In arguably the finest text ever written in the philosophy of social science, Kaplan emphasizes what unites the behavioral sciences more than what distinguishes them from one another. This is a systematic, rounded, and wide-ranging inquiry into behavioral science; it is not a formal exercise in its philosophy, but a critical and constructive assessment of the developing standards and strategies of contemporary social inquiry in which he emphasizes the tasks, achievements, limitations, and dilemmas of the newer disciplines.