Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. A Realist Philosophy of Social Science
  • Cited by 124
      • Show more authors
      • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Select format
    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      12 November 2009
      15 June 2006
      ISBN:
      9780511607035
      9780521861403
      9780521678582
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511607035
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.51kg, 236 Pages
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.389kg, 236 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Research Methods in Sociology and Criminology, Research Methods In Sociology and Criminology, Philosophy of Social Science, Philosophy, Sociology
    You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Research Methods in Sociology and Criminology, Research Methods In Sociology and Criminology, Philosophy of Social Science, Philosophy, Sociology
    Information

    Book description

    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.

    Reviews

    'With this book Manicas has filled a major need in the philosophy of social science, which has not given adequate critical attention to the problem of explanation. His argument that understanding not explanation as such is the primary goal of the sciences entails a wider assessment of the philosophy of the social sciences. This is an original contribution as well as being an important and very convincing statement of realism. It is likely to become a key work in thefield.'

    Gerard Delanty - Professor of Sociology, University of Liverpool

    'Despite their protestations to the contrary, scientists have always been influenced, often to the detriment of their projects, by philosophy. In this timely volume Peter Manicas offers a systematic defence of scientific realism as the philosophical framework for the social sciences. Parallel to the way the natural sciences propose explanations by causal mechanisms, the social sciences should propose their own form of 'causality', active agents making use of systems of meaningful actions to accomplish their ends. In his comprehensive study of how the social sciences might be, Manicas works out this insight in various contexts with powerful effect. One can only hope that, at last, the spectre of naïve empiricism will finally be exorcised from the social sciences.'

    Horace R. Harre - Distinguished Research Professor, Georgetown University

    'Neo-positivist, interpretive, and postmodernist social science are often seriously confused about fundamental issues of explanation, causation, interpretation, and understanding. Critical realism offers the best alternative account of the social scientific task and the most sensible resolution of our widespread confusions. Peter Manicas makes an important contribution to developing such a critical realist approach to social science that can help to re-orient our scholarly visions in smarter, more realistic, and fruitful directions.'Christian Smith, Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Contents
    References

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.