Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers

Field Theory in Social Science: Selected Theoretical Papers
Author: Kurt Lewin
Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group

When the intellectual history of the twentieth century is written , Kurt Lewin will surely be counted as one of those few men whose work changed fundamentally the course of social science in its most critical period of development . During his professional life of only about thirty years , the social sciences grew from the stage of specula tive system building , through a period of excessive empiricism in which facts were gathered simply for their intrinsic interest , to a more mature development in which empirical data are sought for the significance they can have for systematic theories . Although the social sciences are only barely into this third stage of development Lewin's work has accelerated greatly the rate of development . Though he was primarily a psychologist and made his major contributions that field , the influence of his work has extended well beyond bounds of traditional psychology .