A Realist Philosophy of Social Science: Explanation and Understanding - Softcover

Manicas, Peter T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521678587 ISBN 13: 9780521678582

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2006

Synopsis

This introduction to the philosophy of social science provides an original conception of the task and nature of social inquiry. Peter Manicas discusses the role of causality seen in the physical sciences and offers a reassessment of the problem of explanation from a realist perspective. He argues that the fundamental goal of theory in both the natural and social sciences is not, contrary to widespread opinion, prediction and control, or the explanation of events (including behaviour). Instead, theory aims to provide an understanding of the processes which, together, produce the contingent outcomes of experience. Offering a host of concrete illustrations and examples of critical ideas and issues, this accessible book will be of interest to students of the philosophy of social science, and social scientists from a range of disciplines.

About this title

Book Description:

Manicas brings the idea of causality and the role that it plays in the physical sciences to bear on inquiry in social sciences. Offering a reassessment of the problem of explanation from a realist perspective, this breathtaking volume, with a host of concrete examples, will appeal to the non-specialist reader.

About the Author:

Professor Peter T. Manicas is a Director of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Hawai'i, Manoa.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0521678587
• ISBN 13: 9780521678582
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 236