Ans.

There is an element of truth in what the critics say. Indeed, a scientific study of social phenomena is not free from difficulties. Social studies, by their very nature, cannot perhaps be as exact or natural as physical sciences. But the critics overlook their case when they deny any possibility of Sociology becoming scientific. Perhaps they assume that exactness of conclusions and capacity to predict alone make a study scientific. This betrays a rather inadequate comprehension of the nature of science. Meteorology fails to make accurate prediction. Shall we deny it the designation of science? If the methods of a study are scientific, the subject deserves the rank of a science. Sociology does make use of scientific methods in the study of its subject-matter and it is therefore, entitled to be called a science.

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