The ‘Complementality' Realities Between History and the Social Science

Abstract

In the past three or four decades, History and the Social Sciences have worked so closely together; especially with the rise of theoretical issues in history and the need for historical context in the Social Sciences. The Social Sciences which operate with theoretical generalizations inevitably require historical temporal dimension in its practice; while history needs the theories and generalizations (supplied by the Social Sciences) about the operations of society and process of change, which are the subject matter of history. This paper highlights the crucial nature of the relationship between History as a distinct discipline and the Social Sciences, especially in the areas of communality of objectives and inter-dependence in sources and concepts required by both disciplines for effective practice. The need therefore is stressed for more intellectual harmony among historians and scholars in the Social Sciences as a result of the realities of interdependence (complementarity) and the inter-relatedness of History and Social Sciences' practice.

SOPHIA: An African Journal of Philosophy Vol. 9 (1) 2006: pp. 19-22