Creating a Dialectical Social Science

Creating a Dialectical Social Science

Author: I.I. Mitroff

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9400984693

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The depth, intensity, and long-standing nature of the disagreements between differing schools of social thought renders more critical than ever the treatment of dialectical reasoning and its relationship to the social sciences. The nature of these disagreements are deeply rooted in fundamentally differing beliefs regarding, among many things: (1) the nature of man, (2) the role of theory versus data in constructing social theories, (3) the place and function of values versus facts in inquiry, etc. It has become more and more apparent that such fundamental differences cannot be resolved by surface appeals to rationality or to consensus. Such for it is precisely the definitions of appeals are doomed to failure 'rationality' and 'consensus' that are at odds. That is, different schools not only have different definitions of rationality and consensus but different notions regarding their place and function within a total system of inquiry. A dialectical treatment of conflicts is called for because such conflicts demand a method which is capable of recognizing first of all how deep they lie. Secondly, a method is demanded which is capable of appreciating that the various sides of the conflict fundamentally depend on one another for their very existence; they depend, in other words, on one another not 'in spite of' their opposition but precisely 'because of' it.


Book Synopsis Creating a Dialectical Social Science by : I.I. Mitroff

Download or read book Creating a Dialectical Social Science written by I.I. Mitroff and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The depth, intensity, and long-standing nature of the disagreements between differing schools of social thought renders more critical than ever the treatment of dialectical reasoning and its relationship to the social sciences. The nature of these disagreements are deeply rooted in fundamentally differing beliefs regarding, among many things: (1) the nature of man, (2) the role of theory versus data in constructing social theories, (3) the place and function of values versus facts in inquiry, etc. It has become more and more apparent that such fundamental differences cannot be resolved by surface appeals to rationality or to consensus. Such for it is precisely the definitions of appeals are doomed to failure 'rationality' and 'consensus' that are at odds. That is, different schools not only have different definitions of rationality and consensus but different notions regarding their place and function within a total system of inquiry. A dialectical treatment of conflicts is called for because such conflicts demand a method which is capable of recognizing first of all how deep they lie. Secondly, a method is demanded which is capable of appreciating that the various sides of the conflict fundamentally depend on one another for their very existence; they depend, in other words, on one another not 'in spite of' their opposition but precisely 'because of' it.


Changing Social Science

Changing Social Science

Author: Daniel R. Sabia

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1983-06-30

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 9780873956802

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Changing Social Science is both a description of and prescription for the current unease in the social sciences. It brings together articles by philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists who advocate changing the way social science is conceived and practiced. Focusing on the thought of past and present critics and proponents of critical inquiry—especially on the critical theory of Jürgen Habermas and on the disciplines of political science and sociology—collaborators on this volume support a critical form of social and political inquiry, outline its main characteristics, and examine its foundations, options, and unresolved problems. The book is divided into section on reflexivity, methodology and explanation, and criticism and advocacy. From an introductory overview of the collection of articles and an account of the central issues in critical inquiry, discussions ensue on the methodological inadequacies and political implications of naturalist approaches to social and political inquiry; the nature and foundations of interpretive approaches to social science; the role, nature, and limits of causal explanations and causal theories of human action; the role of values in research and theory; and defenses and criticisms of the normative aspirations of both Habermas's critical theory and of critical social science in general.


Book Synopsis Changing Social Science by : Daniel R. Sabia

Download or read book Changing Social Science written by Daniel R. Sabia and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1983-06-30 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changing Social Science is both a description of and prescription for the current unease in the social sciences. It brings together articles by philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists who advocate changing the way social science is conceived and practiced. Focusing on the thought of past and present critics and proponents of critical inquiry—especially on the critical theory of Jürgen Habermas and on the disciplines of political science and sociology—collaborators on this volume support a critical form of social and political inquiry, outline its main characteristics, and examine its foundations, options, and unresolved problems. The book is divided into section on reflexivity, methodology and explanation, and criticism and advocacy. From an introductory overview of the collection of articles and an account of the central issues in critical inquiry, discussions ensue on the methodological inadequacies and political implications of naturalist approaches to social and political inquiry; the nature and foundations of interpretive approaches to social science; the role, nature, and limits of causal explanations and causal theories of human action; the role of values in research and theory; and defenses and criticisms of the normative aspirations of both Habermas's critical theory and of critical social science in general.


Social Science and Policy Challenges

Social Science and Policy Challenges

Author: Georgios Papanagnou

Publisher: UNESCO

Published: 2011-01-01

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 9231042262

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Producing scientific knowledge that can inform solutions and guide policy-making is one of the most important functions of social science. Nonetheless, if social science is to become more relevant and influential so as to impact on the drawing and execution of policy, certain measures need to be taken to narrow its distance from the policy sphere. This decision is less obvious than it seems. Both research and experience have proved that policy-making is a complex, often sub-rational, interactive process that involves a wide range of actors such as decision makers, bureaucrats, researchers, organized interests, citizen and civil society representatives and research brokers. In addition, social science often needs to defend both its relevance to policy and its own scientific status. Moving away from instrumental visions of the link between social research and policy, this collective volume aims to highlight the more constructed nature of the use of social knowledge.


Book Synopsis Social Science and Policy Challenges by : Georgios Papanagnou

Download or read book Social Science and Policy Challenges written by Georgios Papanagnou and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Producing scientific knowledge that can inform solutions and guide policy-making is one of the most important functions of social science. Nonetheless, if social science is to become more relevant and influential so as to impact on the drawing and execution of policy, certain measures need to be taken to narrow its distance from the policy sphere. This decision is less obvious than it seems. Both research and experience have proved that policy-making is a complex, often sub-rational, interactive process that involves a wide range of actors such as decision makers, bureaucrats, researchers, organized interests, citizen and civil society representatives and research brokers. In addition, social science often needs to defend both its relevance to policy and its own scientific status. Moving away from instrumental visions of the link between social research and policy, this collective volume aims to highlight the more constructed nature of the use of social knowledge.


Marx's Scientific Dialectics

Marx's Scientific Dialectics

Author: Paul B. Paolucci

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007-06-30

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 9047420977

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This book examines both problems in traditional readings of Marx's texts and how he used several methods of science to inform his dialectical thinking, historical materialist research, political economic analyses, and his communist project. A case is made for Marx's continuing methodological relevance.


Book Synopsis Marx's Scientific Dialectics by : Paul B. Paolucci

Download or read book Marx's Scientific Dialectics written by Paul B. Paolucci and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2007-06-30 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines both problems in traditional readings of Marx's texts and how he used several methods of science to inform his dialectical thinking, historical materialist research, political economic analyses, and his communist project. A case is made for Marx's continuing methodological relevance.


Intervention Research

Intervention Research

Author: Edwin J Thomas

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-04-03

Total Pages: 505

ISBN-13: 1136585508

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This interdisciplinary book presents a comprehensive conceptual and methodological treatment of intervention research, a developing area of empirical inquiry that aims to make research more directly relevant and applicable to practice. Intervention Research contains original chapters by the most highly regarded scholars in the field. These experts explain how to distinguish intervention research from other modalities, demonstrate a new model of research for the design and development of interventions, and provide guidelines for conducting intervention research in practice with individuals, families, and community organizations. Providing useful observations and a wealth of ideas, authors offer conceptual schemes, results from recent design and development studies, and strategies and methodologies to help professionals make their research more usable and meaningful. Chapters cover such important topics as the acquisition of relevant knowledge, meta-analysis in intervention research, methods and issues in designing and developing interventions, and field testing and evaluating innovative practice interventions. The book depicts intervention research through case illustrations and promotes the use of new technologies for developing innovative practice methods. Intervention Research focuses on Intervention Design and Development--the part of intervention research involving the creation of reliable, practical tools of social intervention in user-ready form. It sets forth systematic procedures for designing, testing, evaluating, and refining needed social technology and for disseminating proven techniques and programs to professionals in the community.Intervention Research has a base in social work, but is highly interdisciplinary. Authors contributing to this text come from a variety of fields, including psychology, sociology, education, information science, and communications. Professors and educators working in schools of public health, education, urban planning, nursing, and public administration, or teaching courses in psychology, sociology, or upper-level social work, will find this book full of comprehensive and practical information that is advantageous for their work.


Book Synopsis Intervention Research by : Edwin J Thomas

Download or read book Intervention Research written by Edwin J Thomas and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-04-03 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This interdisciplinary book presents a comprehensive conceptual and methodological treatment of intervention research, a developing area of empirical inquiry that aims to make research more directly relevant and applicable to practice. Intervention Research contains original chapters by the most highly regarded scholars in the field. These experts explain how to distinguish intervention research from other modalities, demonstrate a new model of research for the design and development of interventions, and provide guidelines for conducting intervention research in practice with individuals, families, and community organizations. Providing useful observations and a wealth of ideas, authors offer conceptual schemes, results from recent design and development studies, and strategies and methodologies to help professionals make their research more usable and meaningful. Chapters cover such important topics as the acquisition of relevant knowledge, meta-analysis in intervention research, methods and issues in designing and developing interventions, and field testing and evaluating innovative practice interventions. The book depicts intervention research through case illustrations and promotes the use of new technologies for developing innovative practice methods. Intervention Research focuses on Intervention Design and Development--the part of intervention research involving the creation of reliable, practical tools of social intervention in user-ready form. It sets forth systematic procedures for designing, testing, evaluating, and refining needed social technology and for disseminating proven techniques and programs to professionals in the community.Intervention Research has a base in social work, but is highly interdisciplinary. Authors contributing to this text come from a variety of fields, including psychology, sociology, education, information science, and communications. Professors and educators working in schools of public health, education, urban planning, nursing, and public administration, or teaching courses in psychology, sociology, or upper-level social work, will find this book full of comprehensive and practical information that is advantageous for their work.


The Science of Public Policy: Policy analysis II

The Science of Public Policy: Policy analysis II

Author: Tadao Miyakawa

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2000-05-25

Total Pages: 584

ISBN-13: 9780415195980

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This set offers a comprehensive collection of papers on this significant discipline. Published in two parts with new introductions to the individual volumes by the editor, this is an invaluable tool for any researcher in this area.


Book Synopsis The Science of Public Policy: Policy analysis II by : Tadao Miyakawa

Download or read book The Science of Public Policy: Policy analysis II written by Tadao Miyakawa and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2000-05-25 with total page 584 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This set offers a comprehensive collection of papers on this significant discipline. Published in two parts with new introductions to the individual volumes by the editor, this is an invaluable tool for any researcher in this area.


The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning

The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning

Author: Frank Fischer

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2013-07-12

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0822381818

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Public policy is made of language. Whether in written or oral form, argument is central to all parts of the policy process. As simple as this insight appears, its implications for policy analysis and planning are profound. Drawing from recent work on language and argumentation and referring to such theorists as Wittgenstein, Habermas, Toulmin, and Foucault, these essays explore the interplay of language, action, and power in both the practice and the theory of policy-making. The contributors, scholars of international renown who range across the theoretical spectrum, emphasize the political nature of the policy planner's work and stress the role of persuasive arguments in practical decision making. Recognizing the rhetorical, communicative character of policy and planning deliberations, they show that policy arguments are necessarily selective, both shaping and being shaped by relations of power. These essays reveal the practices of policy analysts and planners in powerful new ways--as matters of practical argumentation in complex, highly political environments. They also make an important contribution to contemporary debates over postempiricism in the social and policy sciences. Contributors. John S. Dryzek, William N. Dunn, Frank Fischer, John Forester, Maarten Hajer, Patsy Healey, Robert Hoppe, Bruce Jennings, Thomas J. Kaplan, Duncan MacRae, Jr., Martin Rein, Donald Schon, J. A. Throgmorton


Book Synopsis The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning by : Frank Fischer

Download or read book The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning written by Frank Fischer and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-12 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Public policy is made of language. Whether in written or oral form, argument is central to all parts of the policy process. As simple as this insight appears, its implications for policy analysis and planning are profound. Drawing from recent work on language and argumentation and referring to such theorists as Wittgenstein, Habermas, Toulmin, and Foucault, these essays explore the interplay of language, action, and power in both the practice and the theory of policy-making. The contributors, scholars of international renown who range across the theoretical spectrum, emphasize the political nature of the policy planner's work and stress the role of persuasive arguments in practical decision making. Recognizing the rhetorical, communicative character of policy and planning deliberations, they show that policy arguments are necessarily selective, both shaping and being shaped by relations of power. These essays reveal the practices of policy analysts and planners in powerful new ways--as matters of practical argumentation in complex, highly political environments. They also make an important contribution to contemporary debates over postempiricism in the social and policy sciences. Contributors. John S. Dryzek, William N. Dunn, Frank Fischer, John Forester, Maarten Hajer, Patsy Healey, Robert Hoppe, Bruce Jennings, Thomas J. Kaplan, Duncan MacRae, Jr., Martin Rein, Donald Schon, J. A. Throgmorton


Problems in Class Analysis

Problems in Class Analysis

Author: Guglielmo Carchedi

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-02-24

Total Pages: 283

ISBN-13: 1000817547

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First published in 1983, Problems in Class Analysis presents a coherent theory of labour’s domination by capital, based upon the notion of the capitalist nature of both the product relations and of the productive forces themselves, including science and technology. The author demonstrates that all knowledges are a product, direct or indirect, of economic relations, so that different knowledges will be the product of different social classes as determined by their position within economic production relations. By posing and re-solving fundamental problems in class analysis, Dr. Carchedi forms a bridge between the theory of the production process and contemporary debates in economics, sociology and epistemology.


Book Synopsis Problems in Class Analysis by : Guglielmo Carchedi

Download or read book Problems in Class Analysis written by Guglielmo Carchedi and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-02-24 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1983, Problems in Class Analysis presents a coherent theory of labour’s domination by capital, based upon the notion of the capitalist nature of both the product relations and of the productive forces themselves, including science and technology. The author demonstrates that all knowledges are a product, direct or indirect, of economic relations, so that different knowledges will be the product of different social classes as determined by their position within economic production relations. By posing and re-solving fundamental problems in class analysis, Dr. Carchedi forms a bridge between the theory of the production process and contemporary debates in economics, sociology and epistemology.


Developing Social Science and Religion for Liberation and Growth

Developing Social Science and Religion for Liberation and Growth

Author: Chris Adam-Bagley

Publisher: Ethics International Press

Published: 2023-04-20

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1804411248

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This book integrates humanist approaches in enabling both spiritual growth and social science knowledge in advocating for the emancipation of exploited women, children and youth, based on critical realism. Through an autoethnographic account of the first author’s journey from being a secular Jew, through Anglicanism, to Quakerism and then Islam, a pacifist-based social science methodology is developed. This approach describes attempts to understand and liberate sexually exploited youths in Bangladesh; exploited women and girls in Pakistan; and struggling women in Gaza, Palestine. The model attempts to integrate moral goals of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in seeking peaceful co-operation. Secular humanism is added, creating a research model which seeks the enhancement of human welfare through the universal ethic of the social contract, in which humans and their welfare are both interesting and exciting. A review of research on child sexual exploitation elaborates the model of child-centred humanism.


Book Synopsis Developing Social Science and Religion for Liberation and Growth by : Chris Adam-Bagley

Download or read book Developing Social Science and Religion for Liberation and Growth written by Chris Adam-Bagley and published by Ethics International Press. This book was released on 2023-04-20 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book integrates humanist approaches in enabling both spiritual growth and social science knowledge in advocating for the emancipation of exploited women, children and youth, based on critical realism. Through an autoethnographic account of the first author’s journey from being a secular Jew, through Anglicanism, to Quakerism and then Islam, a pacifist-based social science methodology is developed. This approach describes attempts to understand and liberate sexually exploited youths in Bangladesh; exploited women and girls in Pakistan; and struggling women in Gaza, Palestine. The model attempts to integrate moral goals of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in seeking peaceful co-operation. Secular humanism is added, creating a research model which seeks the enhancement of human welfare through the universal ethic of the social contract, in which humans and their welfare are both interesting and exciting. A review of research on child sexual exploitation elaborates the model of child-centred humanism.


Holistic Health and Biomedical Medicine

Holistic Health and Biomedical Medicine

Author: Stephen Lyng

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1990-08-14

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780791402566

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Holistic Health and Biomedical Medicine outlines a new framework for social science research. Illustrated in an analysis of the American health care system, Lyng presents an empirical study of the relationship between medical knowledge and the social structure of medical practice in America. Through a synthesis of ideas from such diverse perspectives as classical Marxian theory and the medical model embraced by the holistic health movement, Lyng articulates a “medical countersystem” that is contrasted against the traditional biomedical model of medical practice. What results is an entirely unique Marxian analysis of the U.S. health care system, one that examines how the system evolved historically as well as describes several possibilities for the future of medicine in America.


Book Synopsis Holistic Health and Biomedical Medicine by : Stephen Lyng

Download or read book Holistic Health and Biomedical Medicine written by Stephen Lyng and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1990-08-14 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Holistic Health and Biomedical Medicine outlines a new framework for social science research. Illustrated in an analysis of the American health care system, Lyng presents an empirical study of the relationship between medical knowledge and the social structure of medical practice in America. Through a synthesis of ideas from such diverse perspectives as classical Marxian theory and the medical model embraced by the holistic health movement, Lyng articulates a “medical countersystem” that is contrasted against the traditional biomedical model of medical practice. What results is an entirely unique Marxian analysis of the U.S. health care system, one that examines how the system evolved historically as well as describes several possibilities for the future of medicine in America.