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# Boundary Lines of Social Phenomena

## Details

**Authors** Gillette

**Year** 1925

**Publisher** American Journal of Sociology

**Discipline** Sociology

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1086/213742) 
10.1086/213742

## In authors' words

### Abstract

I. The limits of fields of phenomena establish the boundary lines of the sciences. These Scientific boundaries cannot be determined until the nature of phenomena is ascertained and their characteristics clearly denoted. But the boundaries between sciences are purely conventional and artificial, since no hard-and-fast lines between kinds of phenomena exist in nature. II. The boundary lines of social phenomena are established by our conception of the nature of society. The influence of sentient beings upon one another constitutes social phenomena. Such influence is exerted somewhat irrespective of space and time, even certain of those long dead still having weight. Symbols and signs, written and oral language, are not social phenomena since they are resolvable into material and physical activites. Not all cause of social phenomenon are social, this being notably true of the cause of the first social phenomenon. Causes of aggregations and juxtapositions out of which social phenomena arise may be merely physical and so non-social.

### What they set out to do (purpose)

Dives into the reality and nature of boundaries

### What they found (results)

Scientific boundaries are "decided" on by people. The boundaries of a field are based on the human perception of the boundaries of the phenomenon they study. In reality, many of these boundaries are fuzzy at best. Social boundaries are established both by a person’s conceptions of society and what society is.

## Commentary

### In short

Recognizing and acknowledging the artificialness of the boundaries that we encounter everyday not only helps us to understand our fields better, but it allows us to get one step closer to understanding the real world. Society and sociability come about from Distinctions, but it is also heavily dependent on Relationships as where the boundary lies is often a function of the increased interrelatedness of the elements “inside” relative to the interrelatedness of the elements “outside.”

### In more detail

Gillette (1925) explains that the boundaries of a scientific field come from the boundaries of the phenomena under investigation. The boundaries of the phenomena also have to be defined by and decided on by people. Thus, there cannot be “clear-cut divisions” between and among the scientific fields, as people in each field cannot know exactly where the boundaries of their phenomena are, which isn’t the case in reality. Those boundaries set by investigators in a field are then deemed to be “artificial.” Recognizing and acknowledging the artificialness of the boundaries that we encounter everyday not only helps us to better understand academic fields, but it also moves us a step closer to understanding the real world.

Gillette further offers that social boundaries are established by both a person’s conceptions of society and what society is, and that, “Society is association.” This is another example of how prolific boundaries are in everyday life. So not only does society and sociability come about from Distinctions, but they are also heavily dependent on the increased interrelatedness of the elements “inside” relative to the interrelatedness of the elements “outside” of such boundaries.

**Patterns it shows** D

**How to cite this** Gillette (1925). Boundary Lines of Social Phenomena. American Journal of Sociology.