ABSTRACT
This chapter covers a lot of ground, including both very practical questions of social scientific method and the most fundamental problems of philosophy. The critics of naturalism hold that the aim of the social sciences must be interpretation, and this means they cannot be experimental, empirical, or predictive sciences. The progressive accumulation of knowledge in science is thus certified by its increasing predictive success. The philosophy of science was labeled by its exponents "logical positivism" and sometimes "logical empiricism" or just "positivism" for short. The role accorded to laws has been a continuing feature of empiricist philosophy and empirical methodology in science ever since Hume. Unlike the natural sciences, which aim at causal theories that enable us to predict and control, the social sciences seek to explain behavior by rendering it meaningful or intelligible. More important, all social scientists take sides on the problems the positions reflect, whether they want to or not.
