The Idea of a Social Science

The Idea of a Social Science

Author: Peter Winch

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-11-01

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1134937962

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

First published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.


Philosophy of Social Science

Philosophy of Social Science

Author: Ted Benton

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-09-16

Total Pages: 271

ISBN-13: 1137285214

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Philosophers and social scientists share a common goal: to explore fundamental truths about ourselves and the nature of the world in which we live. But in what ways do these two distinct disciplines inform each other and arrive at these truths? The 10th anniversary edition of this highly regarded text directly responds to such issues as it introduces students to the philosophy of social science. While staying true to the writing of the late Ian Craib, this perennial text has been brought up to date by Ted Benton. This new edition includes previously unpublished personal insights from both authors, incorporates new commentaries on classic content and features an additional chapter on recent developments in the field. The book: • Addresses critical issues relating to the nature of social science • Interrogates the relationship between social science and natural science • Encompasses traditional and contemporary perspectives • Introduces and critiques a wide range of approaches, from empiricism and positivism to post structuralism and rationalism. Written in an engaging and student-friendly style, the book introduces key ideas and concepts while raising questions and opening debates. A cornerstone text in the Traditions in Social Theory series, this book remains essential reading for all students of social theory.


Continental Philosophy of Social Science

Continental Philosophy of Social Science

Author: Yvonne Sherratt

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-10-17

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1139448552

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Continental Philosophy of Social Science demonstrates the unique and autonomous nature of the continental approach to social science and contrasts it with the Anglo-American tradition. Yvonne Sherratt argues for the importance of an historical understanding of the Continental tradition in order to appreciate its individual, humanist character. Examining the key traditions of hermeneutic, genealogy, and critical theory, and the texts of major thinkers such as Gadamer, Ricoeur, Derrida, Nietzsche, Foucault, the Early Frankfurt School and Habermas, she also contextualizes contemporary developments within strands of thought stemming back to Ancient Greece and Rome. Sherratt shows how these modes of thinking developed through medieval Christian thought into the Enlightenment and Romantic eras, before becoming mainstays of twentieth-century disciplines. Continental Philosophy of Social Science will serve as the essential textbook for courses in philosophy or social sciences.


The History and Philosophy of Social Science

The History and Philosophy of Social Science

Author: H. Scott Gordon

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-09-11

Total Pages: 703

ISBN-13: 1134863071

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Scott Gordon provides a magisterial review of the historical development of the social sciences from their beginnings in renaissance Italy to the present day.


The Philosophy of Social Science

The Philosophy of Social Science

Author: Martin Hollis

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1994-09-01

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1316101770

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This textbook by Martin Hollis offers an exceptionally clear and concise introduction to the philosophy of social science. It examines questions which give rise to fundamental philosophical issues. Are social structures better conceived of as systems of laws and forces, or as webs of meanings and practices? Is social action better viewed as rational behaviour, or as self-expression? By exploring such questions, the reader is led to reflect upon the nature of scientific method in social science. Is the aim to explain the social world after a manner worked out for the natural world, or to understand the social world from within?


New Directions in the Philosophy of Social Science

New Directions in the Philosophy of Social Science

Author: Daniel Little

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2016-09-12

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1783487410

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Philosophy matters for the social sciences. Our world faces ever more complex and hazardous problems and, social science ontology and methods need to be adequate to the changing nature of the social realm. Imagination and new ways of thinking are crucial to the social sciences. Based on Daniel Little's popular blog, this book provides an accessible introduction to the latest developments and debates in the philosophy of social science. Each chapter addresses a leading issue in the philosophy of the social sciences today. Little advocates for an 'actor-centred sociology', endorsing the idea of meso-level causation and proposing a solution to the problem of 'mechanisms or powers?'. The book draws significant conclusions from the facts of complexity and heterogeneity in the social world. The book develops a series of arguments that serve to provide a new framework for the philosophy of social science through deep engagement with social scientists and philosophers in the field. Topics covered include: - the heterogeneity and plasticity of the social world; - the complexity of social causation; - the nuts and bolts of causal mechanisms; - the applicability of the theory of causal powers to the social world; - the intellectual coherence of the perspective of scientific realism in application to social science.


New Philosophy of Social Science

New Philosophy of Social Science

Author: James Bohman

Publisher: Polity

Published: 1994-06-13

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 9780745614083

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Now available in paperback, this book offers an original introduction to the philosophy of social science, emphasising new post-empiricist approaches.