78 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL 
and there is no reason to believe that sociology will not 
perfect its technique as it grows. Besides, in dealing with 
the great objectified social structures there is less chance 
for a purely subjective treatment in the abstraction of the 
form. Also, where this danger is greatest, namely, in the 
treatment of the minute processes of socialization, there is 
a safeguard in the great number of data on which the in- 
duction may be based. 
The complexity of social life and the relative crudeness 
of the technique of sociology prevent in the present stage a 
fundamental clarity regarding its basic questions and a 
perfect validity of its answers. But in many fields of scien- 
tific investigation, the so-called foundations are less secure 
than the superstructure erected upon them. Scientific 
procedure, especially in new fields, can scarcely dispense 
with a certain amount of intuitive performance. Only sub- 
sequently do we become fully conscious of its motives 
and norms and can we subject them to a conceptual 
criticism. Scientific labor will, of course, never be satisfied 
with a vague and intuitive treatment of details, but science 
would be doomed to sterility in new fields if it had to wait 
for a completely formulated methodology and technique.’ 
. Soz., ». 97.