Philosophy of the Social Sciences: Philosophical Theory and Scientific Practice

Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Contributors......Page 9
Acknowledgements......Page 11
Introduction......Page 13
Part I Basic Problems of Sociality......Page 17
1	Language and Social Ontology......Page 21
1	What Is Language?......Page 22
2	Meaning, Conventions and Syntax......Page 24
3	Commitments and Other Forms of Deontology......Page 27
4	The Extension of Deontology......Page 29
5 The Creation of Institutional Facts: \"X Counts as Y in C\"......Page 30
6	Free-standing Y Terms and the Expansion of the Theory......Page 32
7	The General Logical Form of Status Functions......Page 34
8	Conclusion......Page 38
References......Page 39
1 – Comment De Rerum Natura: Dragons of Obliviousness and the Science of Social Ontology......Page 40
References......Page 52
1	Shared Intention......Page 53
2	Constructivism about Shared Intention......Page 55
3.1	I Intend that We J, and Circularity......Page 58
3.2	Interlocking Intentions......Page 59
3.3	Intended Mesh......Page 60
3.4	Disposition to Help If Needed......Page 61
3.5	Common Knowledge......Page 63
4	I Intend that We J, and Further Building Blocks......Page 64
5	The Basic Thesis......Page 65
6	Putting Obligation in its Place......Page 67
References......Page 70
2 – Comment Where Is the Social?......Page 72
Introduction......Page 79
1.1	Agential Behavior......Page 80
1.2	Agential Behavior and Agency......Page 81
1.3	Systematic Perturbability......Page 84
1.4	Contextual Resilience......Page 85
1.5	Variable Realization......Page 86
2.1	The Transparent Group......Page 87
2.2	The Majoritarian Assembly......Page 88
2.3	The Sequential-Priority Assembly......Page 91
2.4	The Straw-Vote Assembly......Page 92
3	The Real Agency of the Straw-Vote Assembly......Page 93
3.1	The General Question......Page 94
3.2	Systematic Perturbability......Page 96
3.3	Contextual Resilience......Page 97
3.4	Variable Realization......Page 98
4	Conclusion......Page 100
References......Page 101
3 – Comment A Note on Group Agents......Page 104
References......Page 109
Part II Laws and Explanation in the Social Sciences......Page 111
1	Introduction......Page 115
2	Laws Without Reduction......Page 117
3	Reduction Required......Page 119
4	Kinds of Kinds......Page 121
5	Dilemma for Fodor......Page 122
6	Methodological Consequences......Page 123
7	Selectional Laws......Page 127
8	The Limits of Selection......Page 129
9	Human Sciences......Page 131
References......Page 134
4 – Comment Reductionism in the Human Sciences: A Philosopher’s Game......Page 136
2 Papineau’s Misguided Reductive Expectations......Page 137
References......Page 140
1	Introduction......Page 142
2	Laws: the Traditional Account......Page 144
3	Laws and Contingencies in Biology......Page 148
4	The Ceteris Paribus Alternative......Page 152
References......Page 156
5 – Comment Conditional Knowledge: An Oxymoron?......Page 158
1	Laws, Contingency, and Modeling in the Social Sciences......Page 159
2	Good Practices in Political Science: Bringing Together Theory and Data......Page 163
References......Page 165
1	Introduction: Reconsideration of the Foundations of Social Science Research......Page 166
2	A Role for the Philosophy of Social Science?......Page 167
3	Current Discussions of the Social Sciences in the United States......Page 168
3.1	Assessment......Page 173
4.1	Methodological Localism......Page 174
4.2	The Centrality of Causal Mechanisms in Social Explanations......Page 179
4.3	Generalizations and Predictions......Page 182
5	Conclusions......Page 186
References......Page 187
6 – Comment Causal Mechanisms and Generalizations......Page 191
References......Page 196
1	The Topic......Page 197
2	Why It Matters......Page 198
3	Efficacy and Effectiveness......Page 199
4	Capacities......Page 202
5.1	Causal Claims and Inductions from Them......Page 204
5.2	A Casual Law and its Analogues......Page 205
5.3	Probabilities and Inductions from Them......Page 206
6	What Makes a Concept Legitimate?......Page 207
7	Return to Efficacies as Capacities......Page 209
8	Speaking Realistically......Page 211
9 A Brief but Important Warning......Page 215
10	In Sum......Page 216
References......Page 217
7 – Comment Randomized Controlled Trials and Public Policy......Page 219
1	Randomized Controlled Trials on the Efficacy of Early Detection......Page 220
2	Do These Results Generalize to the Field?......Page 221
4	Do Policymakers Pay Attention to RCTs?......Page 222
5	Evidence Not Wanted: Germany......Page 223
6	Evidence Not Wanted: United States......Page 224
7	Evidence-based Medicine as Science Fiction......Page 225
References......Page 226
Part III How Philosophy and the Social Sciences Can Enrich Each Other: Three Examples......Page 227
1	Introduction......Page 231
1.1	Self-interest in Repeated Games......Page 233
1.2	Theory......Page 234
1.3	Empirical Evidence......Page 236
1.4	Social Preferences?......Page 237
1.5	Challenges to the Existence of Social Preferences......Page 239
2.1	Conditional Cooperation as an Alternative to Self-interest......Page 241
2.2	Evidence for Conditional Cooperation......Page 242
2.3	Heterogeneity of Types and Endogenous Grouping......Page 243
2.5	Restart Effects......Page 246
2.6	Field Studies......Page 247
2.7	The Role of Intentions......Page 248
3.1	Introduction......Page 251
3.2	Social Preferences: Inequity Aversion as an Illustration......Page 252
3.3	The Structure of Reciprocity......Page 255
4.1	Implications for Modeling Conditional Cooperators......Page 257
4.2	Norms as a Solution to the Problem of Unpredictability......Page 262
4.3	Normative Guidance......Page 264
4.4	The Psychology Behind Conformity to Norms......Page 268
4.5	Empirical Implications......Page 270
5	Conclusion......Page 274
References......Page 275
1	Cooperation and the Classical Social Order Problem......Page 278
2	Woodward on Cooperation......Page 281
References......Page 284
1.1	The Milgram Experiments......Page 286
1.2	The Good Samaritan Experiment......Page 287
1.3 Harman\'s Case......Page 288
1.4 Doris\'s Case......Page 289
2	The Attack Assessed......Page 292
References......Page 301
9 – Comment Do People Have Character Traits?......Page 303
References......Page 309
10 What Kind of Problem is the Hermeneutic Circle?......Page 311
1.2	Is the Hermeneutic Circle a Logical Problem?......Page 312
2	The Solution to the Problem......Page 313
2.2	Why the Hermeneutic Circle is Not a Logical Problem......Page 314
2.3	Why the Hermeneutic Circle Is an Empirical Phenomenon......Page 317
References......Page 321
10 – Comment Going in Circles......Page 324
References......Page 336
Epilogue......Page 337
Name Index......Page 339
Subject Index......Page 343