David Papineau contends that the possibility of science depends on there being uniformly realized phenomena that are reducible to physical laws, not merely the variably realized selection mechanisms that are characteristic of much social science. Some who share Papineau's view regard it as fatal to the possibility of social science on the grounds that their subject matter lacks the uniformly realized phenomena that he regards as necessary for science.

Papineau disagrees with this pessimism, asserting that, like “pain mechanisms,” many cognitive abilities are uniformly realized across humans. As a result, there can be a “rich nexus of laws” about them – though he says nothing about what these laws might be. Not everything social scientists study exhibits what Papineau regards as the necessary reductive feature, but although he sidesteps any attempt to demarcate what he takes to be the scientific zone of the social sciences, he is confident that enough falls within its ambit to make the game worth the candle.