Peirce's Theory of Inquiry and Beyond: Towards a Social Reconstruction of Science Theory

ISBN-13: 9783631588789 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 236 str.

Thora Margareta Bertilsson; Elzbieta Hał as; Risto Heiskala

Opis

About a decade ago, an antagonistic debate on the science war arose on both sides of the Atlantic. At issue was how far the social sciences could intervene in disentangling the practice of science. The debate has now calmed down, but has by no means been solved. As a continuation of the antagonism that once haunted the advocates of Karl Popper against those of Thomas Kuhn, versions of this animated debate are likely to arise again. In this light, the theory of inquiry once launched by Charles S. Peirce may prove valuable. Despite early efforts by, amongst others, Karl-Otto Apel and Jurgen Habermas, Peirce s theory of inquiry remains largely unknown in the social sciences. It is the aim of this publication the bulk of which was written long ago as a doctoral thesis to place Peirce s theory of inquiry in the centre of social science theory."

Recenzje

«Margareta Bertilsson's study of Charles Peirce represents a brilliant sociological contribution to the secondary literature on his work. Its focus is on Peirce's theory of science, which is presented in a very broad, very innovative and very engaging manner. Of particular interest to Bertilsson is Peirce's intriguing concept of community and the role that it plays in his view of science.» (Richard Swedberg, Professor of Sociology, Cornell University Ithaca, NY)

Spis treści

Contents: Critical Rationalism and the Psychology/Sociology of Research - The Actuality of Charles Sanders Peirce - The Theory of Inquiry - The Community of Inquiry as a Normative and as a Descriptive Concept - Reflection on the Problem of Theory and Praxis - Pragmatism Rediscovered: The Relevance of Peirce for the Social Science.

O autorze

The Author: Thora Margareta Bertilsson is Professor of Sociology at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). She has recently served as Adjunct Professor at the Centre for the Study of Science and the Humanities at the University of Bergen (Norway). She was previously co-editing Acta Sociologica, the Journal of the Nordic Sociological Association. Her research interests include social theory and sociology of knowledge and law.