One of the general characteristics is that the interaction between social practice and scientific theory is becoming increasingly obvious. There are two meanings here.
The first meaning is that the development of humanities and social sciences in the 20th century more fully reflects the dependence of scientific theory on social practice than before. First of all, there is no major discipline that is not based on human social practice in the 20th century. As the 20th century is the century with the greatest change, the fastest development, the fiercest struggle and the greatest impact in human history, it has provided extremely rich practical research topics for humanities and social sciences research, spawned a large number of new disciplines of humanities and social sciences, created a large number of new schools, and formed many new concepts, theories and methods. Secondly, human social practice in the 20th century cultivated the research objects with the characteristics of the times for humanities and social sciences, and created advanced research methods for humanities and social sciences.
Another meaning is that the development of humanities and social sciences in the 20th century more fully reflects the dynamic role of scientific theory in social practice than before. Generally speaking, it has played a leading role in the course of human self-knowledge, played an educational role in the field of human thought and culture, played a regulatory role in dealing with the relationship between man and nature, social relationship between man and man, and relationship between man and himself, and promoted the trend of alliance between humanities and social sciences and natural sciences.
The second general feature is the gradual formation of a multidisciplinary and comprehensive scientific system.
Multidisciplinarity is related to the breadth and depth of humanities and social sciences research. The broader the temporal and spatial horizons of humanities and social sciences research, the deeper the rational understanding of all levels and aspects of humanities and social sciences, and the corresponding increase in the number of disciplines at all levels of humanities and social sciences. In the 1990s, the total number of humanities and social sciences has reached two or three thousand.
Comprehensive, and the humanities and social sciences itself has become an open organic unity. Because the research objects of humanities and social sciences are highly comprehensive, humanities and social sciences actively promote the intersection of disciplines internally, and actively link with natural sciences externally, becoming a comprehensive scientific department linked with and corresponding to natural sciences.
Nowadays, the structural form of humanities and social cooperation can be regarded as: philosophy covers the widest range and is at the highest level. Systematic science, which spans natural science and humanities and social sciences, is an interdisciplinary subject, while management science, behavioral science, population science, social ecology and Scientology, which span two major scientific departments at a higher level, are comprehensive disciplines; These two disciplines rank second. The third level is the main discipline of humanities and social sciences outside philosophy, which is roughly divided into three sections: humanities research discipline group; Social studies discipline group; An amphibious discipline group that focuses on humanities and social sciences but also involves natural sciences. The following are a large number of sub-disciplines, which can also be divided into levels and plates. The structural form of humanities and social sciences is still changing.
The third general feature is that people's liberation and development are widely concerned.
In the 20th century, all disciplines of humanities and social sciences have recognized the focus of "human" one after another, and more and more consciously promoted their understanding of human liberation and development from different backgrounds and angles. As we can see from the textbooks, the main disciplines have made special contributions to promoting the understanding of human liberation and development; The deepening of people's understanding has fundamentally promoted the construction of many disciplines. Moreover, the concern of humanities and social sciences for human liberation and development has led to the prosperity of "human studies" at the philosophical level. In a sense, this discipline is the synthesis of the research results of other disciplines, and its comprehensive research results have promoted the humanities and social sciences to a new height. Marxist anthropology will further be guided by the scientific theories and methods founded by its founders, synthesize the latest achievements of contemporary anthropology, deepen human self-knowledge and promote human's real liberation and all-round development.