Why Social Scientists Need to Break Free from Their Intellectual Isolation

The imagery of the Ivory Tower is familiar: intellectuals detached from the real world. For social scientists, this detachment feels especially odd since we study people and societies. After spending time outside the academic bubble and returning, I’ve realized how essential both insider and outsider perspectives are for understanding the world we aim to explain.

The Insider’s Advantage: Seeing the World from Within

I wanted to be a scholar of work and labor markets. But I had never worked a day in my life. Until my mid-twenties, I had only been a student—completely detached from what I wanted to study.

After finishing my master’s degree, I took a four-year break from academia. I worked in business consulting, marketing, managed a co-working space, and was even unemployed. Through these roles, I gained a real sense of what it means to be part of the labor market. I met people from different backgrounds and learned about various careers. I also understood better how people struggle and succeed in their work.

I didn’t conduct formal fieldwork, though. I didn’t take a notebook to work. But no matter the job, I couldn’t stop myself from using what I had learned in my studies to observe people and their relationships closely.

In ethnography, there’s a method called “participant observation.” The researcher immerses themselves in the activities of the people they study, participating in their rituals and behaviors. This is perhaps the most “out of the Ivory Tower” experience a social scientist can have.

But I can only imagine the tension that arises when you take part in rituals—whether with indigenous people or in a modern workplace—while keeping analytical, academic goals in mind. Do you bring your notebook to the next fire ritual?

I’m not debating ethnography here. My point is that I wasn’t doing it. I was just living and working, but still analyzing through the lens of my academic training in sociology.

The Outsider’s Advantage: Mannheim’s “Free-Floating Intellectuals”

Having spent years outside the academic world, my return provided a fresh perspective on the world, seen through the lens of structured scientific knowledge. I was an outsider to the field I wanted to study, but now I feel like an outsider in academia as well. This experience connects with Robert Merton’s ideas of insider and outsider knowledge, and Karl Mannheim’s concept of “free-floating intellectuals,” who draw insights from diverse backgrounds and transcend group loyalties.

Mannheim argued that these intellectuals have a unique vantage point. They can synthesize and observe society in a way others cannot. I can’t pretend to be a “free-floating intellectual,” as I have my own particular social background. In fact, I doubt anyone truly fits this ideal. We’re all insiders and outsiders in some areas. We are citizens and scholars, employees and intellectuals, consumers and producers of knowledge.

Many academics only experience the “academic labor market,” which is very different from the labor market most people experience. How is this valuable when studying work, careers, and labor?

I remember when my high school teachers gave career advice before graduation. In Germany, where I grew up, teachers follow a specific path: they go through the education system, attend university, then return to teach. When they gave me advice at 18, I thought: What do you know about real work?

Outsiders, however, maintain a level of detachment. This can lead to more objective analysis. Their unfamiliarity allows them to question assumptions insiders may take for granted. But their detachment can also cause them to miss cultural nuances and social dynamics that insiders understand. Outsiders may have “knowledge about” a group, but they are not truly part of it. And as we know (but often forget), the construction of knowledge is never neutral.

Finding Balance: Why I Need Both Views

For a while, I thought my insider experience would give me a full understanding of the labor market. But that perspective was limited. While my experiences gave me deep insights into how things worked, coming back to academia made me realize how much I needed to step back and question what I thought I knew. The most meaningful research comes when we balance both perspectives: lived experience and critical distance.

The idea of the “Ivory Tower” used to be just a concept to me. But after years outside, I returned and saw it firsthand—how disconnected we, as social scientists, can become from the very society we seek to understand.

Elitism in Academia: How It Reinforces Barriers

One of the biggest shocks upon returning to academia was the elitism I encountered. After working in industries focused on people and real-world problems, I found academia closed off and insular. Universities like Sciences Po in Paris, with their physical walls and strict security, embody this separation. They often keep out those who might bring in new perspectives, reinforcing a system that favors the intellectual elite over true diversity of thought.

Reconnecting with the World: What I’ve Learned from My Own Journey

It’s hard to admit, but my time outside academia helped me understand how much I needed to reconnect with the real world. I had spent years studying labor markets and human behavior—but I did it from a safe, intellectual distance. The real insight came when I worked hands-on, interacting with people from all walks of life. The best research doesn’t come from sitting in an office—it comes from being in the world.

Breaking Free: A Personal Challenge to Myself and Others

I’ll be honest: the Ivory Tower has a certain comfort. It’s easier to theorize, study data, and write papers from the comfort of universities. But I’m learning that true understanding comes when we step out of our safe spaces, break down the barriers between ourselves and the people we study, and experience life as it is. I once read an interview with author Cormack McCarthy. He said he does not usually engage with other writers. Maybe we scientists should more regularly engage with non-scientists.

A Call to Action: Social Scientists, Get Out of Your Ivory Tower

My journey has taught me a vital lesson: social scientists can’t just observe from afar—we need to engage with the world. I’ve spent years studying human behavior, but the moments when I truly understood were when I listened to people, walked in their shoes, and sat down at their tables. No research, no notes, no analysis—just living. So here’s my challenge, not just to you, but to myself: let’s step out of our Ivory Towers, talk to people from all walks of life, and experience the world beyond the pages of our academic publications.