Social Science Under Debate: A Philosophical PerspectiveMario Bunge, author of the monumental Treatise on Basic Philosophy, is widely renowned as a philosopher of science. In this new and ambitious work he shifts his attention to the social sciences and the social technologies. He considers a number of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, law, history, and management science. Bunge contends that social science research has fallen prey to a postmodern fascination with irrationalism and relativism. He urges social scientists to re-examine the philosophy and the methodology at the base of their discipline. Bunge calls for objective and relevant fact-finding, rigorous theorizing, and empirical testing, as well as morally sensitive and socially responsible policy design. |
Contents
From Natural Science to Social Science | 4 |
Sociology | 61 |
Positive Economics | 100 |
Equilibrium | 136 |
Political Science | 155 |
Culturology | 219 |
History | 257 |
Sociotechnology | 297 |
Resource Management | 399 |
Management and Politics | 400 |
Rationality in Action | 401 |
Normative Economics | 403 |
Normative Macroeconomics | 404 |
Economic Policy | 407 |
Economic Planning | 412 |
Welfare Economics | 417 |
Action Theory | 306 |
Systemic Praxiology | 310 |
Decision Theory | 315 |
CollectiveAction Theory | 321 |
Austrian Praxiology | 325 |
Reasons for the Failure of RationalChoice Action Theory | 328 |
Values and Norms | 331 |
Policy | 334 |
Planning | 348 |
Law | 354 |
Norm and Truth | 356 |
Law and Morality | 362 |
Legal Code and Legal Theory | 365 |
Legal Reasoning | 367 |
Private and Public | 369 |
Rights and Duties | 371 |
Crime and Punishment | 374 |
Laws Impotence | 377 |
Management Technology | 380 |
Policy | 382 |
Planning | 385 |
Management | 387 |
Operations Research | 394 |
Private and Public | 397 |
Old and New Pro and Con | 420 |
Fascist and Communist | 430 |
Socialism as Cooperativism | 431 |
Integral Technodemocracy | 434 |
Designing the Future | 439 |
Macrosocial Issues and Their Inherent Values and Morals | 440 |
Utopianism and Ideals without Illusions | 441 |
Piecemeal and Systemic | 442 |
TopDown Planning | 444 |
Systemic Democratic Planning | 446 |
Growth and Development | 447 |
Integral and Sustainable Development | 448 |
The Future of Social Studies | 450 |
Appendices | 455 |
A Systemic Approach | 456 |
A Production Model | 458 |
Humbug Mathematical Economics | 459 |
Modelling Secrecy Leaks | 461 |
Newcombs Problem | 462 |
A General Concept of Action | 463 |
467 | |
519 | |
529 | |