Changing Social Science: Critical Theory and Other Critical PerspectivesDaniel R. Sabia, Jerald Wallulis Changing Social Science is both a description of and prescription for the current unease in the social sciences. It brings together articles by philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists who advocate changing the way social science is conceived and practiced. Focusing on the thought of past and present critics and proponents of critical inquiry—especially on the critical theory of Jürgen Habermas and on the disciplines of political science and sociology—collaborators on this volume support a critical form of social and political inquiry, outline its main characteristics, and examine its foundations, options, and unresolved problems. The book is divided into section on reflexivity, methodology and explanation, and criticism and advocacy. From an introductory overview of the collection of articles and an account of the central issues in critical inquiry, discussions ensue on the methodological inadequacies and political implications of naturalist approaches to social and political inquiry; the nature and foundations of interpretive approaches to social science; the role, nature, and limits of causal explanations and causal theories of human action; the role of values in research and theory; and defenses and criticisms of the normative aspirations of both Habermas's critical theory and of critical social science in general. |
Contents
| 3 | |
DANIEL R SABIA JR AND JERALD WALLULIS | 31 |
Mutual Knowledge | 53 |
Chapter Four | 73 |
General Laws and Explaining Human Behavior | 103 |
The Critical Project of Jürgen Habermas | 131 |
Habermas on the Foundations of Ethics and Political Theory | 157 |
Political Ethics and Critical Theory | 171 |
Notes | 189 |
| 211 | |
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Arendt argues argument basic basis Beacon Press beliefs causal causal explanation commonsense communicative action communicative competence conception of politics consensus constitute covering-law model critical social science critical theory critique cultural depends discourse dominant empirical essay ethical everyday example explanatory fact Frankfurt School generalizable interests Giddens Habermas's hermeneutic historical hypothesis Ibid ideal speech situation individual inquiry institutions interaction interpretation John O'Neill Jürgen Habermas Karl-Otto Apel Knowledge and Human language laws Legitimation Crisis linguistic logical Marx Marxist McCarthy means methodological methodological individualism modern moral natural sciences naturalist needs norms object particular perspective phenomena Philosophy political science positivist possible postulate of adequacy practical predict principles public sphere question rational reason reason-explanations relations relevant role Schutz scientific self-understandings social scientists social theory society sociology sort speech acts structure theoretical thesis tradition trans understanding Universal Pragmatics University validity claims value judgments Weber York