Descriptive Imaginary and the Epistemological Profile of Modern Social Sciences

In the present paper we intend to introduce the concept of descriptive imaginary, which designates a special type of scientific imaginary, as an investigative tool regarding the epistemological profile of social sciences. The concept is partially originated in the terminology of the French School of History and Anthropology in which important contributors are Gilbert Durand, Jacques Le Goff, Jean Jacques Wunenburger and others. We are going to distinguish descriptive imaginary from other types of imaginary, like artistic imaginary or religious imaginary and to emphasize its role in the development of natural sciences, but also of social sciences as well. As far as imagination is concerned, it had a rather difficult relation with philosophy, including epistemology and philosophy of science. Thus, it is mandatory to justify the use of the term “imaginary” in relation to the epistemological profile of various scientific disciplines. But some of the old prejudices regarding the contribution of imaginative faculty to scientific progress seem to be abandoned nowadays. At least, the productive imagination was finally distinguished from the reproductive one. Moreover, in spite of the fact that human imagination can produce a wide range of fictional entities, its partial use within the scientific descriptive effort regarding the characteristics of nature can be put into evidence, provided the use of imaginative faculty within the limits of rationality with a deep focus on the plausibility of descriptions. An important ingredient in this case is represented by specific criteria for selecting viable descriptive representations used in the development of scientific theories. We are going to study some crucial points in the historical evolution of natural sciences and social sciences, aiming to emphasize some intriguing similarities but also some disparities among them, in order to unveil the specificity of modern social sciences as far as the methodological road from Theory to Inquiry in their case is concerned. The case of sociology, which was born as “social physics” seems to be emblematic in this respect. In the end, we are going to develop a possible explanation for the presence of some methodological elements in the epistemological profile of modern social sciences that consolidate their status as modern sciences

Descriptive research · Epistemology · Psychoanalysis · Rationality · Social science · Sociology · Terminology · The Imaginary · Historical and Literary Analyses · Historical and Literary Studies · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology

• Theorizing in sociology and social science

  Open Access•Richard Swedberg•Theory and Society•2011

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