Abstract

Wittgenstein's criticisms of Frazer reveal a subjective theory of the social sciences. Wittgenstein refuses to accept Frazer's contention that customs are rooted in interpretations of nature, and feels that this genetic approach does not lead to either empirical or formal knowledge outside the natural sciences. His attack on Frazer's work is really an attack on the very idea of a causal account of history. In the tradition of Humean skepticism, Wittgenstein sees plausible description, not scientific explanation, as the highest aim of the social sciences. Yet Wittgenstein's method is a futile dogma in that it rules out cross-cultural comparison from the start