Department Seminar: Words and Distinctions for the Common Good: Practical Reason in the Logic of Social Science

How social scientists' disagreements about their key words and distinctions have been misconceived, and what to do about it

THIS BOOK is an invitation. An invitation to you. To you guys. Here’s my invitation.

This book is about the logic of social science research. How can social scientists’ practices be improved? This is what I’m up to.

This book isn’t about methodology. It’s not a manual or how-to guide. However, its temperament is normative, like manuals and methodology. Should and shouldn’t. Good and bad. Look, this is how social science research should be conducted. That’d be a wrong step. This is good stuff; the product of good work. If you want to obtain this and that, you should do.

Click here to access the book through JSTOR, or click here to access the prologue.

Gabriel Abend is professor of sociology at University of Lucerne and is the author of The Moral Background: An Inquiry into the History of Business Ethics (Princeton). He has not at least become widely known for his article “Meaning of theory” Sociological Theory 2008. For this Department Seminar, Abend will present his book Words and Distinctions for the Common Good: Practical Reason in the Logic of Social Science and its findings.

All interested are welcome to attend. Please navigate the calendar on the Department and Sociology's website to find upcoming Department Seminars.