On the Possibilities of Achieving Consensus and “Rapid Discoveries” in the Social Sciences

The paper considers the difficulties of reaching agreement on the theoretical level of the social sciences, their general objective and subjective reasons. The study looks into factors, which aggravate these difficulties in the modern Russian social sciences. In West-European science of the 16th and 17th centuries, such difficulties were overcome in mathematics and natural sciences due to the emergence of “the rapid discoveries machinery”, i.e. the practice of establishing common criteria for solving problems, systematic verification of results (including those of other people), consensus building, as well as subsequent institutionalization and accumulation of results as scientific knowledge. The author also discusses the obstacles and opportunities for achieving scientific consensus and “rapid discoveries” in the social sciences.