SOCIOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY: THE DEBATE ON VALUE‐FREE SOCIAL SCIENCE
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 1 January 1993
Abstract
In a recent essay entitled “Value‐relevant Sociology”, David Gray (1983:405–416) argues that if sociology has to be socially relevant, “it is essential that sociology becomes consciously value‐relevant, not value‐free.” He maintains that sociologists cannot analyse the consequences of social structure, forces, and change in a value‐free context if their works are to be relevant for social policies. He then goes on to say, “Between the extremes of value‐free, non‐relevant, sometimes trivial, sociology on the one hand, and immediate response to pressing socioeconomic problems and prevailing political winds on the other, where does the significant sociology lie?” (1983:406). For Gray, both extremes are inappropriate for a worthy academic discipline.
Citation
Hewa, S. (1993), "SOCIOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY: THE DEBATE ON VALUE‐FREE SOCIAL SCIENCE", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 13 No. 1/2, pp. 64-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb013167
Publisher
:MCB UP Ltd
Copyright © 1993, MCB UP Limited