The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Social Science (Routledge Philosophy Companions)

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. Part I : Historical And Philosophical Context -- Comte And The Positivist Vision / Vincent Guillin -- Durkkeim And The Methods Of Scientific Sociology / Warren Schmaus -- Verstehen And The Reaction Against Positivism / Brian Fay -- The Development Of Logical Empiricism / Thomas Uebel -- Popper's Influence On The Social Sciences / Jeremy Shearmur / Kuhn's Influence On The Social Sciences / K. Brad Wray -- Interpretivism And Critical Theory / Kenneth Baynes -- The Empirical Counter-revolution / Jaakko Kuorikoski -- Part Ii : Concepts -- Explanation / David Henderson -- Reductionism / Harold Kincaid -- Emergence / Julie Zahle -- Methodological Individualism / Petri Ylikoski -- Functionalism / Alex Rosenberg -- Naturalism / David Livingstone Smith -- Game Theory / Christina Bicchieri And Giacomo Sillari -- Situational Analysis / Kevin D. Hoover -- Bias In Social Science Experiments / Sharon Crasnow -- Causal Interference And Modeling / Tuukka Kaidesoja -- Collective Intentionality / Marija Jankovic And Kirk Ludwig -- Microfoundations / Daniel Little -- Social Ontology / Brian Epstein -- Realism And Antirealism / Randall Harp And Kareem Khalifa -- Critical Realism / Justin Cruickshank -- Objectivity / Eleonora Montuschi -- Part Iii : Debates -- Are There Social Scientific Laws? / Julian Reiss -- Behavioral Economics / Conrad Heilmann -- Machine Epistemology And Big Data / Gregory Wheeler -- Evolutionary Psychology / Stephen M. Downes -- Cognitive Science / David Eck And Stephen Turner -- The Social Construction Of Knowledge / Steve Fuller -- Feminism In Social Research / Marianne Janack -- Race In Social Research / Michael Root -- Part Iv : Individual Sciences -- Philosophy Of Economics / Don Ross -- Philosophy Of History / Paul A. Roth -- Philosophy Of Psychology / Nico Orlandi And Janette Dinishak -- Philosophy Of Sociology And Anthropology / Mark Risjord -- Why Is There No Philosophy Of Political Science / Bruno Verbeek And Lee Mcintyre. Edited By Lee Mcintyre And Alex Rosenberg. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover -- Half Title -- Series Information -- Praise for the Series -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- Introduction -- Part I Historical and Philosophical Context -- 1 Comte and the Positivist Vision -- 1 "Treating Politics in a Scientific Manner": Naturalism and Social Science -- 2 A Qualified Empiricist: Intellectualism and Historicism in Comte -- 3 Holism and the Synthetic Perspective. -- 4 Positive Methods in Sociology and the Proscription of Mathematics. -- 5 Unification vs. Reductionism: Positivism and Materialism -- 6 Positive Sociology and Positive Politics -- References -- 2 Durkheim and the Methods of Scientific Sociology -- Introduction -- Durkheim's Reception in the Social Sciences -- Social Facts -- Methods of Inquiry -- Methods of Persuasion -- Methods of Explanation -- What is Problematic about Durkheim's Methods -- What is Valuable in Durkheim's Methodology -- Note -- References -- Further Reading -- 3 Verstehen and the Reaction against Positivism -- I A Broad Account of Verstehen -- II Some Common But Mistaken Definitions of Verstehen -- III The Positivist Reply to Verstehen -- IV Beyond Verstehen -- Notes -- 4 The Development of Logical Empiricism -- 1 -- 2 -- 3 -- 4 -- 5 -- 6 -- 7 -- References -- Further Reading -- 5 Popper's Influence on the Social Sciences -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Philosophy of Science -- 3 Philosophy of Social Science -- 4 Some Sociological Issues -- 5 Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- 6 Kuhn's Influence on the Social Sciences -- Kuhn's Structure -- Initial Reactions to Structure: Some Archival Evidence -- The Scientific Status of the Social Sciences -- Social Scientific Paradigms: Their Ubiquity and their Relevance -- The Place of Revolutionary Changes of Theory in the Social Sciences -- The Elephant in the Room: The Sociology of Scientific Knowledge (SSK)