812 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



So little progress toward unanimity of opinion has been made by 

 sociologists since the date of this census that its results may be 

 taken as typical of present conditions. Among the questions asked 

 were these: " Do you think the study is entitled to be called a sci- 

 ence? " " In what department does it belong? " " What is its rela- 

 tion to political economy, history, political science, ethics?" 



The question whether sociology is entitled to be called a science 

 is answered by " fully three fourths " of the correspondents in the 

 affirmative. Some hedge, by affirming that it is " becoming a science." 

 Prof. John Bascom, of Williams College, appears to have entered 

 into the humor of the situation; he writes, "It ^vill do no harm to 

 call it a science if we do not abate our effort to make it one." 



The opinions regarding the department in which sociology be- 

 longs are entertainingly diverse. Prof. John Dewey, of the Univer- 

 sity of Chicago, is frank enough to admit that he doesn't " feel at all 

 sure " where it belongs. " It would seem well," he adds, " to have it a 

 separate branch, in order to make sure that it received proper atten- 

 tion." This feeling of uneasiness lest the claims of sociology be slight- 

 ingly treated appears to be general among the representatives of 

 the new study. Most of the teachers of sociology are of the opinion 

 that it ought to form a department by itself. " Some would place 

 it in the department of the social sciences, along with politics, eco- 

 nomics, jurisprudence, and the like. Others would change the 

 order, making all the social sciences divisions of sociology. On the 

 other hand. Professor Giddings, of Columbia University, says: 

 " General sociology can not be divided into special social sciences, 

 such as economics, law, and politics, without losing its distinctive 

 character. It should be looked on as the foundation or groundwork 

 of these sciences, rather than as their sum or as their collective name." 

 Scattering replies place it under psychology, moral and political 

 science, political economy, and anthropology. One teacher thinks it 

 belongs under the " humanities " ; while two say it has no natural 

 boundaries, and is therefore not included in any one department." 

 Altogether the impression left by the replies to this question is that 

 the teachers of sociology are quite at a loss to know where to jiut 

 the study in the university curriculum. They appear to realize 

 confusedly that they have on their hands a pedagogical white ele- 

 phant, which defies classification. 



The opinions concerning the relation of sociology to political 

 economy, history, political science, and ethics are almost delphic in 

 their vagueness. Says one, " History is its material, ethics its guide, 

 political economy its interpreter, and a rational system of political 

 science its proposed end." Says another, " Sociology is political 

 economy in practice, history in the making, political science as an 



