Emancipative Social Science
Theory and Method, Reflexivity and Power, Values and Foundations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20401532 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael A Tissaw (State University of New York at Potsdam, corresponding author), Michael Tissaw (State University of New York at Potsdam) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 275-284 |
| Publication date | 2003-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Theory & Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-3543 • E-ISSN: 1461-7447 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0959354303013002007 |
| OpenAlex | W2026322358 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
As recent contributions to the social science reformation literature, the books reviewed in this essay articulate rather different visions of social science. Set against the background of the `science wars', incorporating a model of human decision-making, and drawing upon the ideas of Aristotle and Foucault, Bent Flyvbjerg expounds his own `phronetic social science' that highlights context, value rationality and power. Andrew Sayer, on the other hand, targets `defeatist' strains of postmodernism and assesses the concerns of critical social science from an already established theoretical framework: the philosophy of critical realism. A few problems with these books are discussed, including Flyvbjerg's views on cognitivism's failure to investigate `value rationality' and Sayer's linking critical realism with postmodernist anti-foundationalism. The complexities of foundationalism, ignored by both books, are discussed further in a concluding section
Epistemology · Foundationalism · Philosophy of science · Postmodernism · Rationality · Relativism · Scientific realism · Social epistemology · Sociology · Vision · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Critical Realism in Sociology · Philosophy · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
| Highly cited | No |
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