Sociology and the problem of the unity of sciences

The demarcations between the social sciences are consequences of the scient ific division of labor. They partly originate in practical interests. In th e research programs of these sciences we find an idea of unity which is inc ompatible with such demarcations. A comparison of the approaches of Otto Ne urath, Ludwig von Mises, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim shows that they, cont rary to modern historicism, involve the possibility of nomological explanat ions. Methodological individualism is compatible with theoretical instituti onalism and the analysis of social systems. It is not necessarily connected with attempts of explanation in a social vacuum and with the rejection of psychological assumptions. Radical historicism which rejects caking account of the nature of man is incompatible with Darwinian biology and therefore untenable. The description and explanation of historical facts can be adequ ately interpreted in a naturalistic way Therefore it is not possible to mak e a sharp demarcation between history and the social sciences.