The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of the Social Sciences

‘This is a guide in the best possible sense. It provides an historical as well as a thematic framework for appraising the debates that have shaped philosophy of social science since the nineteenth century, rooting it firmly both in philosophical traditions of thought about science and the social, and in the empirical and theoretical problems of abiding concern to social scientists. In the process the contributors effectively redefine this hybrid inter-field and show what is to be gained by serious cross-disciplinary engagement.’ Alison Wylie, Washington University in St. Louis

‘This first-rate volume is truly a state-of-the-art guide to a range of lively and fundamental issues and debates that are ever more central to both philosophy and the social sciences today. In coherently organized chapters the issues are lucidly and accessibly explained and the debates are engaged and frequently carried further.’ Steven Lukes, New York University and London School of Economics