Sciences humaines et philosophie
suivi de Structualisme génétique et création littéraire
📘 About This Book
Depuis le déclin de l'Église et le renversement de l'ordre féodal, la transformation de la nature par l'homme guidé par les sciences exactes est bien acceptée. En revanche, l'on dénie toujours à l'homme la possibilité de la transformation de la société guidée par la connaissance de la vie sociale. L'émergence de cette conscience possible est en effet entravée par le dévoiement néopositiviste organisé dans les « sciences humaines » elles-mêmes, qui interdiront au niveau social l'unité de la pensée et de l'action, en imposant des instruments épistémologiques dé- formés. Car l'analyse adéquate des antagonismes de classe contempo- rains pourrait avoir des conséquences désastreuses pour les intérêts des classes exploiteuses.Pour Lucien Goldmann, considérer la communauté humaine comme un objet d'étude, coupé, isolé de toute transformation est déjà le fourvoiement épistémologique fondamental de ces sciences. De là leurs autres distorsions dériveront plus ou moins nécessairement: et notamment en plaquant dessus directement et indûment la méthodologie des sciences dures. Pour ce qui est de la connaissance de la vie sociale, l'unité de la pensée et de l'action exige d'être totale : il ne peut y avoir en ce domaine de conscience vraie et partielle en même temps, contrairement au domaine des sciences exactes.
📖 Summary
Lucien Goldmann's Sciences humaines et philosophie explores the deep epistemological foundations and ideological challenges facing the human sciences in the modern era. Published posthumously in 1978 across 198 pages, the book tackles the fundamental methodological problems of understanding society and human consciousness from a Marxist and structuralist-genetic perspective. Goldmann investigates why the transformation of nature through exact sciences has been universally accepted since the decline of the feudal order and the Church, while the transformation of society guided by social knowledge continues to be actively resisted and denied. The core thesis of the book centers on the emergence of a critical social consciousness, which Goldmann argues is deliberately thwarted by what he terms the organized neopositivist corruption within the human sciences. By imposing distorted epistemological tools upon researchers, academic institutions prevent the essential unity of thought and action at the social level. Goldmann exposes how maintaining this separation is vital for safeguarding the interests of exploitative classes, because an adequate, unhindered analysis of contemporary class antagonisms and societal structures could have destabilizing or disastrous consequences for the ruling economic order. When human communities and social structures are treated purely as static, external objects rather than as dynamic historical processes shaped by human action, true social critique is neutralized. Throughout the text, Goldmann provides a rigorous methodological framework aimed at overcoming these ideological limitations. He emphasizes that the human sciences cannot be neutral or value-free in the way traditional neopositivism claims. Instead, the researcher is always part of the very social reality they are studying. Therefore, genuine knowledge in the social domain requires a dialectical approach that connects individual consciousness, cultural expressions, and collective social classes into a coherent totality. Goldmann advocates for a rigorous genetic epistemology that traces how ideas and social structures emerge, develop, and transform over time through historical praxis. Ultimately, Sciences humaines et philosophie serves as both a critique of bourgeois methodology and a call for a renewed, revolutionary approach to understanding human culture and society. Goldmann challenges academics, philosophers, and social scientists to recognize the ideological burdens embedded in their working methods. By dissecting the mechanisms through which established powers fragment knowledge and divorce theory from practical social change, Goldmann offers readers a powerful intellectual toolkit for reclaiming the human sciences as a genuine instrument for human emancipation and societal self-awareness.
🎯 Key Lessons
⚖️ Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
Offers a rigorous critique of neopositivist methodology in academia.
Highlights the vital connection between theory, thought, and social action.
Provides deep insights into the ideological pressures shaping the human sciences.
Encourages a totalizing, historical approach to studying human communities.
⚠️ Cons
Dense philosophical prose can be challenging for casual readers.
Requires prior familiarity with Marxist and structuralist methodology.
❓ FAQ
Who is the author of Sciences humaines et philosophie? +
The book was written by Lucien Goldmann.
When was this book published? +
It was published in 1978.
How many pages does the book contain? +
The book spans 198 pages.
What is the primary genre of the book? +
The book falls under methodology and philosophy of the human sciences.
What core problem does Goldmann address regarding the human sciences? +
He addresses how neopositivist distortions prevent the human sciences from aiding societal transformation.
