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The core problems of sociological and philosophical theories of knowledge remain insoluble and unrelated as long as both theories start from static models. The problems can be solved, and the respective theories related to each other, without undue difficulties if the acquisition of knowledge is conceptualized as a long-term process which takes place within societies also considered as long-term processes. This approach has the added advantage of being in closer agreement with the evidence. The paper indicates what needs to be unlearned and what to be learned in order to prepare the way for such a unified theoretical framework which can serve as a guide to, and which can be in turn corrected by, empirical sociological studies of all types of knowledge, scientific and practical as well as non-scientific or ideological. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ancient and modern methods and results of man's efforts to formulate satisfying statements about the ultimate meaning of human life and the nature of the universe were interwoven in the program presented at the sixth international gathering of philosophers held at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 13-17, 1927. The courts and handsomely assembly rooms of a group of new dormitories located on the banks of the Charles River supplied a delightful atmosphere of academic quiet and gave opportunities for innumerable enjoyable personal contacts. This first New-World session of the Congress was attended by 630 persons, of whom 375 were active members. The 75 foreign delegates came from leading European countries, from Canada, South America, Mexico and India. The tremendous scope of the subjects presented and the abstract or even mystical treatment of many of the topics were in striking contrast to the growing specialization and concreteness observed in the papers presented in national gatherings of social scientists. Inconsistencies in the methods and results of modern philosophy as presented in the discussions of this Congress would justify a modification of this statement to the more modest claim that philosophy may enlarge the outlook of the human spirit by stimulating speculative efforts to achieve this tremendous program.