A groundbreaking logic-based approach to bridging the
scientific-constructivist divide in social science
The Logic of Social Science offers new principles for designing and
conducting social science research. James Mahoney uses set-theoretic
analysis to develop a fresh scientific constructivist approach that
avoids essentialist biases in the production of knowledge. This approach
recognizes that social categories depend on collective understandings
for their existence, but it insists that this recognition need not
hinder the use of explicit procedures for the rational assessment of
truth. Mahoney shows why set-theoretic analysis enables scholars to
avoid the pitfalls of essentialism and produce findings that rest on a
firm scientific foundation.
Extending his previous work and incorporating new material, Mahoney
presents specific tools for formulating and evaluating theories in the
social sciences. Chapters include discussions of models of causality,
procedures for testing propositions, tools for conducting counterfactual
and sequence analysis, and principles for knowledge accumulation. Equal
focus is placed on theory building and explanatory tools, including
principles for working with general theoretical orientations and
normative frameworks in scientific research. Mahoney brings a novel
perspective to understanding the relationship among actors, social
rules, and social resources, and he offers original ideas for the
analysis of temporality, critical events, and path dependence.
Bridging the rift between those who take a scientific approach and those
who take a constructivist one, The Logic of Social Science forges an
ambitious way forward for social science researchers.
