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Fay - Contemporary Philosophy of Social Science (Ch. 3 Does our…
Fay - Contemporary Philosophy
of Social Science
Ch. 3 Does our Culture/Society Makes us What we are`?
Holism vs. Atomism debate
Holism, extreme version
the Individual is Completely Determined by Society
or broad System of Meaning (Group Memership)
Atomism
Solving the Debate
take from Both:
Atomism: importance of Agency (Actor level)
Holism: importance of Culture/Society (System/Structure level)
Culture
def. Complex set of Shared Beliefs, Values and Concepts wh/ enables a group to Make Sense of things, and
provides it w Directions for how to Live
Enculturation
Internalizing particular belief Systems:
Culture penetrates:
Mentally: mind-set
Physically: bodily dispositions
Socially: how we relate to one another
Burke's Metaphor of Culture as a Conversation
Conversation and Culture as
Dynamic and Fluid
Limits of the Metaphor:
power differences amg members
the conv. has outcomes outside itself
the discussion is often not peaceful
there are multiple conversations happening at the same time
Society
def (Holisitic) System wh/ Determines how its members Behave and are Related
Agents are different from cogs:
they have Intentions
are to a degree Active (not passive)
Relation btw Actors & their Culture:
enables, constrains, selects, mediates, prevents, determines
it is Not a Thing, but
a Process of Structuration and the
Patterned Consequences of this structuration
Culture/Society def
processes in wh/ Agents participate in the
Production and Reproduction of
Meaning and ongoing Patterns of Relations
Ch. 4 do ppl in Different Cultures Live in Different Worlds?
Perspectivism
All Knowl. is Perspectival
knowl., claims and assessments, always
Within a Framework w
particular Conceptual resources
Facts
def. Low-level Theoretical Entities
unlikely to be contested
are Theory-Laden
Facts require Language
Facts exists only as a form of Description
Facts are rooted in Conceptual Schemas
Description
are low-level Theories
Individual Theories are Nested in
Theoretical Networks
these Networks are rooted in
Basic Concepts&Assumptions
No Intellectual activity w/out
an Organizing Conceptual Scheme
Descriptions take place within Framework w particular Conceptual resources
Conceptual Scheme
def.: a Complex of Interrelated, Hierarchically arranged
Basic Assumptions & Concepts
provide the Framework for all Scientific thinking
Knowledge-as-a-Mirror Metaphor is False
All knowl. is Constructive
where knowers are Active contributors
Relativism
def. the Experience of Reality is a function
of a particular Conceptual Scheme
Epistemological rel.
Beliefs and Experiences are determined Within a particular Conceptual Scheme
no cross-framework judgment is possible
Ontological
Reality is Determined by
a particular Conceptual Scheme (?)
Incommensurability
No Common Measure serves as a bridge btw
diff. Conceptual Schemes
Picture offered by Rel.
Isolated groups inside Separate Spheres
unable to understand, or share or communicate
Relativism ends in --> Separatism
Rel.'s Mistake
Overemphasize Difference
fails to appreciate what is Shared
need a Mature Synthesis btw underlining:
dramatic Differences
dramatic Similarities
Positivism and Relativism are both Right/Wrong:
there are both Similarities and Differences
Ch. 7 Is the Meaning of Others' Behavior What They Mean by It?
Intentionalism
def. the Meaning of an Act or its Product derives from the Intentions of its Author
Intentions
In
Actions
place the
Acts
into the
Wider Context
of:
the
Agent's Life
, and
the
Social Setting
in wh/ they are
performed
Meaning comes from:
Not; Psychological process of Re-Living the Thoughts of the Actor
But: Interpretative process wh/ places the Act into an appropriate Contex
Gadamerian Hermeneutics
Meaning
is always
For Someone
:
it is Relative to an Interpreter
Always 2 elements:
the Interpreted, &
the Interpreter(s)
of an event comes from its
Later Effect and Significance for later generation
arises from the Relationship btw:
an Act
those trying to Understand it
is both:
Multivalent (Multivocal)
Many meanings depending on the Interpreters
Dyadic:
only Emerges out of the Relation btw 2 elements
Hermeneutic Circle
illustrates the movement of Interpretation
based on the Relationship btw:
the Part(s), &
the Whole
ex. grasping the meaning of:
a Part by knowing the meaning of the Whole
the Whole by knowing the meaning of its constituents Parts
Intentionalist and Gadamerian
Hermeneutics
Intentionalistic
Hermeneutic Circle
conceives the Parts as actions
Within the Whole Life of the Author
Gadamerian
Hermeneutic Circle
Parts
consist of Objects to be Interpreted
Whole
consists of the Relation btw:
these objects, and
their various Interpretative Audiences (Interpreters)
Spiral of a constantly Evolving process of Change
are Not Complete Theories of Meaning
just Focus on Different Aspects of meaning
Intentionalism: Past Intentions
Gad. Herm.: Present Significance
they Need each other
Past Intentionality partly depends on what is Significant in the Present
Present Significance can only be ascertained by the Past Intentionality
Meaning conceived in 2 ways:
what the Agents Intended
Significance for those who Feel their Effects