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Full-Text Articles in Philosophy
Predictability And Explanation In The Social Sciences, Alasdair Macintyre
Predictability And Explanation In The Social Sciences, Alasdair Macintyre
Philosophic Exchange
Scientific explanation requires a certain type of predictability. The particulars that are studied by the social sciences do not possess that kind of predictability. Therefore the aspiration to construct scientific explanations in the social sciences is bound to fail.
A Response To Macintyre, Charles Taylor
A Response To Macintyre, Charles Taylor
Philosophic Exchange
I agree with a great deal of Professor Macintyre’s paper. However, his argument can be formulated without any appeal to unpredictability. The unpredictability of many human events is due to the role of self-interpretation in the constitution of those very same events.
Do Social Events Defy Scientific Prediction?, Paula G. Morrison
Do Social Events Defy Scientific Prediction?, Paula G. Morrison
Philosophic Exchange
If Professor Macintyre is correct, then there is not, and cannot be, any such thing as a scientific explanation or prediction of anything social, and hence there can never be any social science. This paper responds to Professor Macintyre’s argument, and rejects his position.