The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of the Social Sciences

The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of the Social Sciences collects newly commissioned essays that examine fundamental issues in the social sciences.The philosophy of the social sciences is concerned with a wide range of problems that pertain to explanations of human action and thought. This volume is the first of its kind to survey the full range of issues that philosophy of social science now encompasses. These include postmodernism, science studies, feminist philosophy, evolutionary accounts of social life, rational choice theory, practice theory, and causal modeling. The book also provides a retrospective look at the origins of the problem of the scientific character of social science and the changes that the field has undergone. Written by an international cast of leading philosophers, each essay offers an examination of the hottest issues in this field. It is a must-read for philosophers of social science and philosophically inclined social scientists.

Stephen P. Turner is Graduate Research Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of South Florida. He is the author of many books including Sociological Explanation as Translation (1980). He is also editor of the Cambridge Companion to Max Weber (2000).

Paul A. Roth is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is the author of Meaning and Method in the Social Sciences (1987). He co-founded and co-organizes the annual St. Louis Roundtable in the Philosophy of Social Science and is a member of the editorial board of Philosophy of the Social Sciences.