why "social sciences" rather than "social narrativesæ?

# 4084

Calling the disciplines social science imposes on the practitioners the restraints of science. But this means that things like values, dreams, loves, friendship and analysis of societies and , institutions from a quality of life and human nature pdrspective are to be avoided. Why would this happen? So criticism of institutions with a humanist vocabulary and mindset is not allowed and those with power can continue without fear of serious criticism. There are new hints of interest in these wider themes but likely to be swallowed by AI. Think of how philosophy has degenerated into an anti-common sense dialectic that has castrated itself and avoids social-political thought - what had been clear in early philosophy as Plato and Aristotle wrote about politics. William James and Pragmatism are inarticulate about the philosophy of society and human well-being. The naming of the disciplines with their funding is in the hands of boards who are hands-on with money for funding. Think if instead of social science the exploration of society were called Social Narrative. So we get the Department of Social Narratives, the Journal of Social Narratives - and a much closer interdependence with history, anthropology, linguistics, and human development, The Dawn of Everything has made an opening for us but it doesn’t seem to be used as widely as it could be. The social science that is allowed is more in the style of market analysis and quantitative issues such as voting, preferences, and consumer preferences. Moby Dick is not read as serious social thought. I like to say to economists, "Can you imagine a time when novels are treated as legitimate explorations of human nature?"How about Don Quixote? Watch AI with its lego-like constructions dominate social thought in the rest of this decade in the service of the digital march to power and war.