本栏发表的两篇文章涉及我们杂志经常探讨的一个问题的许多方面。科学的一个基本原则是普遍性。虽然社会科学总是受到它所处的社会里的不同文化、意识形态和社会经济的强有力的影响,但它要成为名副其实的科学,就仍然需要遵循普遍性的原则,至少也应把普遍性作为自己必须坚持的方向。在本杂志上期发表的一篇文章里,厄恩斯特·盖尔纳驳斥了认为社会的所有领域都不适宜于作为科学对象的论点。他认为,社会科学的各个学科在科学方法上具有许多特点:有确切界定并可以系统地加以检验的假说;有定量分析和概念的有效运用;有通过可验证的方法进行的观察;原 Two articles published in this column address many aspects of a problem that is often discussed in our magazine. One of the basic principles of science is universality. Although social science is always strongly influenced by the different cultures, ideologies and socio-economic aspects of the society in which it operates, it still needs to follow the principle of universality if it is to become a veritable science. At the very least, universality As we must adhere to the direction. In an article published in the last issue of the journal, Ernst Gehner dismissed the argument that all areas of society are not suitable as scientific objects. In his view, the various disciplines in the social sciences have many features in the scientific method: hypotheses that are well-defined and systematically tested; the quantitative analysis and the effective use of concepts; the observation through verifiable methods; the original