On Social Sciences in Iran

Why are social sciences weak in Iran? Some might ask why this question is even important. This question may be addressed from two possible points of view: normative and positive. In the positive view, this question is interesting because the prominence of experienced, respected philosophers in Islamic civilization during the 11th - 14th century A.D. significantly declined in successive centuries. What was special about these 400 years in which social sciences were a celebrated discipline? And why did the respect once held for the social sciences not survive the test of time? From a normative perspective, civilizations experience comprehensive and sustainable growth once they become capable of creating knowledge in all branches of thought. By this normative argument, the only way for Iran to progress will be to generate knowledge in all fields of science, thereby increasing their once major focus on the social sciences.
Mostafa Malekian, a prominent Iranian philosopher, has identified ten causes for the weakness of social sciences in Iran. I will discuss his ten points and then selectively argue some. It is important to note that these ten points have a dialectic interaction with each other. In other words, these points in many ways either support each other or result in each other. Thus the following points are not in any particular order.
In contrast with other scientific fields, those who study social sciences (in Iran especially) on average traditionally had lower IQs. These students eventually became professors in the social sciences, and found themselves lecturing the next generation of students. This trend created a continuous loop that has reduced proficiency in social science in the long-term.
Due to the low earning potential of social scientists, families have little incentive to encourage their children to study social sciences. Malekian insists that this fact results from the first cause above. The same principle may be seen among engineering students. For many years the best students have chosen electrical engineering or mechanical engineering (fields with great earning potential), while applicants with a lower ranking scores on the university entrance exam have chosen petroleum engineering (a field which had less earning potential).
Social sciences do not have any technological, physical presence. If a bridge collapses after the first use, everyone will realize that the designer is not a reliable engineer. However, in social sciences there is no objective criteria to help determine the validity of a social scientist’s work.
As an extension of the third point above, Malekian identifies a fourth cause: Judgment in social science is very difficult. There exists no concrete method to prove a claim in a social science thesis. As a result of the third and fourth causes, individuals without a background in logic and mathematics may desire to enter the social sciences. This is because others cannot verify the correctness of their argument. This seems consistent with reality in Iran.
The various disciplines that fall under the umbrella of social science are not studied in Iran in equal amounts. While in some disciplines much research and translation of historic books has occurred, other fields are hard pressed to find even one individual with basic knowledge of a given subject. Since social sciences are inter-related, it is problematic to only have translations in certain disciplines of the social sciences. Through this discrepancy in availability of historic work, this problem of researching the social sciences is further exacerbated.
A major problem in Iran is that many people (especially elite individuals) believe that social sciences are not a high priority. Therefore we should investigate other fields which are more relevant to everyday life. Although Malekian slightly accepts this idea, I would like to argue that in considering the big picture, we have a critical need for intellectual work in the social sciences. Social science includes politics, economics, law, government, religion, etc. The situation is dire. In a country like Iran, with a huge oil resource, a big responsibility is how to manage this endowment; in a country like Iran with a fading tradition, a major question is how to introduce religion to youth to help them maintain their tradition through the ages; in a country like Iran, which is located in the Middle East, politics is one of the most important issues.
Fundamental problems with the nature of social sciences have not yet been resolved in Iran. For example, how objective or subjective are the social sciences? How can we use the social sciences in our relations with oil exporting countries (economics) or in our relations with Muslim countries (psychology)?  Which methods should be used in research, etc?
In developing countries, the fact that the existing social science research is not being used in policy making is problematic. It seems that research and decision-making are considered to be two different, unrelated issues. For this reason, there is no demand for research in the social sciences since findings from research are not considered important in policymaking anyway.
Since Iran has a religious government, the policy maker has no use for social science. The governors believe that they know the answers to all questions. If they do not already know an answer, at very least the answer exists in religious sources. This thought process leads people to believe that if the answers to all questions exists in Quran, then there is no need for research in the social sciences.
There is another side to the ninth point above. Some believe it is possible that the result of research should be restricted to predetermined answers. For example, although the elite individuals in society may believe that research in the social sciences is necessary, this is only true if the researcher’s findings prove a predetermined result; thereby not really using research to find the solution. This is very controversial in Iran. This last point really makes any study of the social sciences both pointless and useless.
The above identified points summarize the main reasons why social science as a discipline is currently not a prominent field in Iran. Determining how we will overcome this weakness remains an open question. To truly understand, much more must be learned about why the fields of social sciences have deteriorated in Iran.