Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 10.djvu/45

 THE SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY 33

a supply of water in the boiler; a supply of fuel in the fire-box; that fuel must be so consumed as to make steam ; the steam must be let into the cylinders in volume enough to exert the pressure necessary for the work which the machinery must do. So far the program is plain. These are general principles of mechanical wisdom. But what is scientific for Engineer John Smith at this moment in handling his engine? Shall he order more fuel into the fire-box or more water into the boiler or more steam into the cylinders? These things depend entirely upon the situation at this moment. If more power must be used, and the boiler capacity is sufficient, and the engine has been working below its capacity, then it is scientific to pile in the fuel as fast as forced draft can consume it, to turn on water to keep it at the most economical steaming leve^ and to crowd on steam as fast as it is generated. But if the water has fallen below the safety level, if the pipes are overheated, if more water would be likely to crack them, then the scientific thing may be to exhaust the steam left in the pipes, dump the fire altogether, cool the boiler to a tem- perature at which cold water is safe, then fill the boiler, rekindle the fire, watch the steam gauge, and wait for orders.

Now, the goal of sociological method, as I understand it, is such insight into the precise situation, at one's own moment of sharing in the social process, that one may be able to decide, just as the well-posted engineer in the supposed case would do, what is the right line of action. The desideratum is to be able to say, for instance : " The American people are in such and such a situation ; such and such are the chief issues now pending ; the other issues fall into such and such subordinate relations; in view of these facts the conduct of the American people should be turned in such and such directions, so as to procure such and such results."

Now, this is by no means such an academic and Utopian con- ception as it may seem. It is simply a somewhat more general- ized expression of the thing that men of affairs, no less than philosophers, have been doing time out of mind. Not to go back beyond our own national traditions, the signers of the Declaration of Independence did precisely this. After years of