E-Books →The Structure of Social Science

The book's basic framework is a comparison of physical and social science, and in this context the author examines the problems of the mental aspect of social life, general laws, the individual and the social, explanation, and the relation of fact to value. He is far from advocating (as is often done) the wholesale acceptance or rejection of the 'physical science model' in the social sciences - rather, he carefully considers the various elements of the model in relation to the nature of social life. A noteworthy feature of this book is the philosophical analysis of statistical correlations and tests of significance, which bulk so large in the practice of social scientists, yet are all too seldom discussed in books of this kind. Also of special interest is the penetrating and original analysis of functionalist explanation in social science. Students of the social sciences and of philosophy will find this an admirable introduction to an important aspect of their respective disciplines.
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