New Philosophies of Social Science: Realism, Hermeneutics and Critical TheoryThe demise of empiricist philosophies of science has contributed to the current disarray of philosophy in the social sciences. This book argues that a realist analysis of the structures and processes which make up the social world can provide a way out of its present impasse. These processes, ranging from the interpersonal negotiation of meaning to the constraining influence of administrative or market structures, cannot be understood as mere constructs either in the minds of the theorist or of the social factors themselves, since they actually generate the social world as we know it. The author develops some implications of this approach and presents a realist view of some of the principal theoretical traditions and controversies within sociology and other social sciences. |
Contents
The Realist Alternative | 19 |
Realism and Social Science | 45 |
Realism and Hermeneutics | 61 |
Copyright | |
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New Philosophies of Social Science: Realism, Hermeneutics and Critical Theory William Outhwaite No preview available - 1987 |
Common terms and phrases
actors analysis analytic philosophy Anthony Giddens argued argument basic Beyleveld Bhaskar causal chapter claim communicative action Concept Formation constituted conventionalist critical theory critique discussion distinction Durkheim empirical empiricist epistemology example existence explanation explanatory formulation Gadamer Gadamer's Habermas's hermeneutics and critical Human Interests human sciences Ibid idealism individual intransitive objects issues Jürgen Habermas Kegan Paul Knowledge and Human language life-world linguistic logical empiricism Marx Marx's Marxism Marxist Mary Hesse Max Weber mechanisms metatheory methodological natural necessity natural sciences notion ontology Outhwaite phenomena philosophy of science philosophy of social Popper positivism positivist postulated practice pragmatism pragmatist principle problem rationalism rationalist realist philosophy realist position Realist Theory relations Rom Harré Rorty Routledge & Kegan Roy Bhaskar sense social action social sciences social scientist social structures social theory social world society sociology Sociology London theoretical theory of communicative Theory of Science thesis tradition transcendental realism truth understanding Weber