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The disciplinary boundaries among geography, political science, sociology, & economics have become increasingly permeable & fluid. As more & more scientific innovations occur at the intersections among these specialties, traditional assumptions about research paradigms seem increasingly confining. While research that draws from more than one disciplinary tradition is generally referred to as interdisciplinary, this term is misleading. Because whole disciplines are not literally being combined, the term hybridization is a better description of the processes of specialization & recombination that are taking place in the social sciences. 2 Photographs, 58 References. Adapted from the source document.

In a footnote to Ernest Gellner's theories on relativism (eg, 1985 & 1987), an objectivist defense of the social sciences is offered on the basis of theories that are successful according to Karl Popper's standards. Contemporary relativism & skepticism about the ability of the social sciences to produce objective or true theories arise out of Thomas Kuhn's (1962) work. It is argued that a good theory offers statements describing the necessary & sufficient conditions for the explanation of a phenomenon. Further, the nonempirical elements of this theory should be acceptable. These criteria are met by any number of social scientific theories, eg, Alexis de Tocqueville's discussion of why religion flourishes in the US. The interpretive elements integral to social scientific theories are discussed in relation to the example of the theories of the origins of modernity. The growth of social scientific knowledge offers reason to be optimistic about the theoretical successes of sociology. 28 References. H. von Rautenfeld

This paper argues for a closer association between economics & sociology. The latter could benefit from the intellectual rigor of the former. Building a unified socioeconomics requires an intellectual rapprochement between the sociologist conception of social interaction & a relaxed version of rational choice. Evolutionary game theory may provide one way forward. 2 Figures, 42 References. Adapted from the source document.

According to the author, the fact that sociology emerged in Europe and that it was implanted in East Asia presented many problems and raised a number of issues. Implanted sociology inevitably raises the issue of irrelevancy as a consequence of the encounter between Western theory and East Asian realities. The author discusses the issues of irrelevancy/relevancy of sociolgy for East Asia, the rise of indigenization ("East Asian") discourse and the quest for the East Asian identity. (DÜI-Sen)