Two types of Social science
The epistemic model finds its ideal in the natural science model for doing science.
Here the objective of the social scientist is to discover the theories and laws which
govern social action. Praxis, according to the natural science model of social science,
is social engineering which applies social theories and laws to solve social problems.
The phronetic model: the natural science model still does not work in social science:
No predictive social theories have been arrived at as yet. The phronetic model is
named after the Aristotelian concept phronesis, which is the intellectual virtue used to
deliberate about which social actions are good or bad for humans. The basis of
deliberation is value rationality instead of epistemic rationality.
At the core of phronetic social science stands the Aristotelian maxim that social issues
are best decided by means of the public sphere, not by science. This is best done by
social scientists: (1) producing reflexive analyses of values and interests and of how
values and interests affect different groups in society, and (2) making sure that such
analyses are fed into the process of public deliberation and decision making, in order
to guarantee that legitimate parties to this process, i.e., citizens and stakeholders,
receive due diligence in the process.
Pars pro toto fallacy: If the social sciences would use mathematical and statistical
modelling like the natural sciences, then social sciences, too, would become truly
scientific. Often quantitative social scientists see economics as an ideal to follow,
because it is the “hardest” and thus seemingly most scientific of the social sciences.
Such envy is misguided, for not even economics has succeeded in avoiding context.
Also, economic make a lot of prediction which do not come to fruition.
The underlying issue is that being scientistic does not amount to being scientific. This
is so because the phenomena modelled are social, and thus “answer back” in ways
natural phenomena do not. The relevant context of social action is human beings’
The epistemic model finds its ideal in the natural science model for doing science.
Here the objective of the social scientist is to discover the theories and laws which
govern social action. Praxis, according to the natural science model of social science,
is social engineering which applies social theories and laws to solve social problems.
The phronetic model: the natural science model still does not work in social science:
No predictive social theories have been arrived at as yet. The phronetic model is
named after the Aristotelian concept phronesis, which is the intellectual virtue used to
deliberate about which social actions are good or bad for humans. The basis of
deliberation is value rationality instead of epistemic rationality.
At the core of phronetic social science stands the Aristotelian maxim that social issues
are best decided by means of the public sphere, not by science. This is best done by
social scientists: (1) producing reflexive analyses of values and interests and of how
values and interests affect different groups in society, and (2) making sure that such
analyses are fed into the process of public deliberation and decision making, in order
to guarantee that legitimate parties to this process, i.e., citizens and stakeholders,
receive due diligence in the process.
Pars pro toto fallacy: If the social sciences would use mathematical and statistical
modelling like the natural sciences, then social sciences, too, would become truly
scientific. Often quantitative social scientists see economics as an ideal to follow,
because it is the “hardest” and thus seemingly most scientific of the social sciences.
Such envy is misguided, for not even economics has succeeded in avoiding context.
Also, economic make a lot of prediction which do not come to fruition.
The underlying issue is that being scientistic does not amount to being scientific. This
is so because the phenomena modelled are social, and thus “answer back” in ways
natural phenomena do not. The relevant context of social action is human beings’
