The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Social Science / Edition 1

by Lee McIntyre, Alex Rosenberg

Overview

The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Social Science is an outstanding guide to the major themes, movements, debates, and topics in the philosophy of social science. It includes thirty-seven newly written chapters, by many of the leading scholars in the field, as well as a comprehensive introduction by the editors. Insofar as possible, the material in this volume is presented in accessible language, with an eye toward undergraduate and graduate students who may be coming to some of this material for the first time. Scholars too will appreciate this clarity, along with the chance to read about the latest advances in the discipline. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Social Science is broken up into four parts.

• Historical and Philosophical Context
• Concepts
• Debates
• Individual Sciences

Edited by two of the leading scholars in the discipline, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the philosophy of social science, and its many areas of connection and overlap with key debates in the philosophy of science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367871574
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/10/2019
Series:	Routledge Philosophy Companions
Pages:	476
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Lee McIntyre is a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School. He is the author of several books, including Respecting Truth: Willful Ignorance in the Internet Age (Routledge 2015) and Dark Ages: The Case for a Science of Human Behavior (MIT Press, 2006).

Alex Rosenberg is an American philosopher and the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy at Duke University. Rosenberg has written many books, including The Atheist s Guide to Reality. The Girl from Krakow is his first novel. It is based on the experiences of several individuals through the 1930s and World War II.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors xv

Introduction Lee McIntyre Alex Rosenberg 1

Part I Historical and Philosophical Context 5

1 Comte and the Positivist Vision Vincent Guillin 7

2 Durkheim and the Methods of Scientific Sociology Warren Schmaus 18

3 Verstehen and the Reaction against Positivism Brian Fay 29

4 The Development of Logical Empiricism Thomas Uebel 41

5 Popper's Influence on the Social Sciences Jeremy Shearmur 55

6 Kuhn's Influence on the Social Sciences K. Brad Wray 65

7 Interpretivism and Critical Theory Kenneth Baynes 76

8 The Empirical Counter-Revolution Jaakko Kuorikoski 88

Part II Concepts 99

9 Explanation David Henderson 101

10 Reductionism Harold Kincaid 113

11 Emergence Julie Zahle 124

12 Methodological Individualism Petri Ylikoski 135

13 Functionalism Alex Rosenberg 147

14 Naturalism David Livingstone Smith 159

15 Game Theory Cristina Bicchieri Giacomo Sillari 169

16 Situational Analysis Kevin D. Hoover 182

17 Bias in Social Science Experiments Sharon Crasnow 191

18 Causal Inference and Modeling Tuukka Kaidesoja 202

19 Collective Intentionality Marija Jankovic Kirk Ludwig 214

20 Microfoundations Daniel Little 228

21 Social Ontology Brian Epstein 240

22 Realism and Antirealism Randall Harp Kareem Khalifa 254

23 Critical Realism Justin Cruickshank 270

24 Objectivity Eleonora Montuschi 281

Part III Debates 295

25 Are There Social Scientific Laws? Julian Reiss 295

26 Behavioral Economics Conrad Heilmann 310

27 Machine Epistemology and Big Data Gregory Wheeler 321

28 Evolutionary Psychology Stephen M. Downes 330

29 Cognitive Science David Eck Stephen Turner 340

30 The Social Construction of Knowledge Steve Fuller 351

31 Feminism in Social Research Marianne Janack 362

32 Race in Social Research Michael Root 373

Part IV Individual Sciences 383

33 Philosophy of Economics Don Ross 385

34 Philosophy of History Paul A. Roth 397

35 Philosophy of Psychology Nico Orlandi Janette Dinishak 408

36 Philosophy of Sociology and Anthropology Mark Risjord 421

37 Why Is There No Philosophy of Political Science? Bruno Verbeek Lee McIntyre 443

Index 448

Editorial Reviews

A state-of-the-art collection of original essays by the best writers in the field of history and philosophy of the social sciences.

—Merrilee H. Salmon, University of Pittsburgh

From the Publisher