The article attempts to show the importance of oral and life history as a data collection procedure in Gilberto Freyre’s social science. In his Ordem e Progresso, published in 1959, Freyre worked with oral narratives and written documents, collected in the 1930’s and 40’s, from Brazilians who had witnessed the disintegration of the patriarchal and slave-holding society. By comparing the statements of so many different people he was able to interview, Freyre tried to understand and interpret the “intimacy” ofsocial relationships and ways of life during that period of Brazilian history. The social life he described was that of persons from all social classes, from the very illustrious andfamous groups of the Brazilian society, to the world of the working classes and the destitute. In Brazil, the author was a pioneer in the use of oral and life histories as an empirical procedure in the social sciences, a technique that only much later, during the 1980's, became widespread among historians and his fellow social scientists. Furthermore, this essay calls attention to Gilberto Freyre’s multidisciplinary approaches, methods and techniques of social study, which opened way to his pioneering use of oral and life histories in Brazil.Cet article a pour objet démontrer I ’importance des histoires de vie dans les etudes de Sciences Sociales de Gilberto Freyre. En “Ordre etProgrès”, Freyre travaille avec des témoignages, oraux et écrits, récueillis entre 1930 et 1940, de brésiliens qui ont vécu et observé la désintégration de la société patriarchale et esclavagiste au Brésil. Atravers la comparaison des réponses, Freyre apu comprendre et, principalment, interpreter le mode de vie intime de la société brésilienne de cette période de notre histoire. L ’auteur voulait des rapports et des informations de personnalités illutres de notre société, autant que des classes populaires. En ce sens, il a inaugure une méthode de connaissance des relations sociales qui, seulement à partir des années 80, gagnera d'importance entre historiens et chercheurs sociaux au Brésil. En plus, te travail attire Tattention pour la fléxibilité de I'auteur dans I'utilisation d'autres méthodes d'appréhension de la réalité, en dehors de I’histoire oral, dans laquelle il a été le pionnier.O presente artigo procura mostrar a importância das histórias de vida na ciência social de Gilberto Freyre. Em Ordem e Progresso, Freyre trabalha com testemunhos orais e escritos, colhidos entre 1930 e 40, de brasileiros que viveram e observaram a desintegração da sociedade patriarcal e escravocrata no Brasil. Através da comparação das respostas, Freyre pôde compreender e, principalmente, interpretar o modo íntimo de vida da sociedade brasileira naquele período de nossa história. O autor queria relatos e informações de pessoas ilustres e famosas de nossa sociedade, mas também de membros das classes populares. Neste sentido, inaugurou uma técnica de conhecimento das relações sociais que só a partir da década de 80 ganhou relevância entre historiadores e cientistas sociais no Brasil. Além disso, o trabalho chama a atenção para a flexibilidade do autor no uso de outras técnicas de apreensão da realidade, além da história oral em que pioneiramente trabalhou
