Since the establishment of the Institute of Social Science (ISS), its members have conducted theoretical and empirical research in a variety of specialized fields, ranging from sociology to law, politics, and economics. In the past, ISS members have worked together on institute-wide projects that produced research publications on a common, single theme. In this sub-project, we depart from these theoretical and empirical approaches and aim to address the broader question, "What is social science?" This question has traditionally been addressed in the discipline of philosophy of science--hence this project's name. In this project, members of ISS, who have experience in empirical analysis, will deal with various ontological, epistemological, and methodological issues related to social science that have traditionally been discussed by philosophers. Specifically, we plan to deepen our understanding of and analyze the following meta-level topics.
- Differences and similarities between natural science and social science
- Statistical causal inference and policy formation in the social sciences
- Scientific realism in the social sciences
- Interface between law and social science
- Historical evolution of theories in social science
- Paradigm shift in social science
Members Susumu CATO [Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo] Takeshi FUJITANI [Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo] Hiroyuki HOSHIRO [Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo] Takashi IIDA [Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo] Hiroshi ISHIDA [Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo] Ryuichi TANAKA [Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo]
Activities
- February 7, 2023Other Events
- 4th meeting (Philosophy of Social Science) Speaker： Tsuyoshi KURATA (Kyushu University)
- November 1, 2022Workshops
- Workshop 14：Constructing Economic Theory Through Historical Thick Description
- June 23, 2022Other Events
- 2nd meeting (Philosophy of Social Science) Speaker：Yuichiro TAGUCHI
- May 17, 2022Workshops
- Workshop 11：What should qualitative researchers consider after the KKV controversy?
- March 4, 2022Other Events
- 5th meeting (Philosophy of Social Science) Speaker：Yuya SHIMIZU [Kyoto University]
- December 15, 2021Other Events
- 4th meeting (Philosophy of Social Science) Speaker：Jun OTSUKA [Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University]
- October 18, 2021Other Events
- 3rd meeting (Philosophy of Social Science)
- August 4, 2021Other Events
- 2nd meeting (Philosophy of Social Science)
- May 18, 2021Other Events
- 1st meeting (Philosophy of Social Science)
- May 18, 2021Workshops
- Workshop 2：Scientific Realism and Quasi-intervention in Social Sciences; the case of "audience costs" in international crises