Allamah Tabatabaii and the Philosophy of Social Sciences

The philosophy of social sciences seeks to investigate the quiddity, possibility, goal, topic and reliable methods in social science. This philosophy is affected by numerous variables. As the mainstream western sciences and ideologies are materialistic and mundane in individual and social aspects, their philosophy of social sciences will naturally be affected by materialistic views. In the viewpoint of Allamah TabatabaIi in Al-Mizan, there are fundamental principles and concepts that influence social, authentic and factual sciences. Such concepts include: “right” as the basis of world of creation and divine legislation, “goals of societies” which affect identity, and “factual non-difference between society and the exigencies of man’s individual nature “. In this regard, any of the above-mentioned principles have implications that differentiate social sciences and their philosophy from immoderate and secular relativity, and increase the capacity of social science for concept making, description, explanation and evaluation of the social world.