University of Stavanger Summer School - Philosophy of Social Sciences, 12-16 November 2019, Norway

• Fundamental epistemological and ontological issues raised by different research approaches in the social sciences.
• The philosophical concepts in terms of which these issues are articulated, and the competing philosophical arguments and theories advanced in addressing them.
• The broader philosophical context within which the student's own research project is situated.

• Identify philosophical implications of different theoretical and methodological approaches in social science.
• Critically reflect on philosophical presuppositions for her chosen theoretical and methodological approach.
• Make use of philosophical concepts, arguments and theories in reflecting on these presuppositions.
• Communicate the results of her reflections in speech and writing in a clear and systematic way.

• See the relevance of discussions in the philosophy of social science for the theoretical and methodological choices one must make in developing a social scientific research project
• Subject presuppositions of her research practice to systematic and critical evaluation.

• The public policy relevance of social science
• The role of values in social scientific research
• The sense and possibility of objectivity in social science
• The debate between naturalism and interpetivism in social science
• Realism and anti-realism in social scientific theory construction
• The sense of causality relevant to social sciences, and the role of causality considerations in social scientific research
• The sense of rationality relevant to social science, and the role of rationality considerations in social scientific research
• The significance of cognitive science for social science
• Holism and methodological individualism in social scientific research
• Models of explanation in social science

Exam

Coursework requirements

Subject teacher(s)

Course coordinator

Tarjei Mandt Larsen

Method of work

Course assessment