The Possibility of Naturalism
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Since its original publication in 1979, The Possibility of Naturalism has been one of the most influential works in contemporary philosophy of science and social science. It is one of the cornerstones of the critical realist position, which is now widely seen as offering perhaps the only viable alternative to positivism and post positivism. This edition contains a new foreword.
Foreword to the Third EditionPreface to the Second EditionPreface to the First EditionAcknowledgementsCh. 1Transcendental Realism and the Problem of NaturalismThe Problem of Naturalism1How is a Philosophy of Science Possible?4Experiment and Application: The Intransitive Dimension9Discovery and Development: The Transitive Dimension11The Social Sciences and Philosophy13Towards a New Critical Naturalism17Ch. 2SocietiesAgainst Individualism27On the Society/Person Connection31Some Emergent Properties of Social Systems37On the Limits of Naturalism44Social Science as Critique: Facts, Values and Theories54Ch. 3AgencyAgents, Reasons and Causes I: Objections to Naturalism83Agents, Reasons and Causes II: Naturalism Vindicated90Emergent Powers and Materialism I: Against Reductionism97Emergent Powers and Materialism II: In Defence of Transcategorial Causality101Rational Explanation107Ch. 4PhilosophiesMetaphilosophical Preliminaries120The Critique of the Positivist Tradition: Explanation, Prediction and Confirmation124The Critique of the Hermeneutical Tradition I: Concepts, Reasons and Rules132The Critique of the Hermeneutical Tradition II: Explanation and Understanding140The Hermeneutical Circle and The Logic of Emancipation152Postscript167Notes179Bibliography182Index of Names189Index of Subjects192
