What is special or different about the kind of objectivity needed in social science?
The objectivity needed in social science is special because it deals with subjective matters in an objective manner. The social world is founded on subjective human meanings, values, feelings, prejudices, and ideals. Social scientists must study these subjective meanings while remaining objective.
This requires 'empathetic understanding' – the sociologist must imaginatively put themselves in the place of the people whose actions they are studying. Weber called this 'value neutrality', meaning the sociologist must faithfully record the subjective meanings and motivations of social actors without allowing their own personal beliefs and opinions to influence the process.
This is particularly difficult because social scientists are also members of society with their own subjective beliefs and prejudices. They must exercise great self-discipline or an 'iron will' to remain value neutral when describing the values and worldviews of others.
Explanation
The textbook context explains that Weber was among the first to discuss this special kind of objectivity. Unlike natural sciences that study external phenomena, social sciences study subjective human meanings. The key concept is 'value neutrality' – sociologists must describe, not judge, the subjective feelings of others. This requires 'empathetic understanding' which is 'feeling with' (empathy), not 'feeling for' (sympathy). The difficulty lies in the fact that sociologists themselves have subjective beliefs, hence the need for self-discipline.