Universität Wien
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180011 SE Philosophy of the Social Sciences (2024W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie
Continuous assessment of course work

Hinweis der SPL Philosophie:

Das Abgeben von ganz oder teilweise von einem KI-tool (z.B. ChatGPT) verfassten Texten als Leistungsnachweis (z.B. Seminararbeit) ist nur dann erlaubt, wenn dies von der Lehrveranstaltungsleitung ausdrücklich als mögliche Arbeitsweise genehmigt wurde. Auch hierbei müssen direkt oder indirekt zitierte Textstellen wie immer klar mit Quellenangabe ausgewiesen werden.

Die Lehrveranstaltungsleitung kann zur Überprüfung der Autorenschaft einer abgegebenen schriftlichen Arbeit ein notenrelevantes Gespräch (Plausibilitätsprüfung) vorsehen, das erfolgreich zu absolvieren ist.
Moodle
Tu 21.01. 13:15-14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 40 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

This course is in person only and will be conducted in English.

  • Tuesday 15.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 22.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 29.10. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 05.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 12.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Saturday 16.11. 15:15 - 16:45 Hörsaal 3C, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/3. Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 19.11. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 03.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 10.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 17.12. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 07.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Saturday 25.01. 15:15 - 16:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien
  • Tuesday 28.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2G, NIG Universitätsstraße 7/Stg. II/2.Stock, 1010 Wien

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Introduction to the philosophy of the social sciences based on influential texts and authors. Participants will read these texts, formulate written questions, and discuss the texts and these questions during the seminar. A further goal is the ability to write a scientific contribution (of the length of a journal article). In order to familiarise yourself with the level and themes of the course, you could check out: Mark Risjord, PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE, Routledge, London, 2014.

Assessment and permitted materials

Evaluation of the participation in discussions (20% of the overall mark), of the (at least 10 times) prepared and uploaded questions (20%) as well as the essay (of about 20 pages, Font 12, Times New Roman) (60%) By registering for this course you agree that the automated plagiarism software Turnitin will check all of your written work for this course.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

The overall mark consists of three components:
Mark for the essay: 60% i.e. 60 points
Mark for the questions/comments: 20% i.e. 20 points
Mark for participation in classroom discussion: 20% i.e. 20 points
Your need at least 40 points to complete the course.
All components have to be delivered for there to be a final mark.
Scale for the marks:
1: 85-100 points
2: 70-84 points
3: 55-69 points
4: 40-54 points
5: 0-39 points

Examination topics

See above.

Reading list

1. Ontological Issues / Social Metaphysics -- Group Attitudes and Group Agency I
Longino, H. (2014), “Individuals or Populations?”, in N. Cartwright and E. Montuschi (eds.),
Philosophy of the Social Sciences: A New Introduction, Oxford: Oxford U.P., 102-120
2. Ontological Issues / Social Metaphysics -- Group Attitudes and Group Agency II
Tollefsen, D. (2014), “Social Ontology”, in N. Cartwright and E. Montuschi (eds.), Philosophy of
the Social Sciences: A New Introduction, Oxford: Oxford U.P., 85-101
3. Methodological Individualism and Holism
List, C. and K. Spiekermann (2013), “Methodological Individualism and Holism in Political
Science: A Reconciliation”, American Political Science Review 107: 629-643
4. Mechanism and Explanation
Hedström, P. and P. Ylikoski (2010), “Causal Mechanisms in the Social Sciences”, Annual
Review of Sociology 36: 49-67.
5. Functional Explanation
Bigelow, John C.. Functionalism in social science, 1998, doi:10.4324/9780415249126-R008-1.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Taylor and Francis,
https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/thematic/functionalism-in-social-science/v-1.
Pettit, Ph. (1996), “Functional Explanation and Virtual Selection,” The British Journal for the
Philosophy of Science 47: 291-302.
6. Concepts
Green, C. (2020), “Nomadic Concepts, Variable Choice, and the Social Sciences”, Philosophy of
the Social Sciences 50: 3-22
7. Laws and the Social Sciences
Reutlinger, A. (2011), “A Theory of Non-universal Laws”, International Studies in the
Philosophy of Science 25: 97-117
8. Understanding
Stueber, K. R. (2012), “Understanding Versus Explanation? How to Think about the Distinction
between the Human and the Natural Sciences”, Inquiry 55: 17-32
Collingwood, R. (1936), “Human Nature and Human History”, in P. Gardiner (ed.), The
Philosophy of History, Oxford: Oxford UP, 1974, pp. 17-40
9. Understanding (and the Relativism-Question)
Winch, P. (1964), “Understanding a Primitive Society”, American Philosophical Quarterly 4:
307-324
10. Critical Theory
Geuss, R. (1981), The Idea of a Critical Theory: Habermas and the Frankfurt School,
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1981, 55-95
11. Feminist and Perspectives
Crasnow, S. (2014), “Feminist Standpoint Theory”, in N. Cartwright and E. Montuschi (eds.),
Philosophy of the Social Sciences: A New Introduction, Oxford: Oxford U.P., 145-161
Wylie, A. (2014), “Community-Based Collaborative Archaeology”, in N. Cartwright and E.
Montuschi (eds.), Philosophy of the Social Sciences: A New Introduction, Oxford: Oxford U.P.,
68-82
12. Value Judgements / Objectivity
Alexandrova, A. (2018), “Can the Science of Well-Being be Objective?”, British Journal for the
Philosophy of Science 69: 421-44

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 14.10.2024 08:06