Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences

by Mark J Smith (Editor)

Overview

This is a comprehensive and authoritative reference collection in the philosophy and methodology of the social sciences. The source materials selected are drawn from debates within the natural sciences as well as social scientific practice.

This four volume set covers the traditional literature on the philosophy of the social sciences, and the contemporary philosophical and methodological debates developing at the heart of the disciplinary and interdisciplinary groups in the social sciences. It addresses the needs of researchers and academics who are grappling with the relationship between questions of knowledge construction and the problems of social scientific method.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761947370
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	07/15/2005
Edition description:	Four-Volume Set
Pages:	1648
Product dimensions:	6.86(w) x 9.46(h) x 4.01(d)

About the Author

Mark J Smith is a Lecturer in Social Sciences at the Open University.

Table of Contents

VOLUME ONE
CANONS AND CUSTODIANS (SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IN THE 20TH CENTURY)
SECTION ONE
LANGUAGE, EXPLANATION AND REALITY
The Elimination of Metaphysics and The a priori - A J Ayer
How a priori Knowledge Is Possible - B Russell
Verification - I Berlin
The Function of General Laws in History - C G Hemple
Empirical Propositions and Hypothetical Statements - I Berlin
Logical Translation - I Berlin
SECTION TWO
POPPERIAN INTERVENTIONS AND THE PROBLEMS OF POSITIVISM
Fundamental Problems and A Theory of Method - K Popper
Science, Conjectures and Refutations - K Popper
Conjectural Knowledge - K Popper
My Solution of the Problem of Induction
Two Dogmas of Empiricism - W O Quine
Positivism and Its Critics - A Giddens
SECTION THREE
CONCEPT FORMATION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Problems of Concept and Theory Formation in the Social Sciences - E Nagel
Typological Methods in the Social Sciences - C G Hempel
Concept and Theory Formation in the Social Sciences - A Schutz
VOLUME TWO
UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE
SECTION ONE
ACKNOWLEDGING IMAGINATION AND COMPLEXITY IN THE SOCIAL WORLD
Ideal Types and Objectivity in Social Science and Social Policy - M Weber
Common-Sense and Scientific Interpretation of Human Action - A Schutz
Scientism - F A Hayek
Are the Social Sciences Really Inferior? - F Machlup
SECTION TWO
INTERPRETATION AND MEANING IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
UNDERSTANDING PEOPLE
Interpretation and the Sciences of Man - C Taylor
Routine and Everyday Activities and Common-Sense Knowledge of Social Structures - H Garfinkel
Naturalisms and Anti-Naturalisms - W Outhwaite
Science and Solidarity - R Rorty
Empiricism, Idealism and Realism - M J Smith
An Essay in Social Psychology
VOLUME THREE
(NATURAL AND SOCIAL) SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AS A SOCIAL PRODUCT
SECTION ONE
PARADIGMS ETC
WHAT SCIENTISTS DO ...
Normal Science and The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions - T Kuhn
Kuhn's Second Thoughts - A Musgrave
Putting Philosophy to Work - M Mulkay and G N Gilbert
The TEA Set - H Collins
Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks
Science as Gift-Giving - W O Hagstrom
The Cycle of Credibility - B Latour and S Woolgar
The Strong Programme in the Sociology of Knowledge - D Bloor
Naturalism, Epistemological Individualism and The Strong Programme - P T Manicas and A Rosenberg
Mode 1 and Mode 2 Knowledge production - M Gibbons
SECTION TWO
... AND WHAT SCIENTISTS SHOULD DO!
Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes - I Lakatos
Normal Science and Its Dangers - K Popper
On the Critique of Scientific Reason - P Feyerabend
For Method - L Laudan
Answering the Relativist Critique of Methodology of Kuhn and Feyerabend
SECTION THREE
PARADIGMS AND RESEARCH PROGRAMMES IN SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC PRACTICE
Kuhn versus Lakatos, or Paradigms versus Research Programmes in the History of Economics - M Blaug
The Lakatosian Legacy in Economic Methodology - R E Backhouse
Objectivity, Neutrality and Paradigms in Political Science - M Landau
VOLUME FOUR
REINVENTING THE SOCIAL SCIENCES (TOWARDS A POSTDISCIPLINARY FUTURE)
SECTION ONE
NEW DEBATES AND SITUATED KNOWLEDGES
The Debate between Relativists and Absolutists - R Harre and M Krausz
A Reappraisal
Structuralism, Post-Structuralism and the Production of Culture - A Giddens
Societies - R Bhaskar
Problems of Explanation and the Aims of Social Science - A Sayer
From the Woman Question in Science to the Science Question in Feminism - S Harding
Feminisms and Models of Qualitative Research - V Olesen
Is Science Multicultural? Challenges, Resources, Opportunities, Uncertainties - S Harding
SECTION TWO
APPLICATIONS
The Rhetoric of Economics - D N Mc Closkey
Is There a Postmodern Sociology? - Z Bauman
Two Philosophies of the Rhetoric of Economics - U Maki
A Realist Perspective on Contemporary Economic Theory - T Lawson
Geohistorical Explanation and Problems of Narrative - A Sayer
Prospects for a Post-Disciplinary Social Science - M J Smith