More than thirty years ago, in their best-selling Habits of the Heart, Robert Bellah and his colleagues coined phrase “Social Science as Public Philosophy” (SSPP). They proposed it an alternative to “professional sociology” they believed had become increasingly hegemonic; too many sociologists, contended, mistakenly embraced ideal social science modelled on natural sciences. Instead, championed...

This briefly reviews some philosophy of science that might be relevant to simulating the social processes of science. It also includes a couple of examples from the sociology of science because these are inextricable from the philosophy.

the donor, the recipient, and the doctors involved, the definitions of death, the uncertainty of recently evolved experimental techniques, and the problem of availability of organs and dialysis machines. Of a more fundamental nature are the scientific, social and religious repercussions and interactions which the authors suggest may lead to basic changes in attitudes to health and disease, life...

This article shows how the social sciences, particularly human geography, rejected hard determinism by the mid-twentieth century largely on the deontological basis that it is irreconcilable with social justice, yet this rejection came just before a burst of creative development in consequentialist theories of social justice that problematize a facile rejection of determinism on moral grounds, a...

The aim of this paper is to present conceptual resources that address social robotics from a philosophical, social, and economic perspective. Since social robotics is an emerging and potentially high-impact area, it is necessary to consider the ethics and philosophy of social robotics and its potential impact on society. Philosophical, economic, and ethical issues are addressed first generally,...

The recent republication of David Bloor’s ‘Knowledge and Social Imagery’ in a second edition provides an occasion to reappraise this celebrated work which launched the so-called ‘Strong Programme’ in the sociology of scientific knowledge. This work embodies the general outlook and foundational principles in a way which is still characteristic of its descendents. Above all, the recent re-publica...