On The Logic Of The Social Sciences (studies In Contemporary German Social Thought)

For two decades the German edition of this book has been a standard reference point for students of the philosophy of the social sciences in Germany. Today it still stands as a unique and masterful guide to the major problems and possibilities in this field. On the Logic of the Social Sciences foreshadowed the direction in which methodological discussions have traveled since it appeared and anticipated the problems they presently face. Habermas's statement of the principal issues is concise and elegant, and his own original resolution of them is of continuing relevance. He considers the main lines of thought pursued by epistemologists and methodologists of the social sciences, from neo-Kantianism to behaviorism, and from problems of measurement to those of interpretive logic, in a sustained and provocative argument that involves analysis and critique at every point and ends with his own sharply profiled position. Beginning with the turn of the century debates on the distinction between natural and cultural sciences, Habermas discusses the relationship between sociology and history. He takes up the problem of a general theory of social action, focusing first on the nature of "interpretive understanding" and then on the scope and limits of functionalist explanation. In the concluding sections, he draws on psychoanalysis and classical social theory to sketch the outlines of his view of sociology as a critical theory of the present. Along the way he provides a great deal of material that is useful in understanding his own work. Jürgen Habermas is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Frankfurt. On the Logic of the Social Sciences is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy. For two decades the German edition of this book has been a standard reference point for students of the philosophy of the social sciences in Germany. Today it still stands as a unique and masterful guide to the major problems and possibilities in this field.__On the Logic of the Social Sciences__ Beginning with the turn of the century debates on the distinction between natural and cultural sciences, Habermas discusses the relationship between sociology and history. He takes up the problem of a general theory of social action, focusing first on the nature of "interpretive understanding" and then on the scope and limits of functionalist explanation. In the concluding sections, he draws on psychoanalysis and classical social theory to sketch the outlines of his view of sociology as a critical theory of the present. Along the way he provides a great deal of material that is useful in understanding his own work. Jürgen Habermas is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Frankfurt. is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy. Contents 6 Preface 13 Introduction 8 I The Dualism of the Natural and Cultural Sciences 16 1 A Historical Reconstruction 18 2 Sociology and History: The Contemporary Discussion 31 II On the Methodology of General Theories of Social Action 58 3 Normative-Analytic and Empirical-Analytic Approaches to Social Science 60 4 Intentional Action and Stimulus-Response Behavior 68 5 Three Forms of Functionalism 89 III On the Problem of Understanding Meaning in the-Empirical-Analytic Sciences of Action 104 6 The Phenomenological Approach 107 7 The Linguistic Approach 132 8 The Hermeneutic Approach 158 IV Sociology as Theory of the Present 186 9 The Limits of Linguistically Oriented Interpretive Sociology 190 10 Open Q.uestions 201 Notes 205 Index 224 P谩gina em branco 5 0-282路08177-8,-,On,the,Logic,of,the,Social,Sciences 0-282路08177-8 - On the Logic of the Social Sciences Jürgen Habermas ; Translated By Shierry Weber Nicholsen And Jerry A. Stark. Translation Of: Zur Logik Der Sozialwissenschaften. Originally Appeared In German As A Special Supplemental Volume Of The Journal Philosophische Rundschau In February 1967--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibilographical References (p. [190]-208) And Index.