What Holism Can Do for Social Theory

Download or read book What Holism Can Do for Social Theory written by Barbara Hanson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-27 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reconsiders the nature of positivist philosophy in social science theory based on classical and medieval thought in what later became "Europe." It argues that social theory is being held back by antagonistic debates over science, positivism, objectivity, and universal law - debates which appear unnecessary, narrow, and acontextual when their origins are examined. Positing that solutions to these impasses can be found by moving to alternative holistic epistemology, and looking at issues in terms of interrelations rather than parts, the book shows the promise of a social theory that provides a unit of analysis that mediates between local and global relations.