Normativity and Naturalism in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences

Normativity and Naturalism in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Author :
Publisher : Routledge
Total Pages : 309
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781317386025
ISBN-13 : 1317386027
Rating : 4/5 (25 Downloads)

Synopsis Normativity and Naturalism in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences by : Mark Risjord

Normativity and Naturalism in the Social Sciences engages with a central debate within the philosophy of social science: whether social scientific explanation necessitates an appeal to norms, and if so, whether appeals to normativity can be rendered "scientific." This collection brings together contributions from a diverse group of philosophers who explore a broad but thematically unified set of questions, many of which stem from an ongoing debate between Stephen Turner and Joseph Rouse (both contributors to this volume) on the role of naturalism in the philosophy of the social sciences. Informed by recent developments in both philosophy and the social sciences, this volume will set the benchmark for contemporary discussions about normativity and naturalism. This collection will be relevant to philosophers of social science, philosophers in interested in the rule following and metaphysics of normativity, and theoretically oriented social scientists.

Naturalism and Social Science

Naturalism and Social Science
Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Total Pages : 232
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0521228212
ISBN-13 : 9780521228213
Rating : 4/5 (12 Downloads)

Synopsis Naturalism and Social Science by : David Thomas

This 1979 text addresses the ways in which the dominant theories in large areas of Western social science have been subject to strong criticisms, particularly of their supposed philosophical deficiencies. In the philosophy of science, this resulted in empiricist views being replaced by an emphasis on the potential obstinacy of theory in the face of the empirical world. After introducing this contemporary philosophy of science, Dr Thomas uses it to argue that social study can both retain the natural scientific commitment to the constraint of the external world and assimilate the sorts of philosophical criticisms that were made of the old social scientific theories. In particular, he shows that social study understood in terms of the new philosophy of science can give an account of the former's distinctive concerns with issues of the meaning and value of social life. Dr Thomas supports his abstract arguments by detailed case studies.

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Science

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Science
Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Total Pages : 960
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780190630706
ISBN-13 : 0190630701
Rating : 4/5 (06 Downloads)

Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Science by : Paul Humphreys

This handbook provides both an overview of state-of-the-art scholarship in philosophy of science, as well as a guide to new directions in the discipline. Section I contains broad overviews of the main lines of research and the state of established knowledge in six principal areas of the discipline, including computational, physical, biological, psychological and social sciences, as well as general philosophy of science. Section II covers what are considered to be the traditional topics in the philosophy of science, such as causation, probability, models, ethics and values, and explanation. Section III identifies new areas of investigation that show promise of becoming important areas of research, including the philosophy of astronomy and astrophysics, data, complexity theory, neuroscience, simulations, post-Kuhnian philosophy, post-empiricist epistemology, and emergence. Most chapters are accessible to scientifically educated non-philosophers as well as to professional philosophers, and the contributors - all leading researchers in their field -- bring diverse perspectives from the North American, European, and Australasian research communities. This volume is an essential resource for scholars and students.

Pragmatism and Naturalism

Pragmatism and Naturalism
Author :
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Total Pages : 377
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780231543859
ISBN-13 : 0231543859
Rating : 4/5 (59 Downloads)

Synopsis Pragmatism and Naturalism by : Matthew C. Bagger

Most contemporary philosophers would call themselves naturalists, yet there is little consensus on what naturalism entails. Long signifying the notion that science should inform philosophy, debates over naturalism often hinge on how broadly or narrowly the terms nature and science are defined. The founding figures of American Pragmatism—C. S. Peirce (1839–1914), William James (1842–1910), and John Dewey (1859–1952)—developed a distinctive variety of naturalism by rejecting reductive materialism and instead emphasizing social practices. Owing to this philosophical lineage, pragmatism has made original and insightful contributions to the study of religion as well as to political theory. In Pragmatism and Naturalism, distinguished scholars examine pragmatism’s distinctive form of nonreductive naturalism and consider its merits for the study of religion, democratic theory, and as a general philosophical orientation. Nancy Frankenberry, Philip Kitcher, Wayne Proudfoot, Jeffrey Stout, and others evaluate the contribution pragmatism can make to a viable naturalism, explore what distinguishes pragmatic naturalism from other naturalisms on offer, and address the pertinence of pragmatic naturalism to methodological issues in the study of religion. In parts dedicated to historical pragmatists, pragmatism in the philosophy and the study of religion, and pragmatism and democracy, they display the enduring power and contemporary relevance of pragmatic naturalism.

Nietzsche's Naturalism

Nietzsche's Naturalism
Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Total Pages : 265
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781107059634
ISBN-13 : 1107059631
Rating : 4/5 (34 Downloads)

Synopsis Nietzsche's Naturalism by : Christian Emden

This book examines Nietzsche's philosophical naturalism both historically and philosophically, establishing a link between his discussions of nature and normativity.

Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and the Demise of Naturalism

Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and the Demise of Naturalism
Author :
Publisher : University of Notre Dame Pess
Total Pages : 136
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780268100674
ISBN-13 : 0268100675
Rating : 4/5 (74 Downloads)

Synopsis Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and the Demise of Naturalism by : Jason Blakely

Today the ethical and normative concerns of everyday citizens are all too often sidelined from the study of political and social issues, driven out by an effort to create a more “scientific” study. This book offers a way for social scientists and political theorists to reintegrate the empirical and the normative, proposing a way out of the scientism that clouds our age. In Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, and the Demise of Naturalism, Jason Blakely argues that the resources for overcoming this divide are found in the respective intellectual developments of Charles Taylor and Alasdair MacIntyre. Blakely examines their often parallel intellectual journeys, which led them to critically engage the British New Left, analytic philosophy, phenomenology, continental hermeneutics, and modern social science. Although MacIntyre and Taylor are not sui generis, Blakely claims they each present a new, revived humanism, one that insists on the creative agency of the human person against reductive, instrumental, technocratic, and scientistic ways of thinking. The recovery of certain key themes in these philosophers’ works generates a new political philosophy with which to face certain unprecedented problems of our age. Taylor’s and MacIntyre’s philosophies give social scientists working in all disciplines (from economics and sociology to political science and psychology) an alternative theoretical framework for conducting research.

Interpretive Social Science

Interpretive Social Science
Author :
Publisher :
Total Pages : 216
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780198832942
ISBN-13 : 019883294X
Rating : 4/5 (42 Downloads)

Synopsis Interpretive Social Science by : Mark Bevir

This volume introduces-- and argues for the fundamental importance of-- an interpretive approach to explaining social and political reality.

Explaining the Normative

Explaining the Normative
Author :
Publisher : Polity
Total Pages : 241
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780745642550
ISBN-13 : 0745642551
Rating : 4/5 (50 Downloads)

Synopsis Explaining the Normative by : Stephen P. Turner

"Explaining the Normative is the first systematic, historically grounded critique of normativism. It identifies the standard normativist pattern of argument, and shows how this pattern depends on circularities, preferred descriptions, problematic transcendental arguments, and regress arguments ending in mysteries."--Jacket.

The Question of Methodological Naturalism

The Question of Methodological Naturalism
Author :
Publisher :
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9004346627
ISBN-13 : 9789004346628
Rating : 4/5 (27 Downloads)

Synopsis The Question of Methodological Naturalism by : Jason N. Blum

The Question of Methodological Naturalism offers ten essays on the role of naturalism in religious studies, ranging from sophisticated intellectual histories and philosophical analyses to trenchant denunciations and ringing endorsements. All have profound implications for the study of religions.