Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 15.djvu/674

 66o THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

but each from a different viewpoint. There is also a general rec- ognition that the growing unity of knowledge can best be expedi- ted by admitting one another's right to exist and by appointing when necessary boards of arbitration for the settlement of boundary disputes — under instructions to award disputed terri- tory to the one most clearly in possession.

Again, in marking out the relationship existing between soci- ology and the special social sciences, we have made no attempt to assert authority over these, except in so far as specialized studies in social problems such as charity, crime, and the like have by common consent been given over to the department. These studies, however, have been carried on in the light of the dominating thought underlying sociology, viz., that the perplex- ing phenomena of human association are all parts of a common problem, and hence that a unifying idea should run through them all. This is done by emphasizing a common method, and the processes of co-ordination and synthesis. Emphasis is constantly placed on the methods of observation, comparison, and historical development, using as far' as possible statistics as an essential aid in exact knowledge. Causes and conditions, as far as these can be ascertained, are sought out: the great social institutions are studied historically, analyses made of their component parts, these compared in their several stages of development, and resem- blances and differences noted. Preferably a topical outline and references are used in the classroom, so as to ^llow the individu- ality of the student to express itself in results. Our compact little state (Rhode Island) with its dense urban population is used as a sort of laboratory where unconscious social experiments may con- stantly be observed and compared with similar phenomena in other social groups. As quite similar methods are usual in the other social sciences, there is a constant tendency to utilize the conclusions reached by these and to co-ordinate and synthesize them into a body of knowledge useful for sociological purposes. We discuss, for instance, such generalizations as : the influence of natural physical conditions and economic achievements in deter- mining or tending to determine the trend of civilization ; or the intimate connection between the material and the cultural aspects