--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After years of work in both areas of…" description: "\"After years of work in both areas of study, I concluded that the social sciences were different, in many important ways, from the natural sciences, but..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/carroll-quigley-9881_areas_after-years-of-work-in-both-areas-of-stu_1212357.jpg" --- # After years of work in both areas of study, I concluded… ![“After years of work in both areas of study, I concluded that the social sciences were different, in many important ways, from the natural sciences, but that the same scientific methods were applicable in both areas, and, indeed, that no very useful work could be done in either area except by…” quote by Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/carroll-quigley-9881_areas_after-years-of-work-in-both-areas-of-stu_1212357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/carroll-quigley-9881_areas_after-years-of-work-in-both-areas-of-stu_1212357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cc/carroll-quigley-9881_areas_after-years-of-work-in-both-areas-of-stu_1212357.jpg) > “After years of work in both areas of study, I concluded that the social sciences were different, in many important ways, from the natural sciences, but that the same scientific methods were applicable in both areas, and, indeed, that no very useful work could be done in either area except by scientific methods.” [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific methods can be applied across disciplines, though social sciences differ in context and require adaptation. **In simple terms:** Science works in many fields. Key Takeaway Use rigorous methods in social research. Themes science methodology interdisciplinary Mood analytical curious Type academic instructional When to use this quote - policy analysis - economics - education - public health Key Concepts philosophy of science epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance quantitative and qualitative approaches? - When is a method unsuitable? A Different Perspective Social phenomena may resist quantification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Natural science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-science/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Sciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sciences/) [Scientific method](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-method/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-science/) [Social sciences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-sciences/) ## Related quotes > [The social sciences offer equal promise for improving human welfare; our lives can be greatly improved through a deeper understanding of individual and collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/the-social-sciences-offer-equal-promise-for-improving-human-welfare/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [When one studies the structure of the universe, it becomes clear that the sciences are as aesthetic as the arts, and the arts are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-j-fraughton/when-one-studies-the-structure-of-the-universe-it-becomes-clear-that/) [Edward J. Fraughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-j-fraughton/) > [I've always been torn between the pure and the social sciences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-goldin/i-ve-always-been-torn-between-the-pure-and-the-social-sciences/) [Ian Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-goldin/) > [History is the shank of the social sciences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/history-is-the-shank-of-the-social-sciences/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [That was the first major social sciences conference at which social scientists from all cultures wanted to reach a consensus on whether we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulrich-beck/that-was-the-first-major-social-sciences-conference-at-which-social/) [Ulrich Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulrich-beck/) > [The fact I have an education forms my lyrical style, I'm sure. I studied the social sciences, history, stuff like that. I have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-wareham/the-fact-i-have-an-education-forms-my-lyrical-style-i-m-sure-i/) [Dean Wareham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-wareham/) > [What would be the nicest thing I could say about Newt Gingrich? He may be one of the great supporters of the humanities, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/what-would-be-the-nicest-thing-i-could-say-about-newt-gingrich-he-may/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [I have never suggested any principled difference between the natural and social sciences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-have-never-suggested-any-principled-difference-between-the-natural/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [What I'm pushing for is an economic discipline that will be closer to other social sciences; in particular, we should be more pragmatic about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/what-i-m-pushing-for-is-an-economic-discipline-that-will-be-closer-to/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [One reason citizens, politicians and university donors sometimes lack confidence in the social sciences is that social scientists too often miss the chance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-a-christakis/one-reason-citizens-politicians-and-university-donors-sometimes-lack/) [Nicholas A. Christakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-a-christakis/) > [Computers seem a little too adaptively flexible, like the strange natives, odd societies, and head cases we study in the social sciences. There's more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/computers-seem-a-little-too-adaptively-flexible-like-the-strange/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“The physical sciences capitalize on the lessons of the past, but the social sciences seldom do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-cleon-skousen/the-physical-sciences-capitalize-on-the-lessons-of-the-past-but-the/) [W. Cleon Skousen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-cleon-skousen/) > [The prime lesson the social sciences can learn from the natural sciences is just this: that it is necessary to press on to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-prime-lesson-the-social-sciences-can-learn-from-the-natural/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [“Unless social sciences can be as creative as natural science, our new tools are not likely to be of much use to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-douglas-adrian/unless-social-sciences-can-be-as-creative-as-natural-science-our-new/) Edgar Douglas Adrian > [For far too long economists have sought to define themselves in terms of their supposedly scientific methods. In fact, those methods rely on an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/for-far-too-long-economists-have-sought-to-define-themselves-in-terms/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) ## More by Carroll Quigley > [The traditional Christian attitude toward human personality was that human nature was essentially good and that it was formed and modified by social pressures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/the-traditional-christian-attitude-toward-human-personality-was-that/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The backwardness of our religious and social developments is undoubtedly holding back the development of the intellectual and political levels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/the-backwardness-of-our-religious-and-social-developments-is/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The problem of meaning today is the problem of how the diverse and superficially self-contradictory experiences of men can be put into a consistent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/the-problem-of-meaning-today-is-the-problem-of-how-the-diverse-and/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The very idea that there is some kind of conflict between science and religion is completely mistaken. Science is a method for investigating experience...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/the-very-idea-that-there-is-some-kind-of-conflict-between-science-and/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [This priesthood became a closed group, able to control enormous wealth and incomes, and concerned very largely with the study of the solar and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/this-priesthood-became-a-closed-group-able-to-control-enormous-wealth/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/the-argument-that-the-two-parties-should-represent-opposed-ideals-and/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [“We are violating every aspect of life by turning everything into a ripoff because we have adopted the view that insatiable individualistic greed must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/we-are-violating-every-aspect-of-life-by-turning-everything-into-a/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The process by which civilization, as an abstract entity distinct from the societies in which it is embodied, dies or is reborn is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/the-process-by-which-civilization-as-an-abstract-entity-distinct-from/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [The West believes that man and the universe are both complex and that the apparently discordant parts of each can be put into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/the-west-believes-that-man-and-the-universe-are-both-complex-and-that/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [Each individual in a society is a nexus where innumerable relationships of this character intersect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/each-individual-in-a-society-is-a-nexus-where-innumerable/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [A society is a group whose members have more relationships with one another then they do with outsiders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/a-society-is-a-group-whose-members-have-more-relationships-with-one/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [Thus, the use of fiat money is more justifiable in financing a depression than in financing a war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/thus-the-use-of-fiat-money-is-more-justifiable-in-financing-a/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [Each central banksought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/each-central-banksought-to-dominate-its-government-by-its-ability-to/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [It is this power structure which the Radical Right in the United States has been attacking for years in the belief that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/it-is-this-power-structure-which-the-radical-right-in-the-united/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) > [I am now quite sure that Tragedy and Hope was suppressed although I do not know why or by whom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-quigley/i-am-now-quite-sure-that-tragedy-and-hope-was-suppressed-although-i/) [Carroll Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) [Explore all 69 Carroll Quigley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-quigley/) ## More Areas quotes > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The earliest language was body language and, since this language is the language of questions, if we limit the questions, and if we only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/the-earliest-language-was-body-language-and-since-this-language-is/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [This ball was so crowded that it took me - a trained professional journalist with vast experience in this area - forty five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/this-ball-was-so-crowded-that-it-took-me-a-trained-professional/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [It's absolutely fun to walk around and have people respect you. When Michael Jackson did Thriller, I was in the park one day, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/it-s-absolutely-fun-to-walk-around-and-have-people-respect-you-when/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [Software will get to be somewhat more mature, ah, but it will never be as predictable as most areas of engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-will-get-to-be-somewhat-more-mature-ah-but-it-will-never-be/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [If I were entering adulthood now instead of in the environment of fifty years ago, I would choose a career that kept me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/if-i-were-entering-adulthood-now-instead-of-in-the-environment-of/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [The discrepancy between what actually happened and the version of what happened provided by sources is an enormous gray area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jay-epstein/the-discrepancy-between-what-actually-happened-and-the-version-of/) [Edward Jay Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jay-epstein/) > [Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/louisville-is-a-place-with-no-labels-it-s-not-the-south-it-s-not/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. 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