Relativism and the Social SciencesThis volume of essays deals with the problem of relativism, in particular cultural relativism. If our society knows better than other societies, how do we know that it knows better? There is a profound irony in the fact that this self-doubt has become most acute in the one civilisation that has persuaded the rest of the world to emulate it. The claim to cognitive superiority is often restricted, of course, to the limited sphere of natural science and technology; and that immediately raises the second main theme of this volume - the differences between the human and natural sciences. These essays reach towards a new style and mode of enquiry - a mixture of philosophy, history and anthropology - that promises to prove more revealing and fruitful. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Positivism against Hegelianism | 4 |
The gaffeavoiding animal or A Bundle of Hypotheses | 68 |
Relativism and universals | 83 |
The scientific status of the social sciences und leider auch Sociologie | 101 |
What is structuralisme? | 128 |
No haute cuisine in Africa | 158 |
Concepts and community | 167 |
Sources | 187 |
Supplements and additions | 188 |
| 194 | |
| 196 | |
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Common terms and phrases
abstract answer argument asserted assumption causation cognitive concepts consensus constitute Continuity thesis core course criticism crucial culture cumulative defined distinction diverse doctrine doubt elements elimination emanationism emanationist empiricism empiricist epistemological Ernest Gellner evidence existence explain fact falsifiability formulated Gellner genuine given granular Hegelian hypotheses ideas identify idiom important incommensurate individual inquiry instrumental rationality intellectual issue Jack Goody Jürgen Habermas Karl Popper kind knowledge Kripke language least linguistic logical mankind Marxism means merely method modus tollens moral neo-idealists normative notion objects paradigm perhaps phenomena philosophy Philosophy of Science phonetics plausible political Popper Popperian positivism positivist possible precisely predicting presupposes principle problem question realism reality reason relativism ritual role scientific seems sense simply social sciences society Sociology solution speak specific sphere structuraliste structure testability theory things thought tradition transcendence trial and error truth unique valid violence vision Wittgenstein Zweckrationalität