Realism, Philosophy And Social Science

The authors examine the nature of the relationship between social science and philosophy and address the sort of work social science should do, and the role and sorts of claims that an accompanying philosophy should engage in. In particular, the authors reintroduce the question of ontology, an area long overlooked by philosophers of social science, and present a cricital engagement with the work of Roy Bhaskar. The book argues against the excesses of philosophising and commits itself to a philosophical approach more deeply grounded in the social sciences.

Introduction: Realism, Philosophy and Social Science * From Science to Sects: Odyssey of a Development too Far--C.Wight * Underlabouring Method, Macro-Level Method, Dialectical Method, or Meso-Level Method? Transgressing the Fetish of Method--J.Roberts * Marxism, the Dialectic of Freedom and Emancipation--J.Joseph * Agency and Dialectics: An Althusserian Contribution to the Critical Realist Account of Agency--K.Dean * Conclusion