Microfoundations, Method, and Causation: On the Philosophy of the Social SciencesTransaction Publishers - 272 strán (strany) The convergence of inexactness and intelligibility in social phenomena makes social and historical inquiry fascinating. The social world is not chaotic and social processes are not unrelated strings of events. We can explain social patterns in ways that illuminate social outcomes. At the same time, the social world does not constitute a closed, determined system of variables and outcomes, in the same way that quantum chemistry systemizes the properties of all physical structures. Instead, the social sciences are a tangle of cross-cutting, overlapping sets of theories, hypotheses, causal models, idealized facts, interpretive principles, and bodies of empirical findings that may illuminate but do not reduce. In "Microfoundations, Method, and Causation, "Daniel Little combines a purely philosophical perspective on social science, with the theoretical and empirical practice of working scientists. Part 1 focuses on the theory of popular politics constructed within the context of analytical Marxism. In part 2, Little asks if rational choice theory provides an adequate basis for explaining patterns of social, political, and economic behavior in traditional China. The essays in part 3 reveal the philosophy of social science as understood by philosophers. Here, Little probes issues of objectivity, empiricism, and generalizations, and makes the case that social generalizations are not akin to laws of nature. Little's approach to social science research effectively points out the limits inherent in social theories, as well as questions and answers that may be posed to the social world. In a clear, compelling, and honest fashion, he urges both the social scientist and the philosopher who studies the social sciences, to make the most of empirical methods of research to develop hypotheses about the social world. As such, this is a must read for sociologists, social theorists, and philosophers. |
Vyhľadávanie v obsahu knihy
Výsledky 1 - 5 z 82.
... circumstances of the individual ( thus contradicting the narrow strictures of methodological individualism ) ; but it is not legitimate to assert a causal or explanatory relationship between aggregate social characteristics without at ...
... , 12 ) ; • social explanations depend on identifying causal mechanisms ( causal real- ism ) ( 2 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 12 ) ; ⚫ social causation proceeds through the structured circumstances of choice Introduction ix Acknowledgements.
... circumstances of choice of individual agents ( microfoundations thesis ) ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 7 , 12 ) ; predictions are weak and unreliable in social science ( 3 , 12 ) ; • social science hypotheses can and should be tested and ...
... circumstances of individual choice and action that give rise to aggregate patterns if macro - explana- tions are to be adequate . Thus in order to explain the policies of the capitalist state it is not sufficient to observe that this ...
... circumstance's being in the collective interest of a group to its being in the individual interest of members of the group . In an impor- tant recent article Allen Buchanan argues that , " Even if revolution is in the best interest of ...
Obsah
xiii | |
25 | |
Marxism and Popular Politics | 49 |
Explanation in Area Studies | 75 |
RationalChoice Theory and Asian Studies | 77 |
Collective Action and the Traditional Village | 99 |
Identity Politics Microfoundations for Asian Studies | 121 |
The Brenner Debate | 129 |
Objectivity Generalization and Causation | 167 |
Evidence and Objectivity in the Social Sciences | 169 |
Causal Explanation in the Social Sciences | 193 |
An Experiment in Causal Reasoning | 211 |
On the Scope and Limits of Generalization in the Social Sciences | 233 |
References | 253 |
Index | 265 |
The HighLevel Equilibrium Trap | 147 |