Following this logic, Blumer discounted social research that blindly applies methods that have been traditionally used in the natural sciences. Such quantitative, objective analysis, he argued, does not acknowledge the difference between humans and animals – specifically the difference in cognitive ability to consciously entertain opinions and to apply meanings to objects, both which enables humans to take an active role in shaping their world. Because society is composed of interactions between individuals or "joint actions/transactions", the only empirical reality is that which stems from human interaction. Therefore, contextual understanding of human action is intrinsic to valid social research.