Mapping Reality: An Evolutionary Realist Methodology for the Natural and Social Sciences(SUNY series in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences)

Using the insights of evolutionary epistemology, the author develops a new naturalist realist methodology of science, and applies it to the conceptual, practical, and ethical problems of the social sciences.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction I. The Problems 1. Sociology Today 1.1 The Diversity of Sociological Method 1.2 The Patterns of Diversity 1.3. The Problems of Diversity 2. Issues in the Metatheory of Sociology 2.1 Can Sociology Be Scientific? 2.2 The Status of the Social Sciences vis-a-vis the Natural Sciences: Naturalism versus Humanism 2.3 Scientific Knowledge and Validity 2.4 The Naturalist Realist Strategy II. Tools for a Solution 3. Theories as Maps of the World 3.1 Sciencing as a Human Activity 3.2 A Naturalist Realist Model of Scientific Theory 4. The Nature of Validity 4.1 The Adequacy of Maps 4.2 The Adequacy of Theories 4.3 The Mapping Model of Knowledge III. The Tools Applied 5. Validity and Reality in the Social Sciences 5.1 Cause and Reality 5.2 Structure, Function, and Cause in Sociology 5.3 Distinguishing Causal and Functional Explanations 5.4 The Relationship between Causal and Functional Theories 5.5 Reasons and Causes 5.6 The Status of Rational Explanations 5.7 Conclusion 6. Knowing in a Complex World 6.1 The Complex Nature of Reality 6.2 Reducing Complexity in a Complex and Changing World 6.3 The Ontological Consequences of a Pluralist Methodology 6.4 The Fragmentation of Knowledge 7. The Unification of Knowledge 7.1 Epistemic Values and the Unification of Knowledge 7.2 Reductionism and Unification 7.3 The MMK and Unification 7.4 Answering the Relativist Challenge to Realism IV. The Conclusion 8. The MMK and the Metatheory of Sociology Notes Bibliography Index

Review :
"Azevedo sets out a case for an evolutionary realism that supports pluralism without acceding to relativism. She gives appropriate historical and contextual consideration to contemporary discussions of relativism and other forms of realism and introduces her own theory in the context of examining the appropriateness of different maps for different purposes. Rather than subscribing to one or another of the traditional 'unity of science' themes, she proposes a complementarity based on diverse purposes of inquiry." -- Lenore Langsdorf, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.