Abstract
Is it reasonable to talk about scientific discoveries in the social sciences? This chapter briefly reviews the status of scientific research in the social sciences and some of the arguments for and against the notion of scientific discovery in those sciences. After providing definitions of “scientific discovery” and “social sciences”, the chapter notes the large variety of epistemological views and methodologies drawn on by the social sciences. It discusses the extent to which the social sciences use precise formalisms for expressing theories. Critiques of the use and reliability of the scientific method in the social sciences are discussed. In spite of these critiques, it is argued that it is possible to speak of scientific discovery in the social sciences. The chapter ends with a preview of the book.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Collins, H. M., & Evans, R. (2007). Rethinking expertise. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Derrida, J. (1967). De la grammatologie. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit.
Grünbaum, A. (1984). The foundations of psychoanalysis. A philosophical critique. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Kuhn, T. S. (1962). The historical structure of scientific discovery. Science, 136, 760–764.
Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lakatos, I. (1970). Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programs. In I. Lakatos & A. Musgrave (Eds.), Criticism and the growth of knowledge (pp. 91–196). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Langley, P., Simon, H. A., Bradshaw, G. L., & Zytkow, J. M. (1987). Scientific discovery. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.
Latour, B., & Woolgar, S. (1979). Laboratory life: The social construction of scientific facts. Los Angeles: Sage.
Maymin, P. (2011). Markets are efficient if and only if P=NP. Algorithmic Finance, 1, 1–11.
Popper, K. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. New York: Basic Books.
Popper, K. (1963). The poverty of historicism. London: Routledge.
Roemer, J. (1981). Analytical foundations of marxian economic theory. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Simonton, D. K. (1999). Origins of genius. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Skyrms, B. (2013). Signals: Evolution, learning and information. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Sozou, P. D., Lane, P. C., Addis, M., & Gobet, F. (2017). Computational scientific discovery. In L. Magnani & T. Bertolotti (Eds.), Springer handbook of model-based science (pp. 719–734). New York: Springer.
Strauss, A., & Juliet, C. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: An overview. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (1st ed., pp. 273–284). Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage.
Acknowledgments
The Scientific Discovery in the Social Sciences international conference and the preparation of this book was supported by Economic and Social Research Council grant ES/L003090/1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gobet, F., Addis, M., Lane, P.C.R., Sozou, P.D. (2019). Introduction: Scientific Discovery in the Social Sciences. In: Addis, M., Lane, P.C.R., Sozou, P.D., Gobet, F. (eds) Scientific Discovery in the Social Sciences. Synthese Library, vol 413. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23769-1_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23769-1_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-23768-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-23769-1
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)