SFEL8000 Philosophy of Science for the Social Sciences

SFEL8000 Philosophy of Science for the Social Sciences

Fall 2019

Registration deadline: Monday 26 August 2019
The course starts: Monday 2 September 2019
Teacher: Professor Peter Sohlberg
Coordinator: Siw Berg

Credits: 10 ECTS

Formal requirements: Masters degree in the Social Sciences or equivalent

All participants from NTNU must sign up via Studentweb. 

For participants outside NTNU, please find more information about formal requirements and how to register here. 

Schedule for the fall semester: 

Module 1: Introduction. Basic concepts and perspectives

  • Monday 2 September, 13.15-16.00 – auditorium D7
  • Tuesday 3 September, 13.15-16.00 – auditorium DI172
  • Wednesday 4 September, 13.15-16.00 – auditorium to be decided

Module 2: Philosophy of science – methodological implications and strategies

Module 3: Research ethics in the research process and the organization of research

Module 4: Workshop related to the exam

Module 5: Seminar with feedback (not obligatory)

Joint seminar + individual tutorial related to specific PhD-projects.
Obligatory activities: Participation in module 1-4, group assignments and individual assignments.

SFEL8000 reading list

Selection to be made, dependent on the participant’s research interests.

Abbot, A. 2004. Methods of Discovery. Heuristics for the Social Sciences, New York, London, W.W. Norton & Company. Baert, P. 2013. Philosophy of the Social Sciences. Towards Pragmatism, Cambridge, Polity. Becker, H.S. 1998. Tricks of the Trade. How to Think About Your Research While You Are Doing It. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Benton, T. & Craib, I. 2001. Philosophy of Social Science. The Philosophical Foundations of Social Thought. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Bird, A. & Ladyman, J. 2013. Arguing About Science, Routledge. Blaikie, N. & Priest, J. (2017). Social Research: paradigms in Action. Cambridge: Polity. Bourdieu, P. 2004. Science of Science and Reflexivity. Oxford: Polity. Couvalis, G. 1997. The Philosophy of Science. Science and Objectivity, London, Sage. Dancy, J. Sandis, C. 2015. Philosophy of Action. An Anthology, Wiley Blackwell.Delanty, G. & Strydom, P. (eds.) .2003. Philosophies of Social Science. The Classic and Contemporary Readings. Maidenhead; Philadelphia: Open University Press. Gergen, K.J. & Gergen, M. (eds.) (2003). Social construction: a reader. London, Sage. Hacking, I. 1999. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press. Harding, S. (ed.).2004. The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader. Intellectual and Political Controversies. New York: Routledge. Hollis, M. 1994. The Philosophy of Social Science. An Introduction, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Kim, J. 2011. Philosophy of Mind. Third edition, Westview Press. Kuhn, T. 2012. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. 50th Anniversary edition. With an Introductory Essay by Ian Hacking, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press. Lamont, M. 2009. How Professors Think. Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment, Cambridge Massachusetts, London, Harvard University Press. Martin. M. & McIntyre. L. C. (eds.) 1994. Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science, Cambridge, Mass. The MIT-Press. Montuschi, E.2003. The Objects of Social Science. London: Continuum. Newton-Smith, W.H. (ed).2001. A Companion to the Philosophy of Science, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Nowotny, H. Scott, P., Gibbons, M. 2011. Rethinking Science. Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty, Cambridge, Polity. O’Connor, T. and Sandis, C. 2013. A Companion to the Philosophy of Action, Wiley-Blackwell. Radder, H. (ed). 2003. The Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation, Pittsburgh, The University of Pittsburgh Press. Sayer, R.A. (2010). Method in social science: a realist approach. (Rev. 2. ed.) London: Routledge. Steel, D. and Guala, F (eds). 2011. The Philosophy of Social Science Reader, London and New York, Routledge. Symons, J. and Calvo, P. 2012. The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Psychology, London and New York, Routledge. Williams, M. 2001. Problems of knowledge. A critical introduction to Epistemology. Oxford University Press, 2001.