Texts and Things in Social Science (The Approach of Continental Traditions and Anglo American)
The whole writing below is to discuss social science objects as tex (intepretation) and empirical facts (things). The writing material is taken from the Continent Philosophy of Social Science, by Yvonne Sheerat.
As we know, sociology as the science we receive in the academic world, especially in the contemporary eastern world, we usually take for granted as a true science. Indeed if we look at the origin and development can not be separated from the development of sociology is growing strong in the west.
One of the main issues is the object of social studies as a tek and thing. As a texts needs to be interpreted because social phenomena (humanism) are considered as teks, and need to be explained as facts, because social phenomena are treated like material as objects of natural science. The object debate and point of view in social science can not be separated from Social Philosophy, because it involves aspects of epistemology and ontology.
The author will try to describe the phenomenon seen from a glimpse of the historical development of social science seen from two thoughts. First from the point of view of Continental Social Philosophy,second Anglo-American Social Philosophy. The author does not intend to describe in depth the content of the debate from the side of philosophy.
Keywords;
Text, Things, Social, Continental Social Philosophy, Anglo-American Philosophy
Introduction
Continent Philosophy of Social Science, an important book by Yvonne Sheerat. The specialty of this book is the first English-language of Continental Social philosophy. A different approach to the empirical Anglo-American organs, in which social phenomena of society are approached as is the case with natural science.
The Continental Social Philosophy approach uses hermeunetic, geneological and critical theories to read social phenomena of society. The object of society is regarded as a text that has sentence structure, technologist and socio-political background of history history of tek tek.
This theory usually refers to the theory of thinkers such as Gadamer, Ricoeur, Derrida, Nietzsche, Foucaoult, Frankfurt School and Habermas. The approach used to show a deep historical background in the 20th century – by tracing their ideas back to the Greek and Roman traditions, Medieval Christianity, Enlightenment and Romantic.
Through this book Yvonne Sherratt argues for the importance of historical to be able to clearly appreciate the humanist character of Continental Social Philosophy. This book is able to describe the basic essence of Social Philosophy or Philosophy of Humanism. This book can also be relied upon to expand the scope and spread of various disciplines. Yvonne Sherratt himself is an Academy researcher at the Oxford University Department of Philosophy. He teaches at the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburg and Wales, and author of “Adorno’s Positive Dialectic”.
In fact, all the writings or Social Philosophy are dominated by Anglo American books. Anglo American tradition, a study with empirical issues (sociology) and natural science background. Preoccupied with natural and social science questions.
While continental schools have their own thoughts, ask their own questions, have their own agenda and have a deep history rooted in Ancient Greece, Rome and early Christianity.
Because of this connection with the past, humanism became the defining theme of continental tradition. While Anglo America has a post scientific agenda where humanism is completely forgotten.
Yvonne Sherratt offers the Social Philosophy discourse in the continental tradition. While the understanding of Continental Social Philosophy itself is the best way to understand the emergence of humanism. This book describes the natural autonomy of continental investigation by exploring the history of humanism specifically. Also a certain approach so as to bring up Social Philosophy.
According to the author, Yvonne Sherratt was able to make his work into an English-language book devoted to Continental Social Philosophy. This book contains all aspects of rich European thought that include Political Philosophy, Aesthetics and European historical ideas in general by individual thinkers as well as certain streams.
This book offers the Social Philosophy discourse in continental tradition. Continental Social philosophy is the best way to understand the emergence of humanism. Describes the natural autonomy of continental investigation by exploring the history of humanism specifically. Also a certain approach so as to bring up Social Philosophy.
Remarkably, no single English book is dedicated to Continental Social Philosophy like this book. This book contains all aspects of rich European thought that include Political Philosophy, Aesthetics and European historical ideas in general by individual thinkers as well as certain streams.
Continental tradition usually focuses on tek, historically sensitive to tradition. This approach will lead to the question of social philosophy.
Continental is different from Europeans. In contrast to England, although Europe includes England. English is more analytic, being more continental to tradition.
Continental Social philosophy generally involves the study of social societies from a humanist point of view. Continental philosophy refers to Romanticism. The Roots of Continental Philosophy in humanism itself.
Humanism
There are three definitions of Humanism. First rooted in the classic Greek and Roman ideas and texts, Christianity. Romantic or Marxist, the results of the reading of Plato, Aristotle or Cicero. Contrary to a scientific understanding unrelated to classical treasures.
Second, humanism is rooted in the accumulated knowledge and knowledge of every generation. This is in contrast to the scientific spirit that sees the past as a wrong value and must be destroyed to gain and follow new values-the objectification of knowledge becomes a trend. Progress humanism is the accumulation of past knowledge, not transcendence or reduction. Science considers the past not developing, primitive, wrong forms of knowledge. Progress replace the old ones. Humanism prioritizes the development of understanding and knowledge. Science emphasizes objectivity that can destroy the understanding and knowledge Humanism built.
Third, humanism has a different meaning to science. The human world has ethical, aesthetic and spiritual significance. Being purely technical science based on empirical facts. Even if there is ethics, aesthetics and spiritual is the outer meaning that is attached.
Society is studied as an object as in natural science. Humanism has the assumption of ontology-the nature of meaning. Meanings are created through man. Society is not only a meaningful entity – produced by human creativity.
The humanism that constituted Continental Social Philosophy was rooted in 2000 years of Greek and early Christian times. While Anglo-American Social Philosophy justifies “humanism” the deepest historical root is limited to the 17th-18th centuries, based on the empirical and rationalist philosophical schools. Continental social philosophy builds on long-term “humanism” arguments prior to enlightenment.
Continental Style
There are several continental styles, first style analysis, both referring to a particular thinker, case autonomy. The style of continental analysis, assuming humanism continues to live, making it an object of study, using authoritative and authoritative history and scientific traditions, sensitive to language and expression. Knowledge can be from his own mind so that knowledge is gained more widely than Anglo-American. Anglo-American is based on a general concept.
Continental Social philosophy is in the form of “humanism” independently. Gadamer, Habermas, Foucault has contributed to the issue of interpretation and became meinstreim. All of Foucault’s Social Philosophy was built on Nietzsche’s criticism of Christianity. This idea is important in building the argument of the Continental tradition.
Object of Study
Continental Philosophy is not just a matter of style of analysis and certain thinkers, but independence is intellectual. Society is an object of meaning that can be found in the language of society and history, law, reader and observer, constructed by goodness, derived from one God, history of society on historical events. Meanings are created and transmitted into certain languages and expressions to the minds of readers and observers. The philosophers think the meaning has been distorted.
Implicitly Continental tradition sees society as a historical phenomenon. Therefore, the nature of history is the main debate. Is history changing rapidly or slowly, forward or backward, or fixed. Linear or circular. What is the community historically? Are the elements material or ideal, does the food we produce in the cross-history form the way of speaking and thinking of society? Are we involved in history or as observers outside history? This is the question that forms the nature of the community.
In summary, in the continental social science tradition- the community is studied as tek. The method used by using hermeunetic approach (interpretation), geneology (history) and critical theory (Frankfrut) that society has a meaning that is revealed in various ways, created by society.
Anglo-American Social Sciences (Ting)
Anglo American debate and the Continental approach to the treatment of modernism. Both from the point of Philosophy and social science. Anglo American tradition, is a study with empirical issues (sociology) and natural science background. Preoccupied with natural and social science questions.
Anglo America is based on empiricism and post empiricism. Mental empirical mushroomed in the era of 1950-1960. While the situation of the 17th, 18th centuries makes empirical and rational traditions reach their peak regardless of philosophical assumptions. His greatest inspiration came from the positives, which later developed rapidly in the mid-20th century.
There are several types of Anglo American groups;
The first group, an empirical American brazier that explains Social Philosophy based on the natural sciences; experiments, causation, prediction, expansion, then the generalization law is taken. How objectivity is measured by subjective observations, how to understand facts and values. How to analyze society from individual concept, structure and function, action and development and importance of economy and psychology, macro and micro as the factor is reflected.
The second group discusses Social Philosophy in terms of the complexity of the relationship between social science and the natural sciences. But the perspective of empiricism on social science has not changed.
The third group tries to renew positivism, defend the value of empiricism by elaborating on critical relism, constructing arguments from Biology like Darwin’s theory, accommodating the natural and social sciences by reflecting on what is old and coming later.
The fourth group brings Social Philosophy to the post-empirical mental age. Refuse natural science as a model. This study makes use of continental thinking to make a new post empiricism approach. Some refer to Foucault and combine it with the theory of social construction. Others borrow post-modernism.
The fifth group refers to Marxism, Phenomenology, and Hermeunetika. Many also offer Anglo-American style by applying European style to the contents of meaning, interpretation and social construction, such as, Winch, Kuhn, Feyerband and Lakatos.
Actually the Anglo American legitimacy debate in Social Philosophy is more on the aspect of rationality than the empirical issue. Regarding concept debate and concept category. In contrast to the Continental approach through historical aspects and tech references.
There are four categories in the contents of the contents of the map that are debatable. First, empiricism and rationalism, what the real issues are; fact or value. On the boundaries of subjectivity and objectivity, the pre-knowledge character, others overlap with the epistemological and metaphysical issues.
Second, the framework of Natural Philosophy (Biology and Psychology), which forms the Social Philosophy. The emerging themes, the explanations of natural science, the relevance of natural law, the issue of determinism and prediction, the question of objectivity and value that make up the analysis. Next topics like; realism, relativism, absolutism, and holism. In essence, questioning the appropriateness of natural science to see social science.
Third, philosophically Social Philosophy can be found in Anglo-American style on the sub theme; Philosophy of Mind, Metaphysics, and Epistemology. Also on the Political Philosophy of the Marxist Prespective, the Economic Philosophy in the social philosophy of Hayek, or Darwin’s biological argument from Malthus.
In the Anglo-American meinstreim alone, the Continental idea has been studied in much in Marxism, hermeunetic tradition, phenomenology, or post modernism. Anglo-American Social Philosophers thinkers can easily ignore traditions simultaneously.
Conclusion
Continental Social philosophy is a humanist approach in looking at social science. This tradition is at once a critic towards the social science approach of the empirical and positivist Anglo-American traditions.
Both traditions have different emphases because the objects studied are also different both as texs and things. Here are the conclusions from both traders;
Tradition of text;
Tradition tek, presupposes social science as tek. As a subject or observer sees a social phenomenon as itself. Because the subject is also human as a historic social creature. Subject involved in observation. The subject of the observer as a cultural and historical being has internal experience, language, grammar. The observer builds his social understanding in reference to the historical quest in the tradition of hermeunetics, geneology and critical theory with a rational approach with re-emphasis.The purpose of the observer is to acquire knowledge of understanding to gain meaning and purpose as aspec of quality. This tradition is good for analyzing social quality aspects of society but not functional to measure the progress of modernity such as welfare.
Tradition of things
This tradition is known for Anglo-Americans who adopt observational techniques in the natural sciences; The observer’s position as a technical counselor, an observer working outside the subject, using observation and experimental methods, aims to predict with the progress that has been set.
Aspects of the Anglo-Americans tradition of pursuing quantity. Tradition is good for analyzing social aspect of social quantity, functional to measure achievement of measure of modernity like indication of social prosperity.
Reference;
The Continent Philosophy of Social Science, by Yvonne Sheerat-Cambridge University Press, 2006