czernowitz stating that the text is based on a lecture given by Schumpeter in 1910.
Read full textSchumpeter discusses why social science lacks the established educational path of natural sciences, attributing it to the field's youth and the interference of practical/political interests that lead to dilettantism. He argues that one cannot approach social problems without serious prior knowledge and theoretical tools.
Read full textThe author defines social science as the study of social existence and becoming, noting its necessary fragmentation into specialized disciplines like economics and sociology. He categorizes the four sources of factual material—experience, history, ethnology, and statistics—and emphasizes that while these provide data, they require critical methodological understanding to be useful.
Read full textSchumpeter argues that raw facts are 'mute' and require theoretical analysis through abstraction and isolation of elements to reveal underlying laws. He demands that students sacrifice their social ideals and political biases at the threshold of science to achieve true objectivity, distinguishing between scientific 'is' and political 'ought'.
Read full textThis section provides practical advice on studying economic theory, recommending the rigorous reconstruction of arguments and the testing of assumptions. Schumpeter critiques the lack of pure theoretical textbooks in German and suggests using works by Menger and Böhm-Bawerk to learn 'conceptual analysis' and the logic of economic systems.
Read full textSchumpeter warns against overvaluing the 'practical' perspective of businessmen or politicians, noting that acting successfully in practice does not imply a scientific understanding of the underlying mechanisms. He uses the example of the stock market to show how scientific analysis reveals essential functions that are often obscured by popular moralizing or superficial observation.
Read full textA structured bibliography categorized by sub-disciplines including National Economics, Finance, Sociology, Agriculture, Trade, and Statistics. It lists key works by authors such as Smith, Ricardo, Mill, Marx, Menger, and Spencer, intended as a guide for students.
Read full textAdvertisements from the publisher Duncker & Humblot for related contemporary works on German and Austrian politics, finance, and social democracy, featuring endorsements from Sombart and Schmoller.
Read full text