Academics who do social-science research are objective scholars who follow the evidence where it leads — right?
Not usually, argues Professor Loretta Breuning in today’s Martin Center article. Speaking from experience, she observes that many researchers are driven to come up with results that will advance their careers. If evidence doesn’t happen to indicate the desired result, then look for some that does:
The belief system I’m talking about is Rousseau’s idea that nature is good and civilization is the cause of all that’s bad. Social-science researchers may not say this openly, but their findings almost always fit the belief that peace and love are the default state of nature, and problems are due to “our society.” They claim that cooperation and harmony are the natural state by producing “studies” that profess to show cooperation and harmony among animals, children, and hunter-gatherers. When there’s conflict among these groups, they overlook it (or, again, blame “society”).
Breuning at one time accepted the Rousseauian belief system but later came to see that it was badly flawed.
The trouble in social-science research is that the game is tilted toward findings that help advance governmental control; research that minimizes problems or suggests that non-government solutions won’t help the individual’s career. (That’s true is almost all fields now, thanks to the widespread dependency on government research funding.)
Breuning concludes, “After my early retirement, I had the chance to study social science with an open mind. I learned that our brains evolved to keep our genes alive, not to make us happy. The brain releases happy chemicals when we do things that help our genes survive. It doesn’t decide this with conscious logic. It decides with a limbic system that’s the same in all mammals, and with neural pathways built from our own early experiences. This is why we seek happiness in quirky ways. I was grateful to have a second chance at an open mind and hope today’s college students will find that chance someday.”