Universitat Pompeu Fabra Department of Political and Social Sciences Seminar Advanced Research Design A Second Term 2013-2014 Jaume López jaume.lopez@upf.edu Lecture 1. From 'back to basics' to the ultimate problems of philosophy of social sciences What are the ultimate objectives of your research? (What are social sciences for?) Epistemological objectives, validity criteria: scientific “families” The epistemological debates in social sciences: the philosophy of social sciences Reading: King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba. 1994. Designing Social Inquiry. Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 3-33. Kincaid, H. (2002): “Social Sciences” in P. Machamer and M. Silberstein (eds.) The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Science. Oxford: Blackwell. Lecture 2. Causation and mechanisms in the core of the social sciences: scientific realism What is scientific realism? Models or mechanisms? Causation and mechanisms in the core of social sciences Reading: Bevir, Mark. 2008. Meta-methodology: Clearing the Underbrush. Ch. 3 in Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (eds., 2008). Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (2008). Political Science Methodology. Ch. 1 in Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (eds., 2008). Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (2008): The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Brady, Henry E. 2008. Causation and Explanation in Social Science. Ch. 10 in Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (eds., 2008). Della Porta, Donatella, Michael Keating (Ed.). 2008. Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapt. 2 Hedström, Peter. 2008. Studying Mechanisms to Strengthen Causal Inferences in Quantitative Research. Ch. 13 in Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (eds., 2008). Shepsle, Kenneth A. & Mark S. Bonchek (1997): Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior and Institutions. New York: Norton. Chapt. 5: 82-136. Lecture 3. Social theory approaches and models of explanation: scientific paradigmes Idioms, paradigmes, language games in social sciences Structure – action, causes and reasons Weber – Durkheim: narratives and epistemology Hollis, M. (1994): ‘Introduction’ in M. Hollis. The Philosophy of Social Science. An introduction. Cambridge University Press, 1-22. Skocpol, Theda. 1979. States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 3-43 Weale, Albert (1992): The New Politics of Pollution. Manchester: Manchester University Press: 37-65 & 210223. Lecture 4. The case of rational choice theory Rational choice theory (RCT) and recent developments in social sciences: the economic approach's leading role Critics and defenders of RCT New interpretations of the success of RCT: a realist perspective Reading: Brusattin, Lorenzo (2011): “Candidate Visual Appearance as a Shortcut for Both Sophisticated and Unsophisticated Voters: Evidence from a Spanish Online Study”, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, published on line. Cox, Gary W. (1999): “The Empirical Content of Rational Choice Theory. A reply to Green and Shapiro”, Journal of Theoretical Politics 11(2): 147-169. Della Porta, Donatella, Michael Keating (Ed.). 2008. Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapt. 8 Grofman, Bernard (1999): “Credo of a 'reasonable choice' modeler”. Journal of Theoretical Politics 11(2): 203-206. Opp, Karl-Dieter Opp (1999): “Contending Conceptions of the Theory of Rational Choice”, Journal of Theoretical Politics 11(2): 171-202. Additional Reading: Chwieroth, Jeffrey M. 2007. “Testing and Measuring the Role of Ideas: The Case of Neoliberalism in the IMF.” International Studies Quarterly, 51 (1): 5-30 Lecture 5. Conclusions and recap: problem-driven social sciences or method-driven social sciences? In search of unification: biology and social sciences Evolutionary synthesis: the Darwinian approach to culture Game theory and biology: from rational choice to irrational behaviour Politics and genetics: genes, attitudes, cultures Methodological integration, scientific integration Readings: Aldrich, John H.; James E. Alt, Arthur Lupia. 2008. The EITM Approach: Origins and Interpretations. Ch. 37 in Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (eds.). 2008. Barkow, J.; L. Cosmides & J. Tooby (1992): The Adapted Mind: Evolutionary Psychology and the generation of culture. N. York: Oxford Univ. Press, p.3-15. Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (eds.). 2008. The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Collier, David & Colin Elman. 2008. Qualitative and Multimethod Research: Organizations, Publication, and Reflections on Integration. Ch. 34 in Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M.; Henry E. Brady & David Collier (eds.). 2008. Daly, Martin and Margot Wilson (1996): “Homicidal tendencies” in Matters of life and death, Demos Quarterly, 10, 123-145. Smith, Kevin et al. (2012): “Biology, Ideology, and Epistemology : How Do We Know Political Attitudes Are Inherited and Why Should We Care?” American Journal of Political Science, Volume 56, Issue 1, pages 17–33. Wilson, Edward O. (1998): Consilience : the unity of knowledge. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Chapter 9