Synopses & Reviews
Realism in Action is a selection of essays written by leading representatives in the fields of action theory and philosophy of mind, philosophy of the social sciences and especially the nature of social action, and of epistemology and philosophy of science. Practical reason, reasons and causes in action theory, intending and trying, and folk-psychological explanation are some of the topics discussed by these leading participants. A particular emphasis is laid on trust, commitments and social institutions, on the possibility of grounding social notions in individual social attitudes, on the nature of social groups, institutions and collective intentionality, and on common belief and common knowledge. Applications to the social sciences include, e.g., a look at the Erklären-Verstehen controversy in economics, and at constructivist and realist views on archeological reconstructions of the past.
Book News Annotation:
Written by students and colleagues of Finnish scholar Raimo Tuomela,
18 essays explore the philosophy of the social sciences. Issues of
trust and commitment are particularly emphasized. A sampling of
topics includes the backward induction paradox, social action theory,
science as collective knowledge, and the structuralist constraints in
the explanation scheme of folk psychology. Sintonen is affiliated
with the U. of Tampere in Finland. The volume is not indexed.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Table of Contents
Foreword.- 1: Realism, Truth, And Explanation. What Philosophers Should Know about Truth and the Slingshot. From Erklären-Verstehen to Prediction-Understanding: The Methodological Framework in Economics. The Archaeological Construction of the Past: Some Realist Moderations. The Backward Induction Paradox and Epistemic Logic.- 2: Philosophy Of Mind And Action Theory. The Scope of Motivation and the Basis of Practical Reason. Activity and Passivity. Reasons and Causes: The Case of Collingwood. Intending and Trying: Tuomela vs. Bratman at the Video. Spinoza on Causal Explanation of Action. On the Structuralist Constraints on Explanatory Scheme of Folk Psychology.- 3: Intentions, Trust And Social Institutions. Commitments. The Components of Rational Trust. Grounding We-intentions in Individual Social Attitudes. Social Groups, Collective Intentionality, and Anti-Hegelian Skepticism. Social Institutions. Common Belief and Common Knowledge. Others Will Do It: Social Reality by Opportunists. Science as Collective Knowledge.
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