Facts, Values, and Objectivity in the Human Sciences

In recent times the tenab.ility of a "value neutral" conception of social inquiry has come under increasing scrutiny. The critique of the traditional model is grounded in a reappraisal of the relationship of facts and values on the levels of both methodology and lived experience. The present essay reviews some major elements in the critique of value neutrality, and on the basis of a reappraisal of the fact/value relationship, argues for an alternative conception of the objectivity of the complex process of social inquiry.