Toward a Unified Human Science

Abstract

An organizing schema for human science is constructed, which consists of a hierarchical list of the phenomena of interest to human scientists, and the causal links (influences) among these phenomena. Such a schema has been suggested by previous scholars but never constructed. The schema can be justified in terms of both realist philosophy and (much) postmodern thought. It serves the task of interdisciplinarity much better than grand theory. The schema can encourage a broader world view among scholars and a more balanced scholarly effort, improve public policy advice, aid both integration and skill acquisition by students, provide answers to many modern critiques of liberal arts education, and facilitate curricular change.