Dlittle30

LATEST ARTICLES ( 893 )

• Atomism Versus Holism in Social Ontology

  

  Frank Jackson and Philip Pettit addressed the micro-macro question in an essay called "Structural Explanation in Social Theory" (link), included in Reduction,... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2023 SOCIETY

• Guest Post: Varieties of Realism by Jamie Morgan

  

  [Jamie Morgan accepted my invitation to contribute a guest post to Understanding Society on the topic of the varieties of realism in the philosophy of social... Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2023 SOCIETY

• Pinpointing Responsibility for Russian Atrocities in Bucha

  

  In November I wrote a blog post asking the question, "What organization and what commanders have directed the campaign of atrocity, murder, rape, mutilation,... Read more

  Posted on 28 December 2022 SOCIETY

• Sherwood Eddy’s Treatment of Marx

  

  Sherwood Eddy was an American Protestant activist and missionary in the early twentieth century. (Here is a brief biography and bibliography of Eddy; link. Read more

  Posted on 27 December 2022 SOCIETY

• Lies and Myths in the Social World

  

  An earlier post mentioned the topic of folk psychology and its relation to cognitive science. Scholars like Paul Churchland question whether there is a realisti... Read more

  Posted on 24 December 2022 SOCIETY

• Frameworks and Stereotypes

  

  It is evident that we approach the social world, and specific social settings, with a body of "framework" assumptions about what is going on, and how we should... Read more

  Posted on 21 December 2022 SOCIETY

• Journal of Critical Realism CFP on Judgemental Rationality

  

  Roy Bhaskar is best known for his ideas about social ontology. However, he also had a substantial interest in "the epistemology of social science" -- the means... Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2022 SOCIETY

• Reforming Policing

  

  The persistent fact of racial disparities in the use of deadly force by police officers in US cities is an intolerable injustice. Read more

  Posted on 04 December 2022 SOCIETY

• Koestler's Observations of Soviet Totalitarianism

  

  In honor of the remembrance of the ninetieth anniversary of the Holodomor, it is worth recalling Arthur Koestler's first-hand observations of the devastation... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2022 SOCIETY

• Who is Ordering Torture and Execution in Ukraine?

  

  With the retreat of Russian forces from Kherson this month, new evidence of gruesome atrocities against civilians has become visible (link). Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2022 SOCIETY

• Reasoning for Sociological Theory

  

  What is involved in providing a compelling and justified formulation of an abstract theoretical concept in sociological theory? Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2022 SOCIETY

• Twitter's Unacceptable Hidden Defect

  

  image: github analysis of Twitter follower network (link)Twitter's paroxysms in the past two weeks have been unsettling. But suddenly, I am coming to believe... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2022 SOCIETY

• Election Day 2022

  

  image: Timothy Snyder, On TyrannyHere we are in November 2022, and the House, Senate, governors, and state houses are all up for grabs. Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2022 SOCIETY

• Fifteen Years of Understanding Society

  

  This week represents the fifteenth anniversary of publication of Understanding Society, with a total of 1,484 posts and 13.3 million page views to date. There... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2022 SOCIETY

• Critical Realism and Ontological Individualism

  

  Most critical realists would probably think that their philosophy of social science is flatly opposed to ontological individualism. However, I think that this... Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2022 SOCIETY

• João Ohara's New Synthesis of the Philosophy of History

  

  What is the subject matter of the philosophy of history? This is an extremely difficult question to answer given the wide range of topics, methods, and... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2022 SOCIETY

• Constitution Day Lecture 2022

  

  Note: these are notes for a short talk I gave this month to students at my university on the topic of the importance of maintaining and defending our liberal... Read more

  Posted on 21 October 2022 SOCIETY

• A Culturally Conservative Streak in Tony Judt

  

  Tony Judt was a remarkable historian of the twentieth century and a sparkling public intellectual. In most dimensions he was a progressive force within the spac... Read more

  Posted on 20 October 2022 SOCIETY

• Scientific Rationality and Anomaly

  

  Some discussion of the empirical status of social science theories and hypotheses in the past has revolved around Karl Popper's formulation of the doctrine of... Read more

  Posted on 17 October 2022 SOCIETY

• Marx's Influences as a Social Scientist

  

  image: Menzel depicting a proletarian (Adolf von Menzel)It is customary to hold that the main influences on Marx's thought fell into three streams: French... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2022 SOCIETY