Philosophy of Social Science

The philosophy of social science is both descriptive and prescriptive. It describes the philosophical assumptions that form the basis of the practice of social inquiry and criticizes them for securing their ability to explain and predict social phenomena. This course provides an extended overview of the central debates in the philosophy of social sciences. First, we will discuss whether there is an epistemological import difference between natural and social sciences. Second, we will discuss what is the method (or methods) in social sciences, what type of knowledge social inquiry produces, and discuss the ontology of social kinds. Finally, we will discuss whether research in the social sciences can be objective and value-free.