This course is an introduction to the philosophical ideas which underpin the social sciences. We begin with a general introduction, then explore Sociology and Archaeology in extended detail. Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behaviour. Since all human behaviour is social, the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to large group politics. In fact, few fields have such broad scope and relevance for research, theory, and application of knowledge. Archaeology raises its own unique issues on time, history and the ontological status of artifacts. It also involves ethical issues of artifact ownership.
- Concepts and Development of Social Sciences: The course begins with the concepts and ‘objects’ which the social sciences study, for example: Is the basic unit of Sociology the individual or the group. We will also look at some of the thinkers whose ideas contributed to its development. The Enlightenment philosopher Marquis de Condorcet (1743–94) had this to say on the possibility of a social science: “The sole foundation for belief in the natural sciences is this idea, that the general laws dictating the phenomena of the universe are necessary and constant. Why should this principle be any the less true for the development of the intellectual and moral faculties of man.”
- Sociology: Sociology offers a range of research techniques that can be applied to virtually any aspect of social life: Crime, corporate behaviour, how people express emotions, welfare or education reform, how families differ and flourish, the social benefits and problems of ‘identity politics. The course will present foundational and current research on a number of these issues.
- Agency, Causality, Individual, Society: Theories of causation and agency underpin social research as it aims to deduce the causal relationships between the structural phenomena of the group and the aims and desirers of individuals. This is a crucial issue in the social sciences, and there are many divergence views on: How human causation works and what would constitute necessary or sufficient reasons in an explanation of human behaviour.
- The Sociology of Crime and Deviance: From its early stages sociology was interested in the causes of criminal behaviour. Forensic social criminology is now a substantial and growing area in the social sciences. Some theories start with the so called ‘criminal mind’, others, such as Travis Hirschi proposes that a weak bond between an individual and society allows the individual to defy societal norms. Rational choice theory: States that people commit crimes when it is rational for them to do so according to analyses of costs and benefits.
- Sociological Debates in Identity Theory: Humans form a sense of who they are, partly by who and what they identify with. This may be as personal as their love of a particular music and as broad as their political affiliations. Over the past decades, a growing appreciation for the culture heritage of minorities has transformed identity theory into identity politics. One new book in this area is Yascha Mounk’s The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time (2023). Mounk proposes that this “obsession with group identity in all its forms will, though full of good intentions, make it harder to achieve progress towards genuine equality”. We will look at both sides of this issue.
- Archaeology: We begin with some epistemological issues: As Alison Wylie explains "What you find, archaeologically, has everything to do with what you look for, with the questions you ask and the conceptual resources you bring to bear in attempting to answer them." The existence and nature of time is also of concern in archaeological ontology. For example, what effect does periodisation have on archaeological theory and practice. Archaeological ethics investigates issues surrounding the use of archaeological sites and materials. Who sanctions, controls and pays for such use is often disputed.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Have gained an overall understanding of the key concepts in the philosophy of the social sciences.
- Have read and discussed extracts from various key texts in both sociology and archaeology.
- Have participated in considering questions on the nature of social organization as applicable to contemporary society.
- Relate archaeological ideas not only to the past, but also consider what will count as the ‘artefacts’ of our culture for the future.
