A humanistic coefficient ( pl, współczynnik humanistyczny) is a

conceptual object In metaphysics, the distinction between abstract and concrete refers to a divide between two types of entities. Many philosophers hold that this difference has fundamental metaphysical significance. Examples of concrete objects include plants, hum ...

, methodological principle, or method of conducting

social research Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative. * Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable ...

wherein

data analysis Data analysis is a process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming, and modeling data with the goal of discovering useful information, informing conclusions, and supporting decision-making. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches, en ...

stresses the perceived import of analyzed experiences to their participants. The term was coined by Polish sociologist

Florian Znaniecki Florian Witold Znaniecki (15 January 1882 – 23 March 1958) was a Polish philosopher and sociologist who taught and wrote in Poland and in the United States. Over the course of his work he shifted his focus from philosophy to sociology. ...

.Elżbieta Hałas
The Humanistic Approach of Florian Znaniecki
Chapter III. The Humanistic Coefficient of Sociological Order Znaniecki coined the term in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

in his ''Wstęp do socjologii'' (Introduction to Sociology, 1922) and translated it into English as "humanistic coefficient" in his book, ''The Object-Matter of Sociology'' (1927).

Definitions

Grossly and simply speaking, the humanistic coefficient is the difference between trying to describe or explain

social fact In sociology, social facts are values, cultural norms, and social structures that transcend the individual and can exercise social control. The French sociologist Émile Durkheim defined the term, and argued that the discipline of sociology should ...

s as if they were purely physical

phenomena A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried ...

, or doing it instead by taking into account the

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...

of the

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

milieu The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educate ...

in which those facts happen. In Znaniecki's own words: ''"an observer of cultural life can understand the data observed only if taken with the "humanistic coefficient"'', only if he does not limit his observation to his own direct experience of the data but reconstructs the experience and the data in the social context of the people involved".Paraphrased from "The Social Role of the Man of Knowledge By Florian Znaniecki " Originally published: New York : Harper & Row, 1968. Elsewhere he wrote: ''"This essential character of cultural data we call the humanistic coefficient, because such data, as objects of the student's theoretic reflection, already belong to somebody's else's experience and are such as this active experience makes them."''

Piotr Sztompka Piotr Sztompka (born 2 March 1944, in Warsaw, Poland) is a Polish sociologist known for his work on the theory of social trust. He is professor of sociology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, and has also frequently served as ...

defines the humanistic coefficient as ''"a connection that exists between each

and actions and experiences of particular individuals, and the resulting need for those facts to be studied from specific perspective that requires the research to place him or herself in the position of those individuals."''

Elżbieta Hałas Elżbieta Hałas (1954–present) is a Polish sociologist and a professor at the University of Warsaw. She specializes in the sociology of culture. She is the director of the Cultural Department in the University of Warsaw's Institute of Sociolog ...

in turn defines it as ''"the notion of the human collective's constructing and reconstructing of reality"'', thus related to the concept of

social constructionist Social constructionism is a theory in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory which proposes that certain ideas about physical reality arise from collaborative consensus, instead of pure observation of said reality. The theory ...

Meaning

According to the concept of the humanistic coefficient, all

s are created by social actors, and can only be understood from their perspective. No social facts can exist without connection to some individuals (although that connection does not have to necessarily be consciously perceived). Thus the sociologist should study reality by trying to understand how others see the world, not as an independent observer (objectively); in other words the scientist needs to understand the world of the subject.

Ken Plummer Ken Plummer (4 April 1946 – 4 November 2022) was a British sociologist. He was a professor of sociology at the University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 196 ...

puts it curtly as "the object of study is always linked to somebody's human meanings." While some have criticized the humanistic coefficient approach as too close to

subjectivism Subjectivism is the doctrine that "our own mental activity is the only unquestionable fact of our experience", instead of shared or communal, and that there is no external or objective truth. The success of this position is historically attribute ...

, Znaniecki himself saw is as anti-subjectivist; he noted that social facts like cultural systems can exist even if nobody perceives their existence. He was also critical of any value coming from personal, subjective observations, arguing that such observations have value only if they can be objectively described. Both natural and social sciences operate within the bounds of the humanistic coefficient, but the natural sciences may abstract the pheomena they analyze from it, while the social sciences are methodologically obliged to account for it. Thus Znaniecki argued that the difference between natural and social sciences lies not in the difference between objective and subjective experiences, but in the subject of what is being studied: for Znaniecki, natural sciences studied things, and social sciences – cultural values. He saw sociology as a

nomothetic Nomothetic literally means "proposition of the law" (Greek derivation) and is used in philosophy, psychology, and law with differing meanings. Etymology In general humanities usage, ''nomothetic'' may be used in the sense of "able to lay down ...

science that should be able to use a similar methodology as natural sciences. The humanistic coefficient concerns the

ontology In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities ...

of culture, but it also has an

epistemological Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

aspect, as it describes how sociological concepts should be constructed in an environment where social facts investigated by the researchers can be accessed only through experiences and actions of the subjects he or she observes. The humanistic coefficient is a major element in the sociological theory of Znaniecki.

References

{{reflist Sociological theories

Definitions

Meaning

See also

References