Philosophy of Social Science

by Alex Rosenberg

Book Overview

Philosophy of Social Science provides a tightly argued yet accessible introduction to the philosophical foundations of the human sciences, including economics, anthropology, sociology, political... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813306175
• ISBN13: 9780813306179
• Release Date: September 1988
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 218 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An introduction to the philosophical foundations of human sciences

Professor of Philosophy at Duke University Alexander Rosenberg brings us the third edition of "The Philosophy of Social Science", a thoroughly argued yet still accessible introduction to the philosophical foundations of human sciences such as economics, anthropology, sociology, and many others. New to this edition include an overview of the eclipse of behaviorism in psychology and the rise of game theory in economics, consideration of problems for functionalism in social science that must be addressed by an appeal to biology and especially Darwinism thinking; and so much more on top of that. "The Philosophy of Social Science" is highly recommended to college philosophy shelves as a complete reference and to non-specialized general readers with an interest in psychology.

Must Read

As a recent college graduate, I can say I've learned more about the social sciences and its theoretical underpinnings from this book than I did my entire 5 years in college. While Rosenberg's survey of the social sciences is certainly not exhaustive, he covers many core family disciplines of the social sciences, such as economics and sociology, and their philosophical foundations. Moreover, Rosenberg even includes a review of critical theory, a discipline that probably would not have been mentioned by many mainstream thinkers. The way he uses the problems of philosophy, especially metaphysics and ethics, to compare and contrast the natural sciences and social sciences is powerfully insightful. For anyone interested in the study of human behavior or philosophy, this book is highly recommended.

Best introduction to the real philosophy of social science

There are many books out there with the same title as this one. But if you want to know what the real issues in the philosophy of social science are, and how they connect to the basic questions of philosophy--from Plato to Popper--this is the book to read. Rosenberg uniquely combines expertise across the range of problems about social scientific method with an eye to the sides social scientists actually have to take about fundamental questions. The comparison of rational choice, functionalist, and Darwinian explanations of cross-cousin marriage rules is just one example!