--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether sociology can ever become a…" description: "\"Whether sociology can ever become a full-fledged \"science\" (a description of a class of events predictable on the basis of deductions from a constant r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/anatol-rapoport-23399_bases_whether-sociology-can-ever-become-a-full_2949475.jpg" --- # Whether sociology can ever become a full-fledged "science"… ![“Whether sociology can ever become a full-fledged "science" (a description of a class of events predictable on the basis of deductions from a constant rationale) depends on whether the terms which sociologists employ to describe events can be analyzed into quantifiable observables.” quote by Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/anatol-rapoport-23399_bases_whether-sociology-can-ever-become-a-full_2949475.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/anatol-rapoport-23399_bases_whether-sociology-can-ever-become-a-full_2949475.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01f/anatol-rapoport-23399_bases_whether-sociology-can-ever-become-a-full_2949475.jpg) > “Whether sociology can ever become a full-fledged "science" (a description of a class of events predictable on the basis of deductions from a constant rationale) depends on whether the terms which sociologists employ to describe events can be analyzed into quantifiable observables.” [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sociology's scientific status hinges on converting qualitative terms into measurable variables that can be empirically tested. **In simple terms:** Sociology needs clear, measurable concepts to be a science. Key Takeaway Focus on quantifying social phenomena. Themes methodology measurement science sociology philosophy Mood analytical critical Type academic theoretical When to use this quote - survey design - statistical analysis - policy evaluation - academic debate Key Concepts epistemology operationalization empiricism Questions to Reflect On - What social concepts resist measurement? - Can all social phenomena be reduced to data? A Different Perspective Quantification may oversimplify complex human behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/) [Deductions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deductions/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Description](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/description/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Fledged Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fledged-science-4438228/) [Predictable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predictable/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sociologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociologists/) [Sociologists Employ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociologists-employ-4438230/) [Sociology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociology/) [Sociology Fledged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sociology-fledged-4438229/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Terms Sociologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terms-sociologists-4438227/) ## Related quotes > [The quarrel of the sociologists with the historians is that the latter have learned so much about how to do it that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-quarrel-of-the-sociologists-with-the-historians-is-that-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think sociologists are among the best at thinking about emergence, of thinking about the ways that the society is more than the sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/i-think-sociologists-are-among-the-best-at-thinking-about-emergence/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Any ad consciously attended to is comical. 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I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brassai/it-is-not-sociologists-who-provide-insights-but-photographers-of-our/) [Brassai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brassai/) > [Men live in a community in virtue of the things which they have in common; and communication is the way in which they come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/men-live-in-a-community-in-virtue-of-the-things-which-they-have-in/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [There may come a time in the career of every sociologist when it is his solemn duty to raise hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-alsworth-ross/there-may-come-a-time-in-the-career-of-every-sociologist-when-it-is/) [Edward Alsworth Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-alsworth-ross/) ## More by Anatol Rapoport > [The usefulness of the models in constructing a testable theory of the process is severely limited by the quickly increasing number of parameters which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/the-usefulness-of-the-models-in-constructing-a-testable-theory-of-the/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [Do you know that all great spurts in...progress came just after some unorthodox ideas or exotic impressions had penetrated into a closed system?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/do-you-know-that-all-great-spurts-in-progress-came-just-after-some/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [(Game theory is) essentially a structural theory. 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It is that of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/the-purpose-of-formulating-a-conflict-as-a-game-is-not-that-of/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [A theorem is a proposition which is a strict logical consequence of certain definitions and other propositions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/a-theorem-is-a-proposition-which-is-a-strict-logical-consequence-of/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [To gain knowledge, we must learn to ask the right questions; and to get answers, we must act, not wait for answers to occur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/to-gain-knowledge-we-must-learn-to-ask-the-right-questions-and-to-get/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [The "flow of information" through human communication channels is enormous. 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Infantry Manual published during World War II, the soldier was told what to do if a live grenade fell into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/in-the-us-infantry-manual-published-during-world-war-ii-the-soldier/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [One cannot play chess if one becomes aware of the pieces as living souls and of the fact that the Whites and the Blacks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/one-cannot-play-chess-if-one-becomes-aware-of-the-pieces-as-living/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [It is one thing to say that the dwelling has symbolic and cosmological aspects... and another to say that it has been erected for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/it-is-one-thing-to-say-that-the-dwelling-has-symbolic-and/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) > [The outcome of a non-constant-sum game may be dictated by the individual rationality of the respective players without satisfying a criterion of collective rationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/the-outcome-of-a-non-constant-sum-game-may-be-dictated-by-the/) [Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) [Explore all 26 Anatol Rapoport quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/) ## More Bases quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [I don't want to go into space because of war. 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