Epistemology and the Social

Brief Description: Epistemology had to come to terms with the social on two different occasions. The first was represented by the dispute about the epistemological status of the social sciences, and in this case the already well established epistemology of the natural sciences seemed to have the right to dictate the conditions for a discipline to be a science. But the social sciences could successfully vindicate the legitimacy of their specific criteria for scientificity. More recently, the impact of social factors on the construction of our knowledge (including scientific knowledge) has reversed, in a certain sense, the old position and promoted social inquiry to the role of a criterion for evaluating the purport of cognitive (including scientific) statements. But this has undermined the traditional characteristics of objectivity and rigor that seem constitutive of science. Moreover, in order to establish the real extent to which social conditionings have an impact on scientific knowledge one must credit sociology with a sound ground of reliability, and this is not possible without a preliminary epistemological assessment. These are some of the topics discussed in this book, both theoretically and with reference to concrete cases."Table of Contents: Evandro AGAZZI, Javier ECHEVERRIA, Amparo GOMEZ RODRIGUEZ: Introduction: Epistemology and the Social "Part 1. General Perspectives" Evandro AGAZZI: Epistemology and the Social: A Feedback Loop Herve BARREAU: Historical and Transcendental Factors in the Construction of the Sciences Juan URRUTIA ELEJALDE: Puzzles and Problems Jesus P. ZAMORA BONILLA: Normativity and Self-Interest in Scientific Research "Part 2. Values in the Structure of Science" Wenceslao J. GONZALEZ: Economic Values in the Configuration of Science Ramon QUERALTO: The Philosophical Impact of Technoscience or the Development of a Pragmatic Philosophy of Science "Part 3. Social Impact on Particular Science" Alberto CORDERO: Epistemology and the Social in Contemporary Natural Science Jesus MOSTERIN: Social Factors in the Development of Genetics and the Lysenko Affair Valentin A. BAZHANOV: Social Milieu and Evolution of Logic, Epistemology, and the History of Science: The Case of Marxism "Part 4. Epistemology of the Social Sciences" Juan Fco. ALVAREZ, Javier ECHEVERRIA: Bounded Rationality in Social Sciences Amparo Gomez RODRIGUEZ: Rational Choice Theory and Economic Laws: The Role of Shared Values Brigitte FALKENBURG: The Invisible Hand: What Do We Know? Peter KEMP: The Cosmopolitan Vision"Marc Notes: Papers presented at a meeting of the International Academy of Philosophy of Science, held Sept. 22-25, 2005, in Tenerife, Canary Islands.; Includes bibliographical references. Publisher Marketing: Epistemology had to come to terms with "the social" on two different occasions. The first was represented by the dispute about the epistemological status of the "social" sciences, and in this case the already well established epistemology of the natural sciences seemed to have the right to dictate the conditions for a discipline to be a science. But the social sciences could successfully vindicate the legitimacy of their specific criteria for scientificity. More recently, the impact of social factors on the construction of our knowledge (including scientific knowledge) has reversed, in a certain sense, the old position and promoted social inquiry to the role of a criterion for evaluating the purport of cognitive (including scientific) statements. But this has undermined the traditional characteristics of objectivity and rigor that seem constitutive of science. Moreover, in order to establish the real extent to which social conditionings have an impact on scientific knowledge one must credit sociology with a sound ground of reliability, and this is not possible without a preliminary "epistemological" assessment. These are some of the topics discussed in this book, both theoretically and with reference to concrete cases.

Contributor Bio:  Agazzi, Evandro Evandro Agazzi has received a double education in philosophy and science, and has been professor of philosophical disciplines as well as of scientific disciplines at various universities in Europe and America. He was President of the International Federation of Philosophical Societies, of the International Institute of Philosophy, and is the current President of the International Academy of Philosophy of Science. He has authored or edited 70 volumes and published more than 700 scientific papers.