Introductions to the subject

1 The Blackwell guide to the philosophy of the social sciences

S.P. Turner and P.A. Roth, eds Blackwell, 2003, 382pp. £21.99. ISBN 9780631215387.

www.blackwellreference.com/public [FEE-BASED]

‘The structure of this anthology reflects the editors’ views of the change in the underlying problematic governing philosophy of social science. The issues are no longer organized around the familiar topics borrowed from philosophy of science: what is a law, what is an explanation, what are the ontological units (e.g. holism v. individualism), which sciences are primary (reductionism), what is the structure of theories and so forth. Rather, we now find a field organized around a poorly bounded collection of crosscutting debates and issues … Many topics compete in the struggle to unify understanding of how social science does function as well as how it ought to …’

13 excellent state-of-the-art essays organized into three Parts: I. Pasts; II. Programs; III. Problematics. Substantial bibliography.

2 Continental philosophy of social science

Y. Sherratt Cambridge University Press, 2006, 241pp. £14.99. ISBN 9780521670982.

Provides a rewarding counterpoint to the predominant Anglo- American philosophy of social science. Particularly good at contextualizing and contrasting the two approaches, stressing that continental philosophy of social science is ‘a distinguished and autonomous strand of thought in its own right. Continental schools have their own canon of thinkers, pose their own questions, set their own agendas and have a rich, deep history stemming back to Ancient Greece, Rome and early Christendom. In fact, it is this connection to its Ancient past, let us say its humanism, that defines the continental tradition’.

3 The elements of social scientific thinking

K.R. Hoover and T. Donovan 8th edn, Thomson/Wadsworth, 2004, 223pp. $34.95. ISBN 9780534614119.

Good, short, ‘uncomplicated’ introduction. Each chapter has a helpful preview and ends with a list of concepts introduced. There is a good section on ‘measuring variables and relationships’.

4 Great expectations – the social sciences in Great Britain

Commission on the Social Sciences Transaction Publishers, 2004, 166pp. £21.95. ISBN 0765808498.

Valuable overview ranging – in Section A – from ‘What are the social sciences and what are they for?’ through ‘Social sciences and the outside world (aka society)’ to ‘The future of the social sciences’. Section B provides extensive data on ‘The nature, scale and financial support of the social sciences in Britain’. Good short bibiliography.