Conceptions of social reality

1. 2. 3. 4. Sources of knowledge The nature of science Assumptions of social science Practice

Nature of science
Determinism: events have causes; the same causes produce the same events. Empiricism: verifiable by observation (experience classification quantification discovery of relationships approximation to the truth) The principle of parsimony (Occams Razor) Generality: what is true for some is true for all

Functions of science
1 Its problem-seeking, question-asking, hunch-encouraging, hypotheses-producing function. 2 Its testing, checking, certifying function; its trying out and testing of hypotheses; its repetition and checking of experiments; its piling up of facts 3 Its organizing, theorizing, structuring, function; its search for larger generalizations

 4 Its history-collecting, scholarly function. 5 Its technological side; instruments, methods, techniques. 6 Its administrative, executive, and organizational side. 7 Its publicizing and educational functions. 8 Its applications to human use. 9 Its appreciation, enjoyment, celebration

Social reality
What is the nature of social phenomena? Are they observable? Can the social sciences achieve the same degree of rigor as the natural sciences? Should they adopt the same methods as those used in the natural sciences?

Ontology
Is social reality external to the individual, or is it the product of his consciousness? The nominalist-realist debate: Nominalism: the object of thought (i.e. concepts) are merely words the meanings of which are not dependent on reality; Realism: objects have an independent existence Particulars vs. universals; e.g. John is a man

Epistemology
Positivist: knowledge is hard, real and can be acquired and communicated. Therefore, the researcher can act as observer. Anti-positivist: knowledge is personal, subjective and unique. Therefore, it requires involvement with subjects on the part of the researcher Consider the role of language in transmitting information.

Human nature
Determinism: humans respond mechanically to their environment. There is no free will. Voluntarism: humans are initiators of their own actions. Consider the uprising in Tunisia: was it initiated by individuals who controlled fully their actions, or was it the work of some extraneous factors?

Methodological consequences
Positivism: the same methods used for natural science are extended to social sciences. -methods are quantitative: measurement of concepts and identification of underlying themes in search for universal laws. -This approach is called nomothetic. But what is the meaning of statistics?

 Anti-positivism: interest in subjective experience of individuals as they create their social world, how they create, modify and interpret the world in which they live. - methods are qualitative: emphasis is on the unique and the particular, rather than the universal -This relativistic approach is called ideographic

Practice
The study of language attitudes: Which is more beautiful: English or French? Which is richer? Which is more modern? How do individuals experience the beauty, the richness, or the modernity of these languages? Do they experience them in the same way? What does it mean to say that 60% found English more beautiful than French?