 Finally, the question of method arises.  Most of the authors treated in this study wrote before quantitative and statistical methods in the social sciences became widespread.  Nevertheless, they do remark on method, in some cases in detail.  The most striking distinction is between those who rely on a priori reasoning and those who generalize from empirical facts in a social scientific fashion.  While this study will not concentrate on method, a priori reasoning and problematic empirical assumptions will be attended to. 