Social Philosophy
[COPS1311]
[30h] 3 credits
This course is taught in the 1st semester.
Teacher(s): Mark Hunyadi
Language: French
Level: First
Aims
1. the basic epistemology of the Social Sciences;
2. standard issues in the Social Sciences;
3. the basic paradigms of historical philosophy
Main themes
1. epistemological issues within the Social Sciences, such as :
- what sets the Human Sciences apart from the Natural Sciences (debate to explain and understand)
- the debate on individualistic and holistic methodologies (existence of collective entities)
- the issue of ethnocentricity
- the issue of the relationship between layman's knowledge and expert knowledge
2. Standard issues in the Social Sciences such as:
- axiological neutrality and the researcher's involvement in the Social Sciences
- the distinction between traditional theory and critical theory
- the prescriptive foundations of the great theoretical paradigms of actor-network theory and social action theory (utilitarian tradition, Weberian tradition, Hegelian and Marxist tradition)
3.the issue of history: evolutionary theories, dialectic theories, Kantian and Fichtian theories
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)