Objects of Social Science

The philosophy of social sciences has become one of the battlegrounds of contemporary theory and analysis. At the core of the debate is the central question about the objective capacity of a range of disciplines not explicitly regarded as scientific. The philosophy of social science employs a rich and complex approach to its object, an approach which explores methodological, epistemological, metaphysical an logical questions. How can such a diverse approach attempt objectivity when faecd with the complexity of what is studied, namely the social world? What is the object of social scientific investigation? The Objects of Social Sciendce presents a clear and structured analysis of the philosophy of social science across each of its main disciplines: Antropology, Sociology, History, Economics and Geography. It both identifies the practical and theoretical procedures involved in the identification of the object and, at the same time, raises questions aout the very objectivity of these procedures in analysing the object. The book will prove invaluable to students across the social sciences as a guide to the theories and methodologies which underpin their disciplines.Eleonora Montuschi teaches Philosophy os Social Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she is Deputy Director, Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Sciences.