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What is social science if not critical?
1Durham University, Durham, UK.
Social sciences should embrace both explanation and critique as core scientific endeavors. Combining these approaches offers deeper insights than relying on explanation alone, enriching the field.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences, Philosophy of Science
Background:
- The debate questions whether social science is solely explanation or nothing.
- Critique is often seen as separate from scientific explanation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To argue that social science encompasses both explanation and critique.
- To demonstrate that both are integral to scientific practice.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation.
- Analysis of scientific characteristics in explanation and critique.
- Examples from sociology and critical analysis of concepts.
Main Results:
- Both explanation and critique share characteristics attributed to science.
- Excluding critique from science limits the scope of social sciences.
- Sociological and critical analyses are valuable scientific contributions.
Conclusions:
- Explanation and critique are mutually supportive scientific elements.
- A combined approach yields unique and valuable insights in social sciences.
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