Understanding Social Science

In this lucid and engaging analysis of the nature of society, Roger Trigg examines the scientific basis of social science and shows that philosophical presuppositions are a necessary starting point for the study of society. This second edition contains three new chapters that demonstrate the relationship of the philosophy of social science to politics, and takes into account recent developments including the impact of rational choice theory, and attacks on the possibility of reason by postmodernists.Themes in the book include the relation of individual to society, the basis of our understanding of other societies, and the character of social reality. Is there such a thing as society? What of the threat of relativism? These and other questions are examined in depth, but with a clarity that introduces the issues to those new to the subject.

ISBN 0631218726   Pages 280 ISBN13 9780631218722 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd   Weight (grammes) 488 Imprint Blackwell Publishers   Published in Oxford Format Paperback   Previous ISBN 9780631141617 Publication date 31 Aug 2000   Height (mm) 229 Library of Congress H61.T72 20   Width (mm) 154 DEWEY 300.1   Spine width (mm) 21 DEWEY edition DC21   Academic level Undergraduate, Professional / Scholarly, Postgraduate

		Preface to the Second Edition
		Acknowledgement
1		The Nature of Science
2		Objectivity and the Sociology of Knowledge
3		Individuals and Society
4		Understanding Other Societies
5		Rationality
6		Facts and Values
7		Economics and Society
8		Culture: Function and Adaptation
9		Sociobiology and Determinism
10		Markets and Social Institutions
11		Tradition and Reason
12		The Philosophical Basis of Social Science
		Glossary
		Bibliography
		Index

"The first edition of Trigg's book was already an excellent text in the philosophy of social science. Not only did it strike a high level of philosophical sophistication, but it was unique among such texts in making ideas of Ludwig Wittgenstein fruitful and in approaching the question of objectivity in social inquiry partly through the sociology of knowledge. The new or expanded discussions of perspectivalism, reason, politics, and social reality only make it better." Ted Schatzki, University of Kentucky "Trigg's study is a lively and informative introduction to the philosophical issues at the heart of our efforts to either understand or explain social phenomena. He questions naturalistic accounts of social science and argues that the core philosophical assumptions within such inquiry will prove neither innocuous nor dissolve through empirical methods." Robert D'Amico, University of Florida

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