A "Critical" Sociology?
The Normative Uses of Social Science
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52712/issn.1850-0013-506Keywords:
Sociology, Value neutrality, Normative theory, Critical theoryAbstract
This article discusses the idea of a “critical” sociology and claims that the relationships between facts and values in social sciences have usually been presented in a unidirectional way, focusing attention on how values can influence research on social facts, rather than on how the latter can inform and influence our ethical and political assessments and preferences. Starting from a clarification of what a “critical social science” could consist of, the article reviews different objections to some of the contemporary versions of this thesis, such as those of Habermas, Putnam, Burawoy or Wright. It is argued that such objections cast doubt on the possibility and desirability of any “critical social science” if it is understood as an alternative to “conventional” social science, and that, instead, greater attention to the possible normative uses of social science tout court may satisfy the aims of that project without jeopardizing fundamental principles of honesty, reliability, and epistemic impartiality.
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