Objects of social sciences
- London Continuum 2006
- 160
The philosophy of social science has become one of the battleground of contemporary theory and analysis. At the core of the debate is the central question about the objective capacity of a range of disciplines not explicitly regarded as scientific? The philosophy of social science employs a rich and complex approach to its object, an approach which explores methodological, epistemological, metaphysical and logical questions. How can such a diverse approach attempt objectivity when faced with the complexity of what is studies, namely the social world? What is the object of social scientific investigation? The Object of Social Science presents a clear and structured analysis of the philosophy of social science across each of its main disciplines Anthropology, Sociology, History, Economics and Geography. It both identifies the practical and theoretical procedures involved in the identification of the object and, at the same time, raises questions about the very objectivity of these procedures in analysing the object. The book will prove invaluable to students across the social sciences as a guide to the theories and methodologies, which underpin their disciplines.