Course Catalog
PHIL 501 Philosophy of Social Sciences | 3 Credits | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This course is an introduction to the main issues and approaches in the philosophy of social sciences, with a focus on questions of methodology. These include whether social sciences employ a methodology different from that of the natural sciences; whether explanations in terms of reasons differ in any way from those in terms of causes; the nature of social reality; the relationship between individuals and social structures; the debate between methodological individualism and methodological holism; whether social sciences are value- free or not and the problem of objectivity. General approaches to be discussed are positivism, realism, the hermeneutical-interpretive and critical schools. These approaches and issues will be exemplified in the context of various social scientific disciplines. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ECTS Credit: 10 ECTS (10 ECTS for students admitted before 2013-14 Academic Year) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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