Author Description

Preface to the second edition -- Introduction to the first edition -- Empiricism and positivism in science -- Some problems of empiricism and positivism -- Science, nature and society: some alternatives to empiricism -- Interpretive approaches 1: instrumental rationality -- Interpretive approaches 2: rationality as rule-following: cultures, traditions and hermeneutics -- Interpretive approaches 3: critical rationality -- Critical realism and the social sciences -- Feminism, knowledge, and society -- Post-structuralism and postmodernism -- Conclusion: in defence of philosophy -- Commentary on recent developments.