Philosophy of Social Sciences (PHD102)

The course will acquaint students with philosophical issues raised by social science in general, and specific social scientific research designs in particular. Topics include:

• The public policy relevance of social science
• The role of values in social scientific research
• The sense and possibility of objectivity in social science
• The debate between naturalism and interpetivism in social science
• Realism and anti-realism in social scientific theory construction
• The sense of causality relevant to social sciences, and the role of causality considerations in social scientific research
• The sense of rationality relevant to social science, and the role of rationality considerations in social scientific research
• The significance of cognitive science for social science
• Holism and methodological individualism in social scientific research
• Models of explanation in social science

The course is integrated with PHD102: Research Design, but can also be taken as a stand-alone course.

Knowledge

The student will gain knowledge of:

• Fundamental epistemological and ontological issues raised by different research approaches in the social sciences.
• The philosophical concepts in terms of which these issues are articulated, and the competing philosophical arguments and theories advanced in addressing them.
• The broader philosophical context within which the student's own research project is situated.

Skills

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

• Identify philosophical implications of different theoretical and methodological approaches in social science.
• Critically reflect on philosophical presuppositions for her chosen theoretical and methodological approach.
• Make use of philosophical concepts, arguments and theories in reflecting on these presuppositions.
• Communicate the results of her reflections in speech and writing in a clear and systematic way.

General competence  

By the end of the course, the student will be able to:

• See the relevance of discussions in the philosophy of social science for the theoretical and methodological choices one must make in developing a social scientific research project
• Subject presuppositions of her research practice to systematic and critical evaluation.

At least one presentation.

Active participation in discussions

Fagperson(er)

Course coordinator: