The Social Relevance of Philosophy

The Social Relevance of Philosophy PDF Author: Colleen K. Flewelling
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 9780739109748
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Can philosophy be socially relevant? Dating back to Socrates' Apology, and beyond Marx's argument that pure philosophical theory without practical application was unattainable, philosophers have had many diverse views about their work, including that it is indispensable, that it is socially irrelevant, and even that it is harmful. Tracing the controversy through history, this book examines eleven philosophers' arguments concerning the question of the social relevance of philosophy, placing each thinker in the appropriate cultural and historical context. Colleen Flewelling focuses particularly on the Frankfurt School, as their program was aimed at producing a socially relevant theory. She suggests that philosophical theory and practice are, in fact, interconnected and that, if properly understood, some forms of philosophy can be socially relevant. The Social Relevance of Philosophy provides a concise, yet thorough, history of the debate on philosophy's role in society. It is essential reading for students and professional philosophers alike.

The Social Relevance of Philosophy

The Social Relevance of Philosophy PDF Author: Colleen K. Flewelling
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 9780739109748
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Get Book Here

Book Description
Can philosophy be socially relevant? Dating back to Socrates' Apology, and beyond Marx's argument that pure philosophical theory without practical application was unattainable, philosophers have had many diverse views about their work, including that it is indispensable, that it is socially irrelevant, and even that it is harmful. Tracing the controversy through history, this book examines eleven philosophers' arguments concerning the question of the social relevance of philosophy, placing each thinker in the appropriate cultural and historical context. Colleen Flewelling focuses particularly on the Frankfurt School, as their program was aimed at producing a socially relevant theory. She suggests that philosophical theory and practice are, in fact, interconnected and that, if properly understood, some forms of philosophy can be socially relevant. The Social Relevance of Philosophy provides a concise, yet thorough, history of the debate on philosophy's role in society. It is essential reading for students and professional philosophers alike.

The Relevance of Philosophy

The Relevance of Philosophy PDF Author: Edward MacKinnon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781527516564
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
As the culmination of a long career in philosophy plus long excursions in physics, history, and theology, the author reflects on what must be done to make philosophy relevant to non-philosophers. Philosophers, the author argues, should go beyond specialized philosophical studies, acquire a knowledge of other disciplines, and then try to clarify the way things hang together on a deep conceptual level. A novel feature of this book is that it emphasis on public morality, understanding it in an evolutionary perspective, and guides efforts to raise accepted moral standards.

Continental Philosophy of Social Science

Continental Philosophy of Social Science PDF Author: Yvonne Sherratt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139448552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
Continental Philosophy of Social Science demonstrates the unique and autonomous nature of the continental approach to social science and contrasts it with the Anglo-American tradition. Yvonne Sherratt argues for the importance of an historical understanding of the Continental tradition in order to appreciate its individual, humanist character. Examining the key traditions of hermeneutic, genealogy, and critical theory, and the texts of major thinkers such as Gadamer, Ricoeur, Derrida, Nietzsche, Foucault, the Early Frankfurt School and Habermas, she also contextualizes contemporary developments within strands of thought stemming back to Ancient Greece and Rome. Sherratt shows how these modes of thinking developed through medieval Christian thought into the Enlightenment and Romantic eras, before becoming mainstays of twentieth-century disciplines. Continental Philosophy of Social Science will serve as the essential textbook for courses in philosophy or social sciences.

New Directions in the Philosophy of Social Science

New Directions in the Philosophy of Social Science PDF Author: Daniel Little
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1783487410
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
Philosophy matters for the social sciences. Our world faces ever more complex and hazardous problems and, social science ontology and methods need to be adequate to the changing nature of the social realm. Imagination and new ways of thinking are crucial to the social sciences. Based on Daniel Little's popular blog, this book provides an accessible introduction to the latest developments and debates in the philosophy of social science. Each chapter addresses a leading issue in the philosophy of the social sciences today. Little advocates for an 'actor-centred sociology', endorsing the idea of meso-level causation and proposing a solution to the problem of 'mechanisms or powers?'. The book draws significant conclusions from the facts of complexity and heterogeneity in the social world. The book develops a series of arguments that serve to provide a new framework for the philosophy of social science through deep engagement with social scientists and philosophers in the field. Topics covered include: - the heterogeneity and plasticity of the social world; - the complexity of social causation; - the nuts and bolts of causal mechanisms; - the applicability of the theory of causal powers to the social world; - the intellectual coherence of the perspective of scientific realism in application to social science.

Research Training for Social Scientists

Research Training for Social Scientists PDF Author: Dawn Burton
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 0857022180
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 521

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Book Description
With indispensable advice for students from all social science backgrounds, this handbook provides the core conceptual and practical skills to embark on succesful research. The organization of the book reflects the knowledge that is required in order to become a competent and effective researcher. It follows the life-cycle of the research project: it begins with a discussion of ethical and philosphical issues; presents guides to both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis; provides help on using computers in research; and includes advice on how to write up and present a research project. Based on the UK Economic and Social Research Council advice on the training which students should undertake in preparation for postgraduate research, this book will be invaluable for all beginning researchers.

The Social and Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft

The Social and Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft PDF Author: Sandrine Berges
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019876684X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
The Social and Political Philosophy of Mary Wollstonecraft brings together new essays from leading scholars, which explore Wollstonecraft's range as a moral and political philosopher of note, taking both a historical perspective and applying her thinking to current academic debates.

A Social Theory of Freedom

A Social Theory of Freedom PDF Author: Mariam Thalos
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131739495X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
In A Social Theory of Freedom, Mariam Thalos argues that the theory of human freedom should be a broadly social and political theory, rather than a theory that places itself in opposition to the issue of determinism. Thalos rejects the premise that a theory of freedom is fundamentally a theory of the metaphysics of constraint and, instead, lays out a political conception of freedom that is closely aligned with questions of social identity, self-development in contexts of intimate relationships, and social solidarity. Thalos argues that whether a person is free (in any context) depends upon a certain relationship of fit between that agent’s conception of themselves (both present and future), on the one hand, and the facts of their circumstances, on the other. Since relationships of fit are broadly logical, freedom is a logic—it is the logic of fit between one’s aspirations and one’s circumstances, what Thalos calls the logic of agency. The logic of agency, once fleshed out, becomes a broadly social and political theory that encompasses one’s self-conceptions as well as how these self-conceptions are generated, together with how they fit with the circumstances of one’s life. The theory of freedom proposed in this volume is fundamentally a political one.

The Importance of Philosophy in Teacher Education

The Importance of Philosophy in Teacher Education PDF Author: Andrew D. Colgan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429762135
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
The Importance of Philosophy in Teacher Education maps the gradual decline of philosophy as a central, integrated part of educational studies. Chapters consider how this decline has impacted teacher education and practice, offering new directions for the reintegration of philosophical thinking in teacher preparation and development. Touching on key points in history, this valuable collection of chapters accurately appraises the global decline of philosophy of education in teacher education programs and seeks to understand the external and endemic causes of changed attitudes towards a discipline which was once assigned such a central place in teacher education. Chapters illustrate how a grounding in the theoretical and ethical dimensions of teaching, learning, and education systems contribute in meaningful ways to being a good teacher, and trace the consequences of a decline in philosophy on individuals’ professional development and on the evolution of the teaching profession more broadly. With this in mind, the text focusses on the future of teacher education and considers how we can ensure that philosophy of education feeds into the excellence of teaching today. This book will be of great interest to graduate, postgraduate students as well as research scholars in the field of educational philosophy and history of education. In addition, it will be useful for those involved in teacher education, and in particular, course, module and program development.

Philosophy in Culture

Philosophy in Culture PDF Author: J. Tosam
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 9956764000
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
This book explores the symbiotic relationship between philosophy and culture. Every philosophy emerges as a reaction to, or as justification for a particular culture and it is for this reason that philosophy may differ from one culture to another. It argues that philosophy is an essential part of every culture. Philosophy is the means by which every culture provides itself with justification for its values, beliefs and worldview and also serves as a catalyst for progress. Philosophy critically questions and confronts established beliefs, customs, practices, and institutions of a society. As reflective critical thinking, philosophy is linked to a way of life; a form of enquiry intended to guide behaviour; a form of thinking that sharpens and broadens our intellectual horizon, scrutinizes our assumptions, and clarifies the beliefs and values by which we live. Philosophy helps to liberate the individual from the imprisonment of ignorance, prejudice, superstition, narrow-mindedness, and the despotism of custom. Culture constitutes the raw data, the laboratory from which philosophers do their analytic experimentation. Culture is considered as philosophy of the first order activity. The book maintains that any genuine global philosophy must include philosophical traditions from all cultures and regions of the world, as it is by seeking alternative philosophical answers to some of the thorniest problems facing humanity that we are most likely to find more lasting solutions to some global problems. In this commitment to a universal humanity, we cannot afford to depend on solutions from a single culture or from the most influential cultures.

The Philosophy of Sociality

The Philosophy of Sociality PDF Author: Raimo Tuomela
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199886075
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
Concepts based on full-blown collective intentionality (aboutness), viz., we-mode intentionality, are central for understanding and explaining the social world. The book systematically studies social groups, acting in them as a group member, collective commitment, group intentions, beliefs, and actions, especially authority-based group attitudes and actions. There are also chapters on cooperation, social institutions, cultural evolution, and group responsibility.