Methodological guidelines for a reformed social science

Abstract

[T]he way to re-enchant the world … is to stick to the concrete. Richard Rorty After having explored in the previous two chapters the importance of power to a contemporary interpretation of phronesis and to social science, let us now begin to sum up the argument of the book by bringing together more explicitly what it might mean today to practice social science as phronesis . We will do this, firstly, by developing a set of methodological guidelines for phronetic social science in this chapter, and, secondly, by giving illustrations and examples of phronetic research in chapter ten. I would like to stress immediately that the methodological guidelines summarized below should not be seen as methodological imperatives; at most they are cautionary indicators of direction. Let me also mention that undoubtedly, there are ways of practicing phronetic social science other than those outlined here. The most important issue is not the individual methodology involved, even if methodological questions may have some significance. It is more important to get the result right, that is, arriving at a social science which effectively deals with public deliberation and praxis, rather than being stranded with a social science that vainly attempts to emulate natural science. As mentioned earlier, few researchers seem to have reflected explicitly on the strengths and weaknesses of social science practiced as episteme, techne , and phronesis , respectively.