The Public Role of the Social and Human Sciences

Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences pp 1–12 .

The Public Role of the Social and Human Sciences After the Crisis of Modernity 

Miguel A. Cabrera

First Online: 12 October 2018

Abstract The current crisis of modernity has far-reaching implications for the public role of the social and human sciences. This crisis has made it clear that the central theoretical premises and concepts used by social scientists until now are not reflections of phenomena and processes which really exist, but components of the modern imaginary or discourse. As a consequence, social scientists’ ambition of being experts and guides of human practice has been seriously undermined and their social function should be completely reconsidered and redefined. From now on, the function of social scientists cannot be to provide people with an objective knowledge about reality. In a situation marked by the theoretical and epistemological disenchantment of modernity, their public role should be to help denaturalize and deconstruct any statement, practice, institution, or power relation with claims of being objectively founded.

Keywords Social scientists’ role Crisis of modernity Knowledge Modern imaginary Deconstruction

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Copyright information © Fudan University 2018 Cite this article as: Cabrera, M.A. Fudan J. Hum. Soc. Sci. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-018-0240-0       

Received 04 December 2017 Accepted 28 September 2018 First Online 12 October 2018 DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-018-0240-0 Publisher Name Springer Berlin Heidelberg Print ISSN 1674-0750 Online ISSN 2198-2600