Sociology may have to wait a long time, but eventually-in "several centuries, perhaps"-it will do its work using the tactics of modern physical science, Philippe LeCorbeiller, lecturer on Applied Physics, told the season's first Dunster Forum last night.
Because he "believes in the unity of human nature," LeCorbeiller said that the same scientific methods of "trial and error" that have proved so successful with chemistry and physics can be and will be applied to biology, psychology, and sociology.
He predicted that at about the same time that physicists and chemists will have reached "all-inclusive" and final theories for their fields, the incentive for scientific analysis will shift to the study of the human mind and human relationships.
The French physicist and philosopher estimated that it would be some 50 years, "or perhaps a country," before the areas of theoretical physics and chemistry will be exhausted.
His talk was designed to explain the contents of the first of a series of articles which appeared last spring in the Atlantic Monthly.
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