In the social sciences, evaluation sometimes approaches a form of ‘quantophrenia’, as Sorokin put it. The factors that justify it (rationalization, the control of the correct use of public funds) are rapidly confronted with criticism which exposes the bureaucratization of research and asks major questions: in our disciplines what do we mean by finding and demonstrating? Can our research subjects be further generalized and organized in a sphere of discussion which has global scope without running the risk of being hindered by short-term logics of evaluation?
