The scientific observer of the realm of nature is in a sense naturally and inevitably disinterested. At least, nothing in the natural scene can arouse his bias. Furthermore, he stands completely outside of the natural so that his mind, whatever his limitations, approximates pure mind. The observer of the realm of history cannot be disinterested in the same way, for two reasons: first, he must look at history from some locus in history; secondly, he is to a certain degree engaged in its ideological conflicts.
ATTRIBUTION:
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971), U.S. theologian, historian. The Essential Reinhold Niebuhr: Selected Essays and Addresses, ch. 14, Yale University Press (1986).
