Philosophy of Social Science

The subject focuses on the central issues of the social sciences pertaining to methodology, epistemology, ontology, human nature and the application of the philosophy and the history of theories with particular reference to the study of social phenomena. This course is designed to provide the students extensive training in philosophy of social science and its application in the research process. Departing from classical paradigms in social theory and questions about the nature of society and our knowledge of it, this course will address issues such as the nature of social facts and human action, the possibility for explanation in the social sciences, the doctrine of Verstehen, individualism versus holism, and the role of value judgments in the social sciences.