ABSTRACT
This anthology attempts to bridge the gap between these very related but still isolated philosophical conversations by taking a closer look at the proposal for simulation theory from the perspective of the philosophy of social science. One commonly distinguishes between two philosophical camps taking opposing views on the question of whether or not there is a principal methodological difference between the natural and the social sciences. This chapter outlines the traditional "explaining versus understanding" debate in the analytic and continental-hermeneutic traditions of philosophy and it describes the relevant aspects of the debate between simulation theory and theory theory. The basic goal of this anthology is to explore the fruitfulness and relevance of the simulation approach for the human and social sciences. The following analyses regarding the relevance of simulation and empathy for understanding force us to rethink the precise scope and implications of what has been called the "interpretive turn" in the philosophy of social science.
