- what is the relationship between the social sciences and the natural sciences? - where do today's dominant approaches to doing social science come from? - what are the main fissures and debates in contemporary social scientific thought? - how are we to make sense of seemingly contrasting approaches to how social scientists find out about the world and justify their claims to have knowledge of it? In this exciting handbook, Ian Jarvie and Jesus Zamora-Bonilla have put together a wide-ranging and authoritative overview of the main philosophical currents and traditions at work in the social sciences today. Starting with the history of social scientific thought, this handbook sets out to explore that core fundamentals of social science practice, from issues of ontology and epistemology to issues of practical method. Along the way it investigates such notions as paradigm, empiricism, postmodernism, naturalism, language, agency, power, culture, and causality. Bringing together in one volume leading authorities in the field from around the world, this book will be a must-have for any serious scholar or student of the social sciences.
Ian Jarvie is the current editor of the Sage journal Philosophy of Social Science and was for a long time Karl Popper's assistant at the LSE. He is now one of the leading philosophers of science as well as a philosopher of social science. Jesus Zamora-Bonilla is Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at UNED, Spain.
Introduction: Philosophical Problems in the Social Sciences: Paradigms, Methodology and Ontology - Ian C Jarvie PART ONE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE The Philosophy of Social Science from Mandeville to Mannheim - Joseph Agassi Continental Philosophies of the Social Sciences - David Teira The Philosophy of Social Science in the 20th Century: Analytic Traditions: Reflections on the Rationalitaetstreit - Paul Roth PART TWO: CENTRAL ISSUES IN SOCIAL ONTOLOGY Naturalism: The Place of Society in Nature - Don Ross Language and Society - Frank Hindriks Social Minds - Laurence Kaufmann Rational Agency - Fred D'Agostino Individualism, Collective Agency and the 'Micro-Macro Relation' - Alban Bouvier Rules, Norms and Commitments - Fabienne Peter and Kai Spiekermann Systems Theory - Andrea Pickel The Concept of Culture as Ontological Paradox - Angel Diaz de Rada Power and Social Class in the 21st Century - Daniel Little Causality, Causal Models and Social Mechanisms - Daniel Steel PART THREE: A PHILOSOPHER'S GUIDE TO SOCIAL SCIENCE PARADIGMS Rational-Choice Theory - Cedric Paternotte Game Theory - Giacomo Bonanno Social Networks - Joan de Marti and Yves Zenou Normative Criteria of Social Choice - Maurice Salles and Antoinette Baujard Analytical Sociology - Peter Hedstroem and Petri Ylikoski Institutions - Chrysostomos Mantzavinos Evolutionary Approaches - Geoffrey Hodgson Functionalism and Structuralism - Anthony King Phenomenology, Hermeneutics and Ethnomethodology - Hans-Herbert Koeegler Pragmatism and Symbolic Interactionism - Alex Dennis Social Constructionism, Postmodernism and Deconstructionism - Patrick Baert, Darin Weinberg and Veronique Mottier Theories of Culture, Cognition and Action - Sun-Ki Chai Communicative Action and Critical Theory - Martin Morris PART FOUR: METHODOLOGY: ASSESSING AND USING SOCIAL THEORIES Facts, Values and Objectivity - Heather Douglas Idealized Representations, Inferential Devices and Cross-Disciplinary Tools: Theoretical Models in Social Sciences - Tarja Knuutila and Jaakko Kuorikoski Empirical Evidence: Its Nature and Sources - Julian Reiss Experiments - Francesco Guala Mathematics and Statistics in the Social Sciences - Stephan Hartmann and Jan Sprenger Artificial Worlds and Agent-Based Simulation - Till Gr ne-Yanoff Explanation in the Social Sciences - Jeroen van Bouwel and Erik Weber Prediction - Gregor Betz Science and Technology Studies and Social Epistemology: The Struggle for Normativity in Social Theories of Knowledge - Steve Fuller Expert Judgment - Maria Jimenez and Jesus Zamora-Bonilla Social Technology - Maarten Derksen and Anne Beaulieu EPILOGUE: Rationality in the Social Sciences: Bridging the Gap - Jesus Zamora-Bonilla
Over four parts (37 chapters), the reader is promised coverage of the development and history of social sciences, as well as paradigms, assessment and use of social theories...Throughout, there are references to key thinkers and theories which provide a helpful refresher on social science history. In addition, the section summaries are clear and the notes and reference sections at the end of each chapter are useful...Not recommended for the casual browser, but a valuable reference book for anyone studying the history or philosophy of social sciences. Lorraine Simpson Blake Stevenson Ltd The Handbook covers an impressively wide range of issues... the Handbook's many virtues: its aim is ambitious, and it should serve its purpose extremely well. -- Johanna Thoma * Theoria *
