The epistemological situation of the human sciences today is characterized by a state of dismemberment corresponding very closely to the very dislocation of the present world. For all science of man is a knowledge of man.

The need for unification of this knowledge is, therefore, also an aspect of the urgent demand for world unification, and for a reconciliation of man with his fellows and with himself. Having predetermined this need, the importance of the task to be undertaken comes to the forefront; at the same time, its limitations are marked. Carrying such a reflection to its conclusion implies a gathering together of the human community: a state of affairs certainly very far from the present political and social universe.