Ideology And The Social Sciences

The extent to which modern social science continues to reflect the subjective traits of authors and the contexts in which they operate, rather than the objective facts or insights they claim to develop, remains one of the most striking features of social science research and writing. Kinloch and Mohan provide a multidisciplinary and worldwide examination of the ties between the subjective traits of social scientists, the contexts in which they affect research, and the kinds of knowledge they produce. The essays fall into five general topic areas: major theoretical issues, research as ideology, the political context of ideology, major factors in the academic setting, and the relationship between personal biography and professional ideology. This book will be of greatest concern to scholars, students, and researchers involved with the sociology of knowledge, social theory and methods, comparative social science, and social problems.

[The book presents a critique of the dominant ideologies in the major social sciences. Crucial issues for the understan- ding of society- the nature of capitalizm, the situation of the working class and the characteristics of US imperialism-are examined to develop this critique.The readings then indicate the sources of scientific alternatives to thr prevailing ideological conceptions of social theory]

This book attempts to present a detailed and critical account of the thought of Antoine-Louis-Claude Destutt de Tracy (1754-1836). Major importance has been placed on the analysis of his published writings. Biographical details have been provided only to the extent necessary to elucidate the circumstances of the composition and publication of his writings: in particular, the intellectual and political currents in France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. The book has three main themes. The first is Tracy's philosophy of ideologie, which was concerned to clarify concepts and provide guarantees of reliable knowledge. The second is Tracy's attempt to elaborate a science of social organisation, la science sociale, whose objective was to recommend institutions and policies which could maximise social happiness. The third theme is Tracy's development of liberal and utilitarian approaches to the fields of politics, economics and education. This study began life as a doctoral dissertation at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I am grateful for the guidance of my supervisor, Professor Ken Minogue, and for helpful comments from Professor Maurice Cranston, Professor Jack Lively, and Dr John Hooper.

[The book presents a critique of the dominant ideologies in the major social sciences. Crucial issues for the understan- ding of society- the nature of capitalizm, the situation of the working class and the characteristics of US imperialism-are examined to develop this critique.The readings then indicate the sources of scientific alternatives to thr prevailing ideological conceptions of social theory]

One of the pioneers of sociological studies in India, Professor Andre Beteille has, over the past four decades, contributed a series of topical and stimulating articles to various newspapers. Some of these articles were collected in the book Chronicles of Our time, published a few years ago. Ideology and Social Science is a new and riveting collection of Professor Beteille’s writings on Indian society, politics and culture. The fifty articles in this book cover a very wide range of subjects: from the practice of sociology to the prospects of political liberalism, from contemporary debates about caste ad caste quotas to old and still persisting myths about what is said to constitute the essence of Indian culture. Beteille’s ambit includes the relevant and important themes of secularism, diversity and unity in cultures, the culture of tolerance, discrimination at work, value systems in the changing Indian family, and caste practices in village communities. Steering clear of passing intellectual trends as well as partisan politics, Beteille reaches his conclusions based on a careful examination of the evidence, not on a search for facts that fit a preconceived theory. Through his writings, he makes a cogent and passionate appeal to separate sociological theory from the frameworks of social activism. For students of sociology as well as the general reader, this is a book that will stimulate thought and generate interest in social and political issues that are at the core of India’s modernity and tradition.

The purpose of this book is to examine how ideology operates--in the sense of influencing the conduct of inquiry--in the policy sciences, defined as economics, political science, and sociology. The author seeks to identify the main ideologies and show how each ideology produces a preference for certain problems, methods, and hypotheses; how it sensitizes scientists to certain phenomena and suggests certain interpretations of those phenomena; and how it closes off other phenomena and concepts from investigation and testing, or at least distorts that investigation. In this book, Diesing critically examines all the major schools of policy-related social thought from 1930 to 1975. He deals with Neoclassical Economics and its various applications, the Keynesians, the Systems Approach, the Schumpeter perspective, the Critical Intellectuals, the Pluralists, the J. K. Galbraith School, New Left Marxism, and the Ecological Paradigm of Schumacher and others. The world looks different if your perspective is that of a rational small businessman working in a society of hypothetical perfect competition, as opposed to that of a proletarian, looking up at your oppressors. Part One is descriptive and evaluative, considering each ideology in turn; Part Two considers the policy implications. "In 1982, Diesing published a remarkable book entitled Science and Ideology in the Policy Sciences. When I interviewed Diesing in Buffalo in the summer of 1984, he told me that to date, the publication had been reviewed in only two professional journals. I was astounded. Science & Ideology...was the best book I had read in a decade, and it related directly to all the policy sciences. The lack of professional response may partially reflect Diesing's disinterest in self-promotion, but beyond this is the 'community' problem. Scholars are recognized within disciplines, but there is only a tiny 'community of social science'. I consider this to be the most brilliant of Diesing's books. Like all of Diesing's works, it remains highly relevant today."--from the introduction by Richard Hartwig.

Psy-sciences (psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, pedagogy, criminology, special education, etc.) have been connected to politics in different ways since the early twentieth century. Here in twenty-two essays scholars address a variety of these intersections from a historical perspective. The chapters include such diverse topics as the cultural history of psychoanalysis, the complicated relationship between psychoanalysis and the occult, and the struggles for dominance between the various schools of psychology. They show the ambivalent positions of the "psy" sciences in the dictatorships and authoritarian regimes of Nazi Germany, East European communism, Latin-American military dictatorships, and South African apartheid, revealing the crucial role of psychology in legitimating and "normalizing" these regimes. The authors also discuss the ideological and political aspects of mental health and illness in Hungary, Germany, post-WW1 Transylvania, and Russia. Other chapters describe the attempt by critical psychology to understand the production of academic, therapeutic, and everyday psychological knowledge in the context of the power relations of modern capitalist societies.

This collection of essays contextualizes the history and current state of the social science method in the study of the Hebrew Bible. Part 1 traces the rise of social science criticism by reprinting classic essays on the topic; Part 2 provides "case studies," examples of application of the methods to biblical studies.