Epistemology and Social Science

1544 Words4 Pages

Epistemology and Social Science

Social sciences, as all sciences, have their own epistemology,

methodology and philosophy. Epistemology is the study of the

foundations of knowledge and philosophy is the theoretical background

of each science. There have been many criticisms about the substance

of the social sciences especially from the positivists. They try all

the time to convince everybody that a science which has no rules and

natural laws can not be called ‘science’.

Epistemology and philosophy function as repulsion to the attempts of

the positivists. They help us to understand and explain that social

sciences are not natural sciences with inviolable laws; nevertheless

they are a different kind of science that is based on a theoretical

background and have to do with human behavior and reaction that can

not be determined by any rule.

Additionally, in the study of International Relations that is a part

of the social sciences the situation is about the same. In which way

and in what extend epistemology and philosophy of the social sciences

help us to understand the discipline of International Relations? This

is a question that will be answered in the continuity of this paper.

Epistemology of Social Sciences and International Relations

‘Epistemology is the technical term for the theory of knowledge’.[1]

Knowledge is a very important issue for someone who wants to

understand the study of social sciences. And a very clear way to

explain the theory of knowledge is to deal with the issue of

relativity that, for many social scientists, is the main issue in

their field.

Every social scientist has to keep in his mind that hi...

... middle of paper ...

...al Relations

Course Coordinators: Dr. Keith Webb and Dr. Mirbagheri Farid

Title: The Necessity of Epistemology and Philosophy of Social Sciences

to the Understanding of the Discipline of International Relations

Scheme: MA in International Relations

---------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] Tend Benton and Ian Craib, Philosophy of Social Sciences: the

philosophical foundations of social thought

[2] Yongling Ding, My View on Social Science Research

[3] Clyde Higgins, Michael G. Richards, Individual, Family and

Community: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Study of Contemporary

Life

[4] Tend Benton and Ian Craib, Philosophy of Social Sciences: the

philosophical foundations of social thought

[5] Alexandre Kirchberger, Marx, Ideology, and International Relations

Open Document