Department of Philosophy : Lectures and seminars : Frühere Semester : Wintersemester 2011/12 : Hauptseminare : Epistemology of Social Sciences (P/T)

55-121.41	Epistemology of Social Science (P/T)	Ulrich Gähde
	2st., Fr 10-12, Phil 1009 VMP 6
	Beginn: 21. Oktober 2010
	Module: BA 6, 7; BP 2; MA 1
	Epistemology is one of the core areas of philosophy. Its subjects are the nature, structure, development and limits of human knowledge. This course will address basic questions of epistemology in general, but also more specific questions from epistemology and the philosophy of science that arise in economics and social sciences. These include, in particular, 1. questions about the standards of rationality that may be applicable in these disciplines, 2. problems concerning the role of concepts such as causality, confirmation, and explanation, 3. the debate about individualism and holism in economics and the social sciences. This English-language course is primarily aimed at students of the Master’s programme Politics, Economics, and Philosophy. Limited spaces will be available for students of the BA/MA programme in Philosophy, as well as for Magister students.
	Literatur: James S. Coleman, Foundations of Social Theory, Cambridge/Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998. Harold Kincaid, Philosophical Foundations of the Social Science. Analyzing Controversies in Social Research, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. Daniel Little, Varieties of Social Explanation. An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science, Boulder: Westview Press, 1991. Alexander Rosenberg, Philosophy of Social Science, Boulder: Westview Press, 2008. An extensive reading list will be handed out in the seminar.
	Zulassungsprechstunde: BA and MA students who want to attend this course as the core course of a module must come to one of my admission office hours before the start of the semester. Tuesday, September 6th 2011, 5-7 pm, Phil 1057 Thursday, September 29th 2011, 5-7 pm, Phil 1057 Please prepare: Chapter 1 Introduction and Chapter 2 Causal Analysis. In: Little 1991, pp. 1-38.

Epistemology of Social Science (P/T)