A Humanist Science: Values and Ideals in Social Inquiry - Hardcover

Selznick, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 080475862X ISBN 13: 9780804758628

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

Providing a capstone to Philip Selznick's influential body of scholarly work, A Humanist Science insightfully brings to light the value-centered nature of the social sciences. The work clearly challenges the supposed separation of fact and value, and argues that human values belong to the world of fact and are the source of the ideals that govern social and political institutions. By demonstrating the close connection between the social sciences and the humanities, Selznick reveals how the methods of the social sciences highlight and enrich the study of such values as well-being, prosperity, rationality, and self-government.

The book moves from the animating principles that make up the humanist tradition to the values that are central to the social sciences, analyzing the core teachings of these disciplines with respect to the moral issues at stake. Throughout the work, Selznick calls attention to the conditions that affect the emergence, realization, and decline of human values, offering a valuable resource for scholars and students of law, sociology, political science, and philosophy.

About this title

About the Author

Philip Selznick is Professor Emeritus of Law and Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2003, Professor Selznick received the Law & Society Association's Kalven prize, which recognizes a body of scholarly work that has contributed to the advancement of research in law and society.

Edition details

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 080475862X
• ISBN 13: 9780804758628
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176