On the evening of June 2nd, Xie Yu, Academician from the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S. and Professor of Sociology from University of Michigan (U-M) gave a lecture on Social Sciences: Origin, Features and Development at Luojia Forum. Vice-president of WHU Xie Hongxing attended the forum. 

Prof. Xie first made a comparison between the typological logic of Plato and general logic of Darwin and introduced the origin of social sciences. He said: “Difference is real. What is important is individual instead of collective type. Variation is the basis for the research of social sciences.”

Prof. Xie then elaborated on the difference between social sciences and natural sciences. He summarized the features of social sciences into objectivity, empiricity and repeatability.

Prof. Xie said, the research on social sciences in China is turning from ideology-saturated logical discussion to empirical study. The Chinese scholars are therefore facing challenges and opportunities at the same time.

Dr. Xie Yu is a professor of the Survey Research Center and Population Studies Center of U-M’s Institute for Social Research. He is a full professor of statistics and a professor in U-M’s Center for Chinese Studies. Prof. Xie studies social stratification and social mobility. His other research interests include statistical methods and demographic techniques, scientific sociology and Chinese studies. He ever received the Young Investigator Award of the American Science Foundation (1992-1997) and the Guggenheim Fellowship of John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2002-2003).