| Unit name | Philosophy of Social Science |
|---|---|
| Unit code | SPOLD1001 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | D/8 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Bridge |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School for Policy Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
To acquaint students with the main currents of philosophical thinking that have influenced social science. To acquaint students with the philosophical assumptions behind key epistemologies and methodologies in social science. Seminars include discussions of positivism; interpretative philosophies; rational choice; Marxism; hermeneutics; critical realism; naturalism; poststructuralism; postmodernism; new constructions of science. The changing relationship of social to natural science receives attention. Other themes are the conceptions of the possibilities of the social via philosophies of consciousness and philosophies of language; the relationship between rationality and culture; changes in the understanding of the subject/subjectivites; changing constructions of the 'social' and 'nature'. Wherever possible explicit links are made between epistemology and methodology of social science.
