Course Description

This course is motivated by a large question: What philosophical issues are important for practitioners of social science and in particular, social scientists attempting to understand the law? Sociologists, anthropologists, historians, economists, - undertake "research" in many guises. These processes of knowledge construction are informed and challenged by various epistemological frameworks and assumptions perhaps most explored by those working in philosophy. This course will thus initiate a conversation between philosophers thinking about epistemology and social science practitioners thinking about research.

This course will draw on cross-disciplinary literature from social science, law and philosophy. The course will be in three parts. First we will look at a literature in the area of epistemology to try to understand what counts as knowledge and what issues arise in our attempt to define that question. Second we will consider what epistemological questions are raised by various research methods? Looking at several different social science disciplines we will consider what is "objectivity" in research? Does research uncover the truth about social reality? How does the identity of the researcher shape what she finds? What is hidden or revealed by the relationships of power that define research contexts? We'll look at the genealogy of debates about relativism in the philosophy of history, sociology, economics and anthropology to see what epistemological assumptions underlie various methods? What are the moral and political pitfalls of empirical investigation of cultural diversity, and how does relativism engage these pitfalls? Finally, we will consider how this applies to our understanding of what law is and where we can find it. Indeed, we will need to consider whether law is itself a social science or compatible with social scientific research.

Students will be evaluated on three criteria:

1. Class Participation -- 25%
2. A Take home mid term examination -- 25%
3. A longish analytical paper on some issue of law and the philosophy of social science.-- 50%

Since it is not possible to participate without being in class, attendence will be mandatory. You are encouraged to leave time to read the material more than once. Although all the material is ostensibly written in English, most of it is more akin to mathmatics writeen in prose. There are a lot of techinical terms which it will take some time to master. I have provided some links at the bottom of the page to various resources that should help you navigate this strange new way of thinking. Although difficult, it will pay off many dividends for as long as you continue to think about the meaning of things in the world (which is to say, forever)..

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Chaps One - Eight
Chapter Nine

Critical Social Science And Post Modernism: From Interpretation To Power

Expert Witness Report by Richard J. Evans in the case of Irving vs. Lipstadt and Penguin Books

Symposium On Dworkin's
Objectivity And Truth:You Better Believe It (or not)