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Explanation and Understanding Revisited: Bohman and the New Philosophy of Social Science

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Abstract

James Bohman has succeeded in reinvigorating the old debate over explanation and understanding by situating it within contemporary discussions about sociological indeterminacy and complexity. I argue that Bohman's preference for a paradigm based on Habermas's theory of communicative action is justifiable given the explanatory deficiencies of ethnomethodological, rational choice, rule-based, and functionalist methodologies. Yet I do not share his belief that the paradigm is preferable to less formalized models of interpretation.

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Ingram, D. Explanation and Understanding Revisited: Bohman and the New Philosophy of Social Science. Human Studies 20, 413–428 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005305607064

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