Theorizing in Contemporary Social Science: A Peircean Consensus?

2017 | Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences

Social theory is generally seen as a necessary part of social science and is institutionalized as a specialized area of research competence, whilst also playing an important role in the education of students. However, the question of how to theorize is explicitly addressed only rarely in the academic community: social scientists discuss the content of theories, on the one hand, and empirical research methods, on the other, but seldom do they discuss theory construction, or the logic and method of theoretical research. Engaging with the work of Charles Sanders Peirce in the philosophy of science, this book takes up the issue of how theory is constructed and developed, raising and responding to questions including: What do social scientists actually do when they theorize? How do they proceed when they construct theories? What does theoretical research involve? What makes theorizing scientific? Do we need methods in theoretical work? Is there a specific logic of theorizing on which such methods could be based?

Offering a systematic investigation of attempts to clarify the logic of theorizing in some of the most influential schools in contemporary social science - such as phenomenology, hermeneutics, American pragmatism, German critical theory, critical realism, analytical sociology, poststructuralism and French pragmatism - this book will appeal not only to social theorists, but scholars and students across the social sciences.

Mikael Carleheden (Author)