Wetenschapsfilosofie
Lieke Brekelmans
Werkgroep 26 feb.
Verstehen
- Verplaatsen in de schoenen van iemand die onderzocht wordt
- Proberen te begrijpen hoe iemand anders iets ervaart
Erklären
- Het onderzoeken van regels en patronen in de wereld
Kwalitatief onderzoek
- Interviews
- Focusgroepen
- Participatiemethode
- Etnografie
Kwantitatief onderzoek
- Surveyonderzoek
- Experimenteel onderzoek (waarin menselijk gedrag geobserveerd word)
Ideaal
- In interpretatie streven we naar een authentieke, objectieve, accurate weergave van
het subjectieve perspectief van de mensen die we bestuderen
Redenen
- Maken hun gevolgen niet noodzakelijk
- Een insiders perspectief voor de redenen van acties
- Mentaal proces/entiteit
Oorzaken
- Maken hun gevolgen noodzakelijk
- Een buitenstaanders perspectief waar oorzaken acties veroorzaken
- Een fysiek proces
Meervoudige realisatie
- Veel individuen samen maken een groot ding
- Je hebt bijvoorbeeld heel veel mensen die samen een bedrijf vormen. Als er een
iemand wegvalt is dat niet schadelijk voor het bedrijf.
Individualisme
- Sociaalwetenschappelijke theorieën kunnen worden gereduceerd tot theorieën van
(individuele) psychologie
, - Reductionisme
Holisme
- Niet-reductionisme
- Sociaalwetenschappelijke theorieën zijn logisch en onafhankelijk
Werkgroep 12 maart
Nominalisme
- Ras en raciale categorieën zijn alleen etiketten en etiketteringspraktijken zijn en dat ze
kunnen worden gereduceerd tot de handeling van individuen
Hoofdstuk 1
Normativity
- Examines the role of values in social science
- Investigates whether social science can be truly objective
- Explores how social norms, values and ethics arise and function in society
- Scientist hold their own values, which can influence research
- Should social science be value-free? Many philosophers say no, as values are inherent
in research, but this raises concerns about objectivity
- Fact/value distinction: social sciences often explains behaviour using norms and
values, but this requires metaphysical commitments about what norms are
Naturalism
- Questions whether social sciences should follow the methodologies of natural
sciences
- Considers whether human society requires unique methods of study
- Argues that the social sciences should be similar to natural sciences in method and
theory
- Anti-naturalists argue that social science requires distinct approaches
- Epistemological naturalism: social sciences should adopt scientific methods
(quantitative research, causal modelling)
- Metaphysical naturalism: humans are part of nature and should be studies like other
animals (evolutionary psychology)
- The belief in a single, causally connected natural world
Reductionism
- Explores the relationship between social structures and individuals
- Asks whether institutions have causal powers beyond the individuals who compose
them
- Does everything ultimately reduce to physics?
- Epistemological reductionism: theories at higher levels (sociology) can be explained
entirely by lower-level theories (psychology)
- Metaphysical reductionism: entities at higher levels do not truly exist; only their
lower-level components are real (minds do not exist, only brains)
, - Naturalism often supports reductionism
- Complex systems and phenomena can be explained by breaking them down into
simpler, more fundamental parts
Methodological individualism
- The principle that social theories must be explained through individual choices,
beliefs, and attitudes
- Form of epistemological reductionism
- Do institutions exist beyond individual actions?
Democratic peace theory (normativity)
- Immanuel Kant theorized that democracies are less likely to engage in war because
citizens, who bear the costs of war, would rationally avoid it
- Empirical research suggests democracies rarely go to war with each other, though
they are not inherently less war-prone
- Raises philosophical questions about causality in social sciences → does war
avoidance stem from individual decisions or institutional structures?
Free rider problem
- Rational individuals should not participate in costly social movements since they
benefit whether they act or not
Should the study of human society follow the same scientific principles as natural sciences?
Value theory
- Concerned with norms, rules and values
- What makes an act moral?
Epistemology
- Deals with knowledge and justification
- What counts as knowledge?
Metaphysics
- Examines the nature of reality
- Are humans free?
Qualitative research
- Interviews
- Participant observations
- Focus on meaning an context
Quantitative research
- Experiments
- Surveys
, - Look for causal relationships and general laws
Some argue qualitative research is too different form natural science, making them a anti-
naturalist.
Humean view
- Ties causation to laws, but do social laws exist?
Hierarchy of sciences
1. Physics
2. Chemistry
3. Biology
4. Psychology
5. Social sciences
Reductionism asks whether each level can be reduced to the one below.
Game theory
- Assumes individuals act rationally to maximize utility
- Behavioural economics challenges this assumption, revealing systematic irrationalities
Holism
- Anti-reductionism
- Holists argue that some social phenomena cannot be explained by individual actions
alone
- Example: normativity (rules, ethics) cannot simply be reduced to behavioural patterns
Hoofdstuk 2
In governments, scientific evidence is often recommended as a neutral basis for decision-
making. However, they also fund social scientific research, raising concerns about political
influence.
Can social science be value-free, or is it inherently value-laden?
Practical dimension
- If research is influence by values, its usefulness for policy-making may be questioned
Conceptual dimensions
- If social science is value-laden, can it still be considered ‘scientific’?
Some argue that social sciences differ from natural sciences cause they cannot be fully
objective.
U.S. Census
- A constitutional mandate that determines representation and federal funding
Lieke Brekelmans
Werkgroep 26 feb.
Verstehen
- Verplaatsen in de schoenen van iemand die onderzocht wordt
- Proberen te begrijpen hoe iemand anders iets ervaart
Erklären
- Het onderzoeken van regels en patronen in de wereld
Kwalitatief onderzoek
- Interviews
- Focusgroepen
- Participatiemethode
- Etnografie
Kwantitatief onderzoek
- Surveyonderzoek
- Experimenteel onderzoek (waarin menselijk gedrag geobserveerd word)
Ideaal
- In interpretatie streven we naar een authentieke, objectieve, accurate weergave van
het subjectieve perspectief van de mensen die we bestuderen
Redenen
- Maken hun gevolgen niet noodzakelijk
- Een insiders perspectief voor de redenen van acties
- Mentaal proces/entiteit
Oorzaken
- Maken hun gevolgen noodzakelijk
- Een buitenstaanders perspectief waar oorzaken acties veroorzaken
- Een fysiek proces
Meervoudige realisatie
- Veel individuen samen maken een groot ding
- Je hebt bijvoorbeeld heel veel mensen die samen een bedrijf vormen. Als er een
iemand wegvalt is dat niet schadelijk voor het bedrijf.
Individualisme
- Sociaalwetenschappelijke theorieën kunnen worden gereduceerd tot theorieën van
(individuele) psychologie
, - Reductionisme
Holisme
- Niet-reductionisme
- Sociaalwetenschappelijke theorieën zijn logisch en onafhankelijk
Werkgroep 12 maart
Nominalisme
- Ras en raciale categorieën zijn alleen etiketten en etiketteringspraktijken zijn en dat ze
kunnen worden gereduceerd tot de handeling van individuen
Hoofdstuk 1
Normativity
- Examines the role of values in social science
- Investigates whether social science can be truly objective
- Explores how social norms, values and ethics arise and function in society
- Scientist hold their own values, which can influence research
- Should social science be value-free? Many philosophers say no, as values are inherent
in research, but this raises concerns about objectivity
- Fact/value distinction: social sciences often explains behaviour using norms and
values, but this requires metaphysical commitments about what norms are
Naturalism
- Questions whether social sciences should follow the methodologies of natural
sciences
- Considers whether human society requires unique methods of study
- Argues that the social sciences should be similar to natural sciences in method and
theory
- Anti-naturalists argue that social science requires distinct approaches
- Epistemological naturalism: social sciences should adopt scientific methods
(quantitative research, causal modelling)
- Metaphysical naturalism: humans are part of nature and should be studies like other
animals (evolutionary psychology)
- The belief in a single, causally connected natural world
Reductionism
- Explores the relationship between social structures and individuals
- Asks whether institutions have causal powers beyond the individuals who compose
them
- Does everything ultimately reduce to physics?
- Epistemological reductionism: theories at higher levels (sociology) can be explained
entirely by lower-level theories (psychology)
- Metaphysical reductionism: entities at higher levels do not truly exist; only their
lower-level components are real (minds do not exist, only brains)
, - Naturalism often supports reductionism
- Complex systems and phenomena can be explained by breaking them down into
simpler, more fundamental parts
Methodological individualism
- The principle that social theories must be explained through individual choices,
beliefs, and attitudes
- Form of epistemological reductionism
- Do institutions exist beyond individual actions?
Democratic peace theory (normativity)
- Immanuel Kant theorized that democracies are less likely to engage in war because
citizens, who bear the costs of war, would rationally avoid it
- Empirical research suggests democracies rarely go to war with each other, though
they are not inherently less war-prone
- Raises philosophical questions about causality in social sciences → does war
avoidance stem from individual decisions or institutional structures?
Free rider problem
- Rational individuals should not participate in costly social movements since they
benefit whether they act or not
Should the study of human society follow the same scientific principles as natural sciences?
Value theory
- Concerned with norms, rules and values
- What makes an act moral?
Epistemology
- Deals with knowledge and justification
- What counts as knowledge?
Metaphysics
- Examines the nature of reality
- Are humans free?
Qualitative research
- Interviews
- Participant observations
- Focus on meaning an context
Quantitative research
- Experiments
- Surveys
, - Look for causal relationships and general laws
Some argue qualitative research is too different form natural science, making them a anti-
naturalist.
Humean view
- Ties causation to laws, but do social laws exist?
Hierarchy of sciences
1. Physics
2. Chemistry
3. Biology
4. Psychology
5. Social sciences
Reductionism asks whether each level can be reduced to the one below.
Game theory
- Assumes individuals act rationally to maximize utility
- Behavioural economics challenges this assumption, revealing systematic irrationalities
Holism
- Anti-reductionism
- Holists argue that some social phenomena cannot be explained by individual actions
alone
- Example: normativity (rules, ethics) cannot simply be reduced to behavioural patterns
Hoofdstuk 2
In governments, scientific evidence is often recommended as a neutral basis for decision-
making. However, they also fund social scientific research, raising concerns about political
influence.
Can social science be value-free, or is it inherently value-laden?
Practical dimension
- If research is influence by values, its usefulness for policy-making may be questioned
Conceptual dimensions
- If social science is value-laden, can it still be considered ‘scientific’?
Some argue that social sciences differ from natural sciences cause they cannot be fully
objective.
U.S. Census
- A constitutional mandate that determines representation and federal funding
