Ludwig von Mises Sociology and History The battle of the
proponents of historicism against the nomothetic science of
human action was absurd and preposterous, and the rejection of
the demand of naturalism that historical investigations, pursued
with the methods of the natural sciences, should seek for
"historical laws" was necessary and fully justified. History
cannot fulfill its task if it does not employ the most precise
logic. At every step of the way it must make use of universally
valid concepts and propositions; it must use reason?ratio?; it
must, whether it wants to or not, theorize. If this is the case,
then it is obvious that nothing but the best theory is good
enough for it. The historian is not warranted in uncritically
accepting any concept or proposition from the stock of naive
popular habits of thought. He must first subject all concepts
and propositions to a sharp, critical examination. He must think
every idea through to its consequences, and again and again
question and examine it. He must co