THE PROPER STUDY OF MANKIND

The recent revision in requirements for concentration in the field of Sociology and Social Ethics appear to be fully in accord not only with good sense but established precedent. History, Government and Economics has for sometime required three general examinations, one in the field as a whole, one in the department specialized in, and one in a very much narrower subject within the department. By adapting similar regulations, the committee in charge of Sociology and Social Ethics insure that those studying the complex mosaic of human society will not sacrifice proper balance of background to the desire for spotlight definition of isolated detail.

Conversely the new emphasis upon the critical examination of particular problems will impress upon concentrators in this field, the dangers that await the dabbler. The body of knowledge which relates to the adaptation of man to his society must still, for the most part, be interpreted by the use of more experimental hypotheses. In a field which deals with countless variables, the very existence of many of which are scarcely realized, there can be no exact scientific laws. Superficial study has a tendency to discover order where there is none, and it is only by thorough investigation of restricted portions of a field that one gains a respect for the gravity of what seem like simple problems.