Who's Afraid of Determinism? The Ambivalence of Macro-Historical Inquiry
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4504581 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert Adcock (George Washington University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 346-364 |
| Publication date | 2007-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the Philosophy of History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1872-261X • E-ISSN: 1872-2636 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/187226307x229407 |
| OpenAlex | W2016653406 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
This paper explores explanatory practices of macro-historical social science in light of philosophical stances on determinism versus indeterminism. Analysis of determinism and its implications show its compatibility with practices emphasizing causal complexity, contingency, and choice. It can, moreover, clarify and contain these practices in ways that extend the priority traditionally given to causal explanation by macro-historical social scientists. Analysis of indeterminism shows, by contrast, that each of its major varieties challenge macro-historical explanatory practices. To embrace indeterminism and follow through its implications would, in effect, terminate the tradition of macro-historical inquiry as pursued by American sociologists and political scientists
Ambivalence · Compatibilism · Contingency · Determinism · Epistemology · Indeterminism · Macro · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.29 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2012 - 2022 (11) |
| Highly cited | No |