Suchergebnisse

In a footnote to Ernest Gellner's theories on relativism (eg, 1985 & 1987), an objectivist defense of the social sciences is offered on the basis of theories that are successful according to Karl Popper's standards. Contemporary relativism & skepticism about the ability of the social sciences to produce objective or true theories arise out of Thomas Kuhn's (1962) work. It is argued that a good theory offers statements describing the necessary & sufficient conditions for the explanation of a phenomenon. Further, the nonempirical elements of this theory should be acceptable. These criteria are met by any number of social scientific theories, eg, Alexis de Tocqueville's discussion of why religion flourishes in the US. The interpretive elements integral to social scientific theories are discussed in relation to the example of the theories of the origins of modernity. The growth of social scientific knowledge offers reason to be optimistic about the theoretical successes of sociology. 28 References. H. von Rautenfeld

Suggests that contemporary forms of liberal political reason & practices of governance have found ways in which society can be bypassed, thus threatening the usefulness of sociology in the present moment. It is shown that concern for the social arose in tandem with modern economies of liberal & institutional regimes in the form of notions of social health, promotion, defense, security, & insurance. By the mid-20th century, the social was firmly established as a domain of knowledge around two poles: society & the individual. The demise of the social is traced to a series of critiques of the welfare state beginning in the 1960s: (1) social movement critiques; (2) critiques of professions & expertise; & (3) a celebration of the self & techniques of self-renewal initiated by countercultural movements. These critiques have led to reformulations of basic concepts -- eg, freedom, the market, interests, & choice -- which, collectively, have dissolved liberal democracies into multiple forms, & the development of new, multiple strategies & techniques for managing the self & populations. It is suggested that sociology has several tasks in this environment, including political intervention, naming operative forms of power, & diagnosing the current situation. 56 References. D. M. Smith

The article is about specific features of the institutional development of Ukrainian sociology from 1990 to the beginning of 2004. Basing on empirical data related to the distribution of Candidate and Doctor's dissertations, the authors reveal the main tendencies in growth of the scientific and professional sociological community. There are discussed both current state and prospects of research by Ukrainian sociologists, as well as analyzed relations between sociology and the transforming society.

"The well-known distinction between soft and hard science cuts a sharp line of demarcation
between hard and soft facts of scientific studies. Physics deal with precise
hard facts characteristically whereas social sciences are confronted with imprecise
soft social facts because social facts are notoriously vague, interpretative facts of
meaning. Therefore Fuzzy logic seems to fit perfectly the needs of social scientist
that look for mathematical precise models to deal with vague, imprecise data [52].
In this contribution we discuss the usefulness of Fuzzy logic for social sciences in
general, and especially sociology. In a first step we summarize some fundamentals
of 'fuzzy thinking' for social scientist. This will lead to the discussion of the
need of fuzzy thinking in action theory, systems theory, modernization theory and
empirical research.We discuss the advantage of fuzzy thinking for action theory and
social systems theory at length whereas the discussion of fuzzy thinking in modernization
theory and empirical research falls short. Modernization theory and empirical
research just function as further examples for the need and usefulness of fuzzy thinking." (excerpt)