Volume 6, 2001
Vincent Jeffries
Pages 25-40
Foundational Ideas for an Integral Social Science Private In the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas
Pitirim A. Sorokin advocated an “integral” system of truth which would incorporate religious ideas in the epistemology and ontology of the social sciences. Several foundational ideas for this integral perspective are in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas: (1) the view that truth is derived from the three sources of faith, reason, and the senses; (2) the last end of human beings, which is happiness; (3) virtue and vice; (4) free will, through which individuals exercise the capacity to choose. These ideas can be incorporated within the existing frame of reference of the social sciences. When appropriate, they can be formulated as value premises, concepts, propositions, and operational definitions. The writings of Sorokin and Aquinas are considered as foundational sources for the development of a comprehensive integral tradition in the social sciences.